Boring vs Step Drilling

Bumlak

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I just wanted to get some thoughts on boring vs step drilling. Currently I bore about 95% of the time. However, last night I was helping the repair person out at one of the local rooms and he didn't having a boring setup. He did, however, have a good set of carbide drill bits and his setup was fairly accurate so I step drilled everything. To be honest, it seemed to be just as accurate as boring with somewhat less hassle.

What is the general opinion on accuracy, consistency etc.?
 

str8eight

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
All depends on the alignment of the tail stock to the head stock. When I bore for my joint points I can get it within a couple tenths, step drilling gets me within .005-.001. Both of which are just fine. When my tail stock was out of alignment it was pretty horrid.

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Bumlak

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Sorry, .0005-.001 when drilling.

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My setup at home is extremely accurate. The general consensus has always been to bore, however, I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something major that would impact results.
 

str8eight

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
My setup at home is extremely accurate. The general consensus has always been to bore, however, I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something major that would impact results.
A good set of drills and an accurate lathe are all you need.

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JC

Coos Cues
A good set of drills and an accurate lathe are all you need.

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It took me a while to realize this after all the die hard boring information out there.

There are a lot of ways to achieve good results. Some are easier and quicker and more fool proof than others. I choose that. The results are all that matter to me.

Having said that I wasn't able to get the results I needed drilling with my taig based lathes. It wasn't until I got a metal lathe that this world opened up to me. I quickly abandoned the .381 pin barrel that requires boring in favor of a common drill diameter size.
 
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JoeyInCali

Maker of Joey Bautista Cues
Silver Member
Try boring with a router and 1/4 3 or 4 flute end mill.
For final pass, just turn the chuck manually.

You might never go back to the boring bar after that.
 

Canadian cue

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
It took me a while to realize this after all the die hard boring information out there.

There are a lot of ways to achieve good results. Some are easier and quicker and more fool proof than others. I choose that. The results are all that matter to me.

Having said that I wasn't able to get the results I needed drilling with my taig based lathes. It wasn't until I got a metal lathe that this world opened up to me. I quickly abandoned the .381 pin barrel that requires boring in favor of a common drill diameter size.

JC
The point of the 0.381 bore is to pilot the 3/8" tap. If your joint pins use the standard 3/8×16tpi thread the tap has a body diameter that matches. So depending on how long your pins are most standard 3/8 taps won't reach the bottom of the hole with out having to accept the body of the tap. It also guides the tap nicely which gives you concentric threads. This is how I build my pins and it works well.
Cheers
 

qbilder

slower than snails
Silver Member
I rarely ever bore anything. Everything I do in a cue is streamlined to a few drill bits. As for the .381" pins, there's a cheat for that as well. A local guy was having issues with getting the pins in straight, so we went through his drill bits & found one that was around .383", if I recall. It was a metric bit but I don't remember the exact size or precisely how it measured in inches. Anyway, we used sandpaper to take that bit down to .381" and resharpened it. Now he drills a 5/16" hole then follows up with that .381" bit for the barrel, and his pins fit perfect every time. No boring or measuring or tinkering, just a drill bit.

It seems back yard mechanic ish because it is. I wasn't sure it would even work, but it was one of those drill bits in a set that never gets used. There wasn't anything to lose by trying. I wasn't surprised that it did work, but was surprised that worked so well. It took a job that normally would be several minutes & require accurate machining and made it nearly idiot proof. With the bit size matching the pin barrel, all he has to do is make sure the cue is chucked up on center and drill the hole. Exactly repeatable exact fit.
 

conetip

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Drill with the largest shortest drill for the job that will not cut oversize as the 1st drill. The largest drill will be the most ridgid , like in a set of stub drills, or use a decent sized centre drill 1st. Depending on the wood and grain position, sometimes it will not drill straight even with a carbide drill. Live tooling and boring correct for this. It is the reason for my Drill Bore tool that can be used to drill and bore with the same tool. There are loads of options of doing the same job. A well align lathe that has all the slop adjusted out, also makes a very big difference.
 

Kim Bye

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Try boring with a router and 1/4 3 or 4 flute end mill.
For final pass, just turn the chuck manually.

You might never go back to the boring bar after that.

I`ve done this for a while now, it`s very quick and as accurate as a boring bar. I`m still not totally comfortable with using it for joint pin installations, but that`s just me not having enough experience...
I first started doing it when installing Uni-Loc pins, those suckers need a really deep 17/64" hole. It`s not impossible to find carbide boringbars that long, but they are kinda pricey. A 5mm endmill cocst next to nothing.
It`s also great for boring big holes for joint rings or similar, but you will need a good vacuum system, so you don`t breathe in that nasty phenolic dust.
 

Bumlak

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I rarely ever bore anything. Everything I do in a cue is streamlined to a few drill bits. As for the .381" pins, there's a cheat for that as well. A local guy was having issues with getting the pins in straight, so we went through his drill bits & found one that was around .383", if I recall. It was a metric bit but I don't remember the exact size or precisely how it measured in inches. Anyway, we used sandpaper to take that bit down to .381" and resharpened it. Now he drills a 5/16" hole then follows up with that .381" bit for the barrel, and his pins fit perfect every time. No boring or measuring or tinkering, just a drill bit.

It seems back yard mechanic ish because it is. I wasn't sure it would even work, but it was one of those drill bits in a set that never gets used. There wasn't anything to lose by trying. I wasn't surprised that it did work, but was surprised that worked so well. It took a job that normally would be several minutes & require accurate machining and made it nearly idiot proof. With the bit size matching the pin barrel, all he has to do is make sure the cue is chucked up on center and drill the hole. Exactly repeatable exact fit.

I've been comparing this all week in the shop. Step drilling seems to certainly hold up as the quicker of the methods. As I stated, I've done both and will continue to bore when it's needed. But I will say...for installing a 3/8-10, step drilling does seem to be pretty damn idiot proof and quick.
 

BHQ

we'll miss you
Silver Member
Try boring with a router and 1/4 3 or 4 flute end mill.
For final pass, just turn the chuck manually.

You might never go back to the boring bar after that.

i've never had a boring bar;)
 

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QMAKER

LIVE FREE OR DIE
Silver Member
Drilling

CARBIDE DRILL BITS--THEY DON'T WANDER AND DRILL STRAIGHT AND ROUND HOLES. PERFECT FOR PINS. McMaster has them.
 
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