Mosaic pins in stainless handless

H

Hypocrite

Joined
Apr 23, 2008
Messages
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I would like to drill some holes in stainless steel balisong handles for 1/8” mosaic pins similar to what Mad Dog Peter has done on this site. What is the best type of bit for doing this? HSS/Cobalt/Carbide? Jobber? Straight flute? Should I use a 1/8” bit exactly or oversize slightly (say #30)? What type of adhesive to you recommend for longevity and stability? Can mosaic pin be peened/expanded?

I have a large drill press, but am definitely a machining newbie. Any recommendation on procedure (RPMs/cutting oil/pilot holes/etc.) would be appreciated to make sure that I get good holes where I want them.

Thanks in advance.

Erin.
 
Erin,
Just send Peter an email, he is very friendly and wiling to help others with knife making. Plus he has quite a bit of experience working with the Typhoon kit (I'm guessing thats what you are working from?).

Jeff W.
 
Post the info that you get here please because the rest of us would like to know!

Thanks,
Stefan
 
Probably not a bad idea to send Peter an email. He has, however, already extensively detailed his process on the page linked in my previous post. There are a lot more very talented machinists and knifemakers on this forum though, and if there is a better way to skin the cat, I'd definitely like to know.

I'll shoot Peter a message. Thanks.:o

Erin

jeffdk06 said:
Erin,
Just send Peter an email, he is very friendly and wiling to help others with knife making. Plus he has quite a bit of experience working with the Typhoon kit (I'm guessing thats what you are working from?).

Jeff W.
Click to expand...
 
I would drill it with a #30 (.120") bit and ream to .124.then add epoxy and press it in.though its just for aethetic purposes you could probably get away with reaming it to .125" and just epoxy in place!
 
Shawn's way is the most precise and accurate. I just drill out to 1/8", and the hole is actually a little smaller than than the 1/8" pin. What I do is I take a piece of pine and grind the ends into a cone shape to make insertion easier (come on, guys, you know how this works, LOL). Then you can dab epoxy or in my case I use rubberized superglue and then gently peen the pin into place. It's a lot easier when you don't have to line up the pin (a round pattern). Straight patterns are a bitch and you need to have pliers handy to fix a mistake before the superglue hardens! Once the pin is glued in place, then I set it on my vice and whack both ends with the hammer to ensure a tight fit. It's really pretty darned simple...

I use the cobalt bits you buy at Home Depot. I burn out a lot of them, but they are like 2.50 a piece. I think the carbide bits are a lot more expensive? HSS bits aren't worth a spit on these hard handles...
 
Thanks for your replies Shawn and Peter.

Shawn... you may be looking at a different drill chart than I am, but my chart says a #30 is 0.1285". I'm definitely no machinist, but it may be difficult to ream that to 0.124". :p

I went ahead and took Peter's advice and contacted the Carbide Connection.
I ordered a 1/8" carbide tipped jobber for these holes. I also ordered a 3/16" carbide tipped for some other holes, and a 1/2" 82deg single-flute carbide countersink. Dang this stuff is expensive. :D

Now I just have to make sure that I am running good speeds on my drill press to make sure that these expensive carbide bits last.

I notice that Peter used the Typhoon template extensively (with his endless supply of 3/32" bits) to accurately locate his holes. I don't have a template was not planning to use pilot holes. I figured I'd just use a center punch to start my bits tracking in the right spot. Does this seem reasonable? Once I get one handle drilled, I can use it as a template for the others. Make sense?

Thanks again for your help. I'll try to post pictures once things start taking shape.

Erin
 
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