small size drills

[kez]

I'd like to be able to drill 1/32" holes in copper tubing. Dremel sell these drills in sets of 4 ($5.00 approx.for a set). Advertized as made of high grade steel for soft materials.Would these work in copper? What other option might there be? Thanks! AK

 

[RayP(MI)]

Ought to work, copper is pretty soft. Be very careful... drills that small are fragile! Many chucks won"t close that small. You might want to get the proper chuck fitting to fit the Dremmel, and chuck drill in that and put that in your drill. Else, use a Dremmel.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Drills tend to grab in copper. Might help to take a few thousandths off the cutting edge to change from the flute angle to cutting at right angles to the cut surface.

Lubricant helps too.

Gerald J.

 

[Midwest redneck]

You will have to use a #1 or smaller center drill for the small drill to be guided into place. Also you will need a drill chuck that will be small enough to close down on a .030" bit.

 

[Davis In SC]

What type of drill press are you using? The main issue is RPM and run-out of the drill due to the chuck. I do agree with the center drilling.

1/32 is not really that small, if you have the right equipment. I drill holes a lot smaller than that in tool steel on a regular basis.

Copper has a tendency to "Grab" the drill.. It is gummy & will fill the drill flutes in a hurry, causing a broken drill. Cutting oil and plenty of drill pecks are the key to drilling copper. Also, some of the dark sulphur oils will turn copper a dark color, if that matters.

 

[KEB1]

Try a circuit board drill bit. They're available from any electronics supplier. The smaller sizes have an 1/8" shank with only a short section that's the actual drill size, and are therefore a LOT stiffer than a normal small drill, plus they'll fit nicely into just about any drill chuck.

Keith

 

[mj]

I use my brad point drills in copper.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Wear eye protection,these tiny drills are carbide and break easy.

 

[kez]

I have a 1/2 General floor model drill press with 5 speed options with belt& two pulleys. It a fairly good quality machine.

 

[guido]

Hey Kez
Your drill press is more than adequate to do the job, the dremmel tool you mention has a lot of rpm's and it is not the drill to use, it will KILL the bit, in this case you can say that speed kills. If you can set the speed to one of the slowest speeds, say to 500 rpm's, and with the proper feed pressure you should have no problem.You will know if the pressure is wright when you see curls form the metal coming out of the flutes of the drill.
Guido.