Broken drill bit

[cjensema]

I like those little 1/16 inch pins and use them in my ironwood handles. The problem is that the drill bits sometimes break off in the ironwood handle while I'm drilling. That's happened three times in the last two or three months. It's extremely annoying and almost impossible to fix. Can anyone offer some tips on how to avoid having these very thin drill bits break? Would any particular kind of bit be less likely to break?

Thanks.

Carl

 

[Tom Lewis]

I would suggest that you have the ironwood clamped down so it can not move while you drill. Second, I would use only sharp drill bits, and third I would use light pressure on the drill press handle and not try to drill too deep at once. I would repeatedly lift the bit out of the wood, clear it of any wood that has clogged the bit, then drill a little bit further. Hope this helps.