the smallest drill bit you use?

[paul brown]

Hey all, just recieved a 8" drill press with a chuck that is stated to handle bits as small as 1.5mm. I also purchased a keyless chuck which is probably 3 times heavier, rated to as small as 1/64". Im planning on just making scales for folders. So my question is which chuck should I install? Also I've seen small bits with shouldered shanks that wouldn't require such a small chuck, which type of bits do you recommend and what speeds do you usually turn your bits through micarta and G10? thanks for helping a newb

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

#76 (.5mm/ .02") for jewelry and miniature knives. For general knife work I use a 3/64" for 0-80 taps.

 

[Lesknife]

My drill press will chuck up a 1/64 bit but I have a torch tip cleaning drill bit set that goes down to hair size bits and I can chuck into my dp chuck . It’s about 5/16 dia. with the cap removed. Those tiny bits don’t take much to break so I have to be careful. That’s just my method for drilling holes smaller than 1/64th.

 

[CallumRD1]

Another option you have is to use a fairly normal 1/2" drill chuck that will go down to 3/64" or so and then use a pin vise in the chuck for even smaller drills.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I was going to suggest a small 0-1/64" drill/pin vise attachment. Dremel and most jewelers supplies sell them.
Here is a set of them:

4 PC PIECE PIN VISE TOOL PIN VICE MINI HAND DRILL WIRE GAUGE SIZE HOLLOW SHAFT | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 4 PC PIECE PIN VISE TOOL PIN VICE MINI HAND DRILL WIRE GAUGE SIZE HOLLOW SHAFT at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[Hubert S.]

I used to drill a lot of small holes in electronic circuit boards, which is similar to G10 I think. I never had much luck on a regular drill press with a pin vise or micro-chuck adapter gizmo. I guess the run-out from a cheap drill press combined with a cheap pin vise just makes for a lot of broken bits. Oddly enough, the cheap Dremel drill press fixture worked really well, probably because of the much higher RPMs.

If you don't need to drill really small holes, install whichever chuck gives you less run-out.

The speed you use for drilling really depends on the material you are drilling into and the size of your drill bit, and more importantly, how motivated you are to change the belt to a different pulley combination... Many drill presses have a drill speed chart for different materials printed on the underside of the pulley cover, but you can also find this information by searching the internet. If you want to dig deeper, google "feeds and speeds". The short answer for most materials and drill sizes of 1/8" or less is drill at the highest speed your drill press will go.

 

[tiguy7]

This small chuck fits into a larger chuck. The smaller chuck slides up and down while it is turning. The disc that is used to slide the little chuck does not turn. The jaws adjust from 5/32” to 0”. Dremel drill presses can utilize 4 sizes of pin vise type collets or an adjustable 3 jaw chuck.View attachment 1656058

 

[HSC ///]

Don’t forget that drills make triangle shaped holes and you will want to ream the holes to size with a reamer

 

[Pinoy Knife]

any size under 3/8 fits in my drill press.
yes you need to measure runout to know what to expect as far as hole size goes when you are trying to make holes.
reamers are to true up the holes made to true round (as others said) if you don't know the runout of your chuck how you gonna
make a exact hole size??? Folding knives don't work well with "That's close enough"

 

[paul brown]

OK gotcha, thanks makes sense.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I don't use it anymore, as I use the mini-mill for much precise drilling, but I have a small low power drill press that has a 0-1/4" chuck. It was perfect for small bits and doing things like metal piercing work. IIRC, it was an early Craftsman 1/4HP press. It had surprisingly low runout. I'll have to go find it in the tool storage area. I also have a jeweler's Microcraft drill press, which is like a beefed up Dremel drill press. It isn't bad for tasks using the smaller numbered bits.

The important thing to remember is that no drilling/milling tool, regardless of price, is useful until it is properly aligned (trammed and squared) and adjusted.

 

[Atlas Knife Company]

I've gone through several different solutions, and the micro drill press is by far the best if you drill lots of tiny holes. It's very small, accurate, and fast enough for the tiny sizes. Only around $100 on Amazon

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Found it!
1938 Craftsman mini drill (handpiece) and the stand that Dremel made to hold it.
This was probably one of the items my grandfather had. Albert Dremel gave him a bunch of his tools when he was inventing them back in the 30's and 40's. I still have several of them. Look at the serial number. By the 1950's they were in the 1,000,000 range.
The handpiece came in a kit with a handle attachment ( which I may still have):

 

[A.McPherson]

That's pretty cool!