gun drill

snipershot

snipershot

Go ahead.....run for it.
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Before i get a lecture, i did use the search feature, but after five pages of everything except whatb im curious about, i decided to just ask, lol. Seriously, search it, and be amazed at the threads that show up, everything from practice drills to obama bashing, its nuts! Lol. Anyway, im ready to start coring, and ive been looking at various gun drills. I remember one guy on here said he used sterling and liked it. My question is, does it matter what size the drill is? I know it should be around .750, but ive seen some bigger and smaller. Ive got a bunch of purple heart one inch dowels, so i can cut the to whatever i need, im just curious if being .761 instead of .750 is really that big of a deal? Also, i know its prolly a dumb question, but would an auger bit work for coring as well as a gun drill?

Joe
 
If an auger worked as well as a gun drill

do you think so many cue makers would buy gun drills at $150 a pop? Some of us use two sizes of gun drills too! If a gun drill is properly aligned, one can expect to bore a handle or forearm in seconds. The wood stays cool and the drill tracks straight because the air blows out the chips, and cools the wood as it bores. Less deep bore jobs can be done with various other drill designs, but nothing beats a gun drill for deep true coring. I have tried other drills, and blown apart and generally wasted my share of hardwood to be fairly certain of my answer.
Personally, I use an 18mm for my forearms, and a 20 mm for my handles. I owned 5/8, 3/4, and slightly larger than those sizes too. I have settled on the 18 and 20 for my work, not the only way, but the way I prefer at this time. No need to believe anyone's opinions as gospel, just experiment, and find the diameter(s) that works best for you and your workflow. Good Luck.
 
Lexicologist71 said:
I would go with the .750 if for no other reason than metal decorative rings come in that size.
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The dowel has to have some clearance.
If you made the dowel .745" ,then your rings will have some wiggle.
.625" for forearms don't work too well either.
 
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I have yet to core, but already own a .650. I bought it before I looked into rings. I'm slowly cutting down some dowels to use for coring. Another couple of passes and they may be ready, or ready for another couple of passes.
 
JoeyInCali said:
The dowel has to have some clearance.
If you made the dowel .745" ,then your rings will have some wiggle.
.625" for forearms don't work too well either.
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I have a .750 and a .758 and wish I would have gotten something a bit larger. I can get a .750 dowel in the .758 though.

I LOVE the things. It's cool when you don't really need to take a lot of time to set up something and it makes a damn near perfectly centered hole 16 inches or so long.
 
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Gun drills are the nuts for straight long holes. Really long drills need steady guides.
Having it correctly aligned is important and so is the start or prep hole.
Practice with some scrap or cheap wood untill you are happy with your feeds and speeds.
Compressed air through the drill is a must.It is also a good idea to have a vacuum hose collecting the wood.
Some form of power feed will give more consistent results.
As for sizes to use,I call that research and home work.
 
I have 6 gun drills.3 are 22" long and the other three are 15" long.I use the long ones for sneaky pete cues and the short ones for forearms and handles.
The bores are .625 , .750 and .760.I purchased these from Sterling.

Steve
 
I have a gun drill I bought on ebay. It is .6876 diameter and is 28 inches long. It cost me 99 cents. I can drill a 24 inch hole. I fully core everything.

Kim
 
Joe buy the best quality gun drills possible this isn't a area to cut corners.
 
I use 11/16", 3/4", and 7/8" for my fronts and handles. This allows me to cut my final size tenon on the core itself and remove more of the handle or front wood.

An auger bit definitely will not work. It is self feeding.
 
Where is the best place to buy gun drills?

Feel free to pm....

I'm thinking a .775 for a .750 dowel? think thats enough glue relief?
 
Depending on the size and type of the lathe you are using, you may find that you will get better results and make the job much easier if you step drill. Starting with a smaller dia gun drill with air and work up to your desired final dia. Just a suggestion.
 
tsp&b said:
Depending on the size and type of the lathe you are using, you may find that you will get better results and make the job much easier if you step drill. Starting with a smaller dia gun drill with air and work up to your desired final dia. Just a suggestion.
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This is an excellent suggestion.
That is why I now offer a 5/16" coring drill in addition to the .650" and .775". The 5/16" eliminated the need for a second motor to core with our variable speed motors.

As tot he question someone asked about Augger bits. Yes they can core if you can slow your lathe down enough and hold everything tight enough. They do not core straight or consistant in size and still create too much heat for exotic woods.

As for the Coring drill sizes, you need them oversized than 5/8 and 3/4 to allow you to turn the core down to that size for rings or your rings will be a very loose fit. That is why I settled in on .650" and .775". My prices are about the same as Sterlings fast price, but mine are aready to go.
 
cueman said:
This is an excellent suggestion.
That is why I now offer a 5/16" coring drill in addition to the .650" and .775". The 5/16" eliminated the need for a second motor to core with our variable speed motors.

As tot he question someone asked about Augger bits. Yes they can core if you can slow your lathe down enough and hold everything tight enough. They do not core straight or consistant in size and still create too much heat for exotic woods.

As for the Coring drill sizes, you need them oversized than 5/8 and 3/4 to allow you to turn the core down to that size for rings or your rings will be a very loose fit. That is why I settled in on .650" and .775". My prices are about the same as Sterlings fast price, but mine are aready to go.
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I step drill since I got a 3/8 gun drill. It does make coring with the big gun drill easier. You have to drill with the smaller drill a little slower and allow it to cut smoothly and straight. I hogged one piece as fast as I could and it did run off a little. The big drill has never run off more 5 thou.

Kim
 
cueman said:
This is an excellent suggestion.
That is why I now offer a 5/16" coring drill in addition to the .650" and .775". The 5/16" eliminated the need for a second motor to core with our variable speed motors.

As tot he question someone asked about Augger bits. Yes they can core if you can slow your lathe down enough and hold everything tight enough. They do not core straight or consistant in size and still create too much heat for exotic woods.

As for the Coring drill sizes, you need them oversized than 5/8 and 3/4 to allow you to turn the core down to that size for rings or your rings will be a very loose fit. That is why I settled in on .650" and .775". My prices are about the same as Sterlings fast price, but mine are aready to go.
Click to expand...


+!

The ones I received from Chris are great and the shipping was lighting fast.

The customer service of the Hightower family is legendary!
 
Ill be coring on my south bend 13x36 hunk of iron lathe. Its got a 2hp motor. What speed shoud i core at?

Joe
 
snipershot said:
Ill be coring on my south bend 13x36 hunk of iron lathe. Its got a 2hp motor. What speed shoud i core at? Joe
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When I core, which is about every cue that I've built in the last 13 years, I don't get in any hurry. I've got plenty of time to do it right. Coring speeds depend on many parameters so there is no set feed rate. It depends on the type of wood, the power of your lathe, the sharpness of your bit, how much air your compressor can supply and probably a few other parameters factor in. I gear down my lathe a step so as to have more torque and I set the feed rate at around mid way and then I look at the dust that is being ejected. If it's real coarse I slow the feed rate some and if the dust is fine and there is no noise or howling then I increase the feed. Once I feel the feed rate is pretty good I work on the speed of the lathe. You need the air for two very important reasons. One is to eject the dust and shavings so that the drill will bore straight and the second is to keep the tool and the wood cool so as I'm boring I put my hand on the dowel often to insure it is not getting to warm. What good is coring a dowel to help maintain straightness if at the same time you are getting it hot which can increase the unstableness of the wood? If the wood is getting to hot you can either increase the air flow or slow down the lathe. The feed rate should not make much of a difference if the other parameters are correct.

Dick
 
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