Drilling holes in thin stock

jgedde

jgedde

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What's the trick to drilling holes in thin stock, like brass shim stock? Firstly, It's hard to clamp down. Secondly, any clamping I can think of deforms the stock. Thirdly, when the drill breaks through, it pulls up the stock.

At work, the machinists EDM it or use punches. What's the HSM way?

Thanks,
John
 
To drill thin metal OR plexiglass,grind the front edges of your drill bit to a vertical angle. Use the corner of a grinding wheel. Just a 1/32" length of flat grinding will do. It keeps the drill from grabbing as it breaks through sheet metal. Also stops the drill from grabbing when coming through plexiglass and shattering it.

It also makes drilling brass much safer. Brass can grab and suck up right out of a vise. I had that happen,and cut my finger pretty good years ago. Smooth jaw drill press vise. Took about 10 years to get the feeling back in the side of the cut finger.
 
Drill the desired hole in a piece of steel. Position a ball bearing a little larger then smack it with a hammer. As long as the edge of the hole stays reasonably sharp, it will cut many holes.
 
i don't understand the last post.



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George, it's just a cheap and dirty punch setup. Say you want a 1/4" hole in a piece of shim stock. Drill a 1/4" hole in a piece of steel, and lay the shim stock over the hole, and with a 5/16" or 3/8" ball bearing positioned over the hole, strike it with a hammer and the sharp edge of the drilled hole will cut the shim against the ball. Sorry it wasn't clearer.
 
Step drills, made by Irwin and others, the ones with one straight lengthwise flute and steps for various sizes, do a pretty good job of drilling thin stock for general use. They don't grab or twist the material.
 
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