Gun drill?

DeeRay86

DeeRay86

Active member
I seen some comments about gun drills saying things like, they were suckers back when they bought them. They definitely could have been referring to where or who they bought them from. But it has me wondering how necessary they are. Im sure chip extraction and exact cutting diameter is a big reason for them. What else? Guys I know this may be a dumb rookie question to a lot of you so please understand Im looking to you for a lil help. I have spent a ton of money on equipment and somehow this is one tool I don't have. So $200ish is a lot if I can get away with a fraction of that. I am not looking to cut corners, just save where I can. Thanks fellas.
 
DeeRay86 said:
I seen some comments about gun drills saying things like, they were suckers back when they bought them. They definitely could have been referring to where or who they bought them from. But it has me wondering how necessary they are. Im sure chip extraction and exact cutting diameter is a big reason for them. What else? Guys I know this may be a dumb rookie question to a lot of you so please understand Im looking to you for a lil help. I have spent a ton of money on equipment and somehow this is one tool I don't have. So $200ish is a lot if I can get away with a fraction of that. I am not looking to cut corners, just save where I can. Thanks fellas.
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Gun drills allow you to bore out a 12" plus dowel for a core. How do you plan on doing it without the gun drill? or are you asking for an actual alternative?
 
SSDiver2112 said:
Gun drills allow you to bore out a 12" plus dowel for a core. How do you plan on doing it without the gun drill? or are you asking for an actual alternative?
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Go to harbor freight and buy an extra long drill bit. You get bonus points if you hold the wood with your hand while drilling.

To the OP, a gun drill is the easiest way if you plan on coring. Regular drill bits will wander over long distances. Otherwise, drill undersized and bore or use live tooling if you can find mills long enough.
 
Where have you seen comments about being a sucker for buying a gun drill?

Gun drills are widely used in industry when a long, straight, medium-high tolerance hole is required. I believe that at 10xDiameter a gun drill is suggested when drilling steel. Wood, being much more prone to bit wander and ovoid holes requires a better solution than a twist-bit or forstner bit well before 10D...if you want an accurate hole. Boring bars are arguably higher tolerance, if you have dead-nuts alignment and no vibration. You also need an extremely long drill bit and extreme travel on your feed. A gun drill is self-aligning if the initial bore has been made correctly.

$200 is basically the door fee. You will be adding cost to that to get it set up for your machine.
 
It's only a waste of money if you can't use it properly.
It's a must-have tool in my shop.
 
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