Does a short 3 flute carbide bit drill a straight hole?

  • Thread starter Thread starter JC
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JC said:
@ $40-80 a bit I thought it would be wisest to ask those who had already tested it for me and see what the consensus is.

Of course someone will scold me any time now and inform me that this is not a forum to teach me how to build cues, but what can I do? I can't help myself I'm just moochy by nature.

Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences.:smile:

JC
Click to expand...

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"Of course someone will scold me any time now and inform me that
this is not a forum to teach me how to build cues, but what can I do?
I can't help myself I'm just moochy by nature."

===============================================================

Yeah, and that's usually me - even tho I answered...

So why did you disregard?

At the very least, this belongs in the machinery sub forum. PMs would have been
even better

IMHO

Dale
 
pdcue said:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Of course someone will scold me any time now and inform me that
this is not a forum to teach me how to build cues, but what can I do?
I can't help myself I'm just moochy by nature."

===============================================================

Yeah, and that's usually me - even tho I answered...

So why did you disregard?

At the very least, this belongs in the machinery sub forum. PMs would have been
even better

IMHO

Dale
Click to expand...

I thanked everyone for their input. That included you.

I thank you again personally. I learned a lot about my question.

JC
 
JC said:
@ $40-80 a bit I thought it would be wisest to ask those who had already tested it for me and see what the consensus is.

Of course someone will scold me any time now and inform me that this is not a forum to teach me how to build cues, but what can I do? I can't help myself I'm just moochy by nature.

Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences.:smile:

JC
Click to expand...


What tool is it that's costing 40-80 a piece?
 
JC said:
A 3 flute carbide bit capable of drilling a hole in wood indistinguishable in any meaningful way from one that is bored and reamed for the purpose of cue building.

This one for instance: http://www.thomasnet.com/catalogs/item/1311498-3324-1058-2666/amtek-tool-supply-inc/3-flute-3xd/


Eric Crisp hit it right on the head with his post here. IMO he's reached a sound conclusion.

JC
Click to expand...

There are reasons for boring a hole in cue making, I agree that when drilling a hole for a tap boring the hole is not needed. However when prepping a hole for a pin with a centering barrel you almost have to. For example if you were to use these particular pins http://www.cuestik.com/store/product.asp?ITEM_ID=5766&DEPARTMENT_ID=95
The centering barrel is 0.381 which also happens to be the major diameter of a 3/8" tap body. You want to be fairly accurate when making this hole and because it is an odd size it will be hard to find a drill that will cut the exact diameter. If you drill oversize you negate the purpose of the piloting barrel as well as the usefulness of the pilot for guiding your tap.
 
Canadian cue said:
There are reasons for boring a hole in cue making, I agree that when drilling a hole for a tap boring the hole is not needed. However when prepping a hole for a pin with a centering barrel you almost have to. For example if you were to use these particular pins http://www.cuestik.com/store/product.asp?ITEM_ID=5766&DEPARTMENT_ID=95
The centering barrel is 0.381 which also happens to be the major diameter of a 3/8" tap body. You want to be fairly accurate when making this hole and because it is an odd size it will be hard to find a drill that will cut the exact diameter. If you drill oversize you negate the purpose of the piloting barrel as well as the usefulness of the pilot for guiding your tap.
Click to expand...

Ah but you missed the jewel in Eric's post. He has his pins made to fit the drill bits. Suddenly it all makes sense.
 
JC said:
Ah but you missed the jewel in Eric's post. He has his pins made to fit the drill bits. Suddenly it all makes sense.
Click to expand...

I build all my own cue hardware excluding bumpers. And when designing my pins I realized the usefulness of the 0.381" centering barrel. I use a 3/8 unc thread for the part of the pin that threads into the cue. If you measure the diameter of the body of a 3/8 tap you will see that it is the same size. So when tapping the thread at the bottom of the hole your tap is nicely guided by the pilot diameter ensuring that your threads are concentric to the centering barrel. I do not know what Eric uses for pins but if you eliminate this feature and build your centering barrel a nominal size you have eliminated this little jewel of usefulness. But at the end of the day everyone has their own system of doing things and as long as it works and is repeatable all the power to them. For myself using a boring bar as part of my pin installation process is worth the extra effort in exchange for the aforementioned benefits.
 
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My pins have a .375" alignment barrel, with a .311 minor thread diameter. My 5/16" drill bit measures .3115" and my 3/8" measures .375". While drilling at high speed, the hole is about .001" over the size of the bit. I have no idea if the hole is perfectly round or not, but the barrel ALWAYS fits quite smooth & snug, and most importantly, straight. I use the same 5/16" drill & tap on my shafts. The pin fits so true & snug that I have to coat the internal threads with teflon, which allows the pin to screw in smooth with no wobble.

Everything about it all is quite easy & idiot proof, which was the intent. Knowing myself well, I would get absent minded with a boring bar & ruin something by cutting too much. The method I use protects me from me. It's not the precision machining & complex procedure that would make me seem cool on the forums, but it's easy and so repeatable that it works every single time.
 
Canadian cue said:
There are reasons for boring a hole in cue making, I agree that when drilling a hole for a tap boring the hole is not needed. However when prepping a hole for a pin with a centering barrel you almost have to. For example if you were to use these particular pins http://www.cuestik.com/store/product.asp?ITEM_ID=5766&DEPARTMENT_ID=95
The centering barrel is 0.381 which also happens to be the major diameter of a 3/8" tap body. You want to be fairly accurate when making this hole and because it is an odd size it will be hard to find a drill that will cut the exact diameter. If you drill oversize you negate the purpose of the piloting barrel as well as the usefulness of the pilot for guiding your tap.
Click to expand...

And that barrel varies from .381 to .383.
I have three cut down screws so I can just use the barrel as hole gauge.
Measuring is just about useless.
.381 barrel makes more sense to me than 3/8.
I often chuck up on the barrel without scratching the exposed threads when I create a larger glue channel on G-10 and brass screws.
I am getting screws made with flat bottom barrel. Not the chamfered one.
And 5/16 14 bottom threads instead.

To create the hole for the barrel, I use a 1/4 end mill with a 1/4 long flutes.
Fkkr mills holes clean with the Makita trim router.
 
qbilder said:
Everything about it all is quite easy & idiot proof, which was the intent. Knowing myself well, I would get absent minded with a boring bar & ruin something by cutting too much. The method I use protects me from me. It's not the precision machining & complex procedure that would make me seem cool on the forums, but it's easy and so repeatable that it works every single time.
Click to expand...

This^^^^

Was the direction I was thinking when I started this thread.


JC
 
JC said:
This^^^^

Was the direction I was thinking when I started this thread.


JC
Click to expand...

Just drill the hole .002" undersized and slam the joint screw in.
Just like in the instructional dvd.:D:grin::scratchhead:
 
qbilder said:
My pins have a .375" alignment barrel, with a .311 minor thread diameter. My 5/16" drill bit measures .3115" and my 3/8" measures .375". While drilling at high speed, the hole is about .001" over the size of the bit. I have no idea if the hole is perfectly round or not, but the barrel ALWAYS fits quite smooth & snug, and most importantly, straight. I use the same 5/16" drill & tap on my shafts. The pin fits so true & snug that I have to coat the internal threads with teflon, which allows the pin to screw in smooth with no wobble.

Everything about it all is quite easy & idiot proof, which was the intent. Knowing myself well, I would get absent minded with a boring bar & ruin something by cutting too much. The method I use protects me from me. It's not the precision machining & complex procedure that would make me seem cool on the forums, but it's easy and so repeatable that it works every single time.
Click to expand...


two words - Forstner bit.

Dale
 
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