Gun drill vs arbor

icbm

icbm

Registered
I'm a hobbyist of building and repair. I've studied Chris's book and tried to absorb all I could in here without coming off sounding like an idiot. In the book he describes drilling for coring by using an auger. It has worked well enough for me but as I understand it cue builders prefer to use a gun drill. I know very little about them. Is it best/more accurate to use a gun drill?
 
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I'll give this a bump and maybe you will get some better replies. :)

First, i don't know what
drilling for coring by using an arbor
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means?

However, a gun drill, correctly set up, is the gold standard for drilling true in almost any material.
They were originally designed for drilling deep small bore holes in steel gun barrels. Now used for anything that needs the hole to be accurately round, uniformly on size, straight, and the drill to exit the work where you plan (hope? :) ) it will.

Line boring is even more accurate, but you need a drilled hole to start, and it is seldom practical (may be impossible below a certain D:L ratio ) to line bore small holes.

I bought a half dozen gun drills for cue use a few years ago, about the same time that activity accidently inadvertently lapsed due to increased activities in other areas. Keep hoping to get back to it, but have not set up a gun drill op yet.

smt
 
Ssonerai said:
I'll give this a bump and maybe you will get some better replies. :)

First, i don't know what means?

However, a gun drill, correctly set up, is the gold standard for drilling true in almost any material.
They were originally designed for drilling deep small bore holes in steel gun barrels. Now used for anything that needs the hole to be accurately round, uniformly on size, straight, and the drill to exit the work where you plan (hope? :) ) it will.

Line boring is even more accurate, but you need a drilled hole to start, and it is seldom practical (may be impossible below a certain D:L ratio ) to line bore small holes.

I bought a half dozen gun drills for cue use a few years ago, about the same time that activity accidently inadvertently lapsed due to increased activities in other areas. Keep hoping to get back to it, but have not set up a gun drill op yet.

smt
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I meant to say for boring the mortis for coring. But you definitely answered my Question
 
You can make an insert for the steady rest that is the same size as the Coring Drill, and set the steady rest right in front of the piece you want to core then you can just start drilling without needing a starter hole.
 
cueman said:
You can make an insert for the steady rest that is the same size as the Coring Drill, and set the steady rest right in front of the piece you want to core then you can just start drilling without needing a starter hole.
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Thank you sir
 
Ssonerai said:
I'll give this a bump and maybe you will get some better replies. :)

First, i don't know what means?

However, a gun drill, correctly set up, is the gold standard for drilling true in almost any material.
They were originally designed for drilling deep small bore holes in steel gun barrels. Now used for anything that needs the hole to be accurately round, uniformly on size, straight, and the drill to exit the work where you plan (hope? :) ) it will.

Line boring is even more accurate, but you need a drilled hole to start, and it is seldom practical (may be impossible below a certain D:L ratio ) to line bore small holes.

I bought a half dozen gun drills for cue use a few years ago, about the same time that activity accidently inadvertently lapsed due to increased activities in other areas. Keep hoping to get back to it, but have not set up a gun drill op yet.

smt
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My apologies sir. I meant an "auger" nor arbor.
 
icbm said:
My apologies sir. I meant an "auger" nor arbor.
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Auger type drills will generate a lot of heat, which can cause problems like cracking. There's also no guarantee that your hole will be straight, the drill might wander off. In the grand scheme of things a gun drill isn't that expensive and they are definitely worth the cost.
 
That and most augers are not dead straight. They are all twisted and bent. I tried using those when I first started and didn't have any luck drilling a straight hole. I had a little better luck using 18" drill bits though from eBay. But the gun drills are a much better option to use if you can.
 
Based on what I have been reading the gun drill is the best option.

Looking to get my first gun drill. I understand why many core the forearm at something smaller like .650 and the handle at .750, but I have also I have read some cuemakers say they core everything at .750 or .775. A bit thin at the end of the forearm (.840 - .850). It should still be ok right or is it too risky.
 
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aphelps1 said:
Maybe not, but I always make a start and exit hole in my stock to be cored.
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It don't hurt a thing to do that, just pointing out that a gun drill, just like a twist drill, is designed to be self centering. That said, if you have a counterbore on the exit or thru end of the stock a gun drill will still use it's own center which is established and maintained by the carbide body of the gun drill point itself, so the effort to counterbore the thru end is pointless, well, aside from making you feel good.
 
Renegade_56 said:
It don't hurt a thing to do that, just pointing out that a gun drill, just like a twist drill, is designed to be self centering. That said, if you have a counterbore on the exit or thru end of the stock a gun drill will still use it's own center which is established and maintained by the carbide body of the gun drill point itself, so the effort to counterbore the thru end is pointless, well, aside from making you feel good.
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Lots of ways to do things!
 
Renegade_56 said:
It don't hurt a thing to do that, just pointing out that a gun drill, just like a twist drill, is designed to be self centering. That said, if you have a counterbore on the exit or thru end of the stock a gun drill will still use it's own center which is established and maintained by the carbide body of the gun drill point itself, so the effort to counterbore the thru end is pointless, well, aside from making you feel good.
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It can help the wood from blowing out at the exit hole. Which is why I try to always not pop out the far end. Stop just shy and cut it off. You need about 1/4 inch of wood to burn but it's worth it.
 
Coos Cues said:
It can help the wood from blowing out at the exit hole. Which is why I try to always not pop out the far end. Stop just shy and cut it off. You need about 1/4 inch of wood to burn but it's worth it.
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I blew out a bubinga once at the end of that hole once. . Not pretty.
Now, I route a 2" hole at the exit and use a jig to cover and hold the piece centered to the rear chuck.
Helps in many ways.
 
Coos Cues said:
It can help the wood from blowing out at the exit hole. Which is why I try to always not pop out the far end. Stop just shy and cut it off. You need about 1/4 inch of wood to burn but it's worth it.
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Thats what I do, produces a nice clean bore.
 
SSDiver2112 said:
Based on what I have been reading the gun drill is the best option.

Looking to get my first gun drill. I understand why many core the forearm at something smaller like .650 and the handle at .750, but I have also I have read some cuemakers say they core everything at .750 or .775. A bit thin at the end of the forearm (.840 - .850). It should still be ok right or is it too risky.
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Going to try to get some feed back on this so I will ask again

Looking to get my first gun drill.

I understand why many core the forearm at something smaller like .650 and the handle at .750.

I have also I have read some cuemakers say they core everything at .750 or .775. A bit thin at the end of the forearm (.840 - .850). It should still be ok right or is it too risky.

Thanks,
Scott
 
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