Swivel Head Pin Vise Drill For Small Holes In Annealed Steel???

[mattguitarman13]

Hi everyone, Im in the process of making an Auto and my question pertains to button mechanism. I'm doing it lever style with a leaf spring and a lever attached to the pick (proper terminology escapes me.) basically im thinking of using a watch type cotter pin to hold the parts together and i need to drill a .9mm hole. in my experience with small drill bits they tend to break very easily and i was wondering if a swivel head pin vise drill would work for making such a hole in 1095 annealed steel. im asking before i buy because id hate to spend money and either break the bit or buy a tool that wont work for the job. any input or advise on making small hole would be greatly appreciated.

matt

 

[Bill DeShivs]

I use plain old Harbor Freight drill bits in a flexible shaft machine. They seldom break with just hand pressure. I do have to sharpen them occasionally.
Annealed 1095 is fairly soft and drills easily.
BTW- "sear" is the word you're looking for.

 

[mattguitarman13]

as always bill great advice, your answers are usually so common sense i wish id have thought of it before asking, i guess thats where years of experience comes into play. anyway many thanks im sure you saved me a couple bucks and countless hours of headaches.