burning the stem while drilling

[BlueBriar]

Hey guys, iv done my best to check if this was covered elsewhere and I haven't found it. Alas, my search may have not been thorough enough. Either way I will present my problem. I have a 100 year old craftsmen wood lathe my great grandfather carved on and have turned a couple stems out of it. They weren't perfect, since it wasn't a metal lathe, but still very satisfactory. A problem iv been having now though is my 12" long 1/8 air hole bit has been burning the vulcanite, which doesn't make for happy housemates, and has broken inside the stem rod twice now. Last time it wouldnt even meet with the hole I drilled for the button. What do you guys think is going on? Is my lathe off centered, causing the bit to bend, burn, and snap? Or am I just not pulling the bit out, giving it cool down time, enough? I do my best to pulse the drilling times, but with a tailstock that only advances 2 in, it makes it fairly difficult on churchwardens.

[sandahlpipe]

Churchwarden stems are indeed difficult to do. Burning happens when your drill bits are dull, you're trying to remove too much material at once, your drilling speed is too high, or you aren't clearing chips often enough. Also, split-point drills are better suited for drilling stems in my opinion, because they shave off little bits at a time. Brad points just don't work as well for me. Go through your process and see what you can do to eliminate those variables from your process and see if it helps. Drilling a churchwarden stem is going to take a while. There's no way around that.

May I ask why you are making the airway 1/8" in the stem? I think you will have a better draw if you come closer to 4mm or 5/32 in the airway.

[BlueBriar]

Thank you sandahl, i used 1/8 only because its what iv found in a the caste stems i used to use, and because they carry it at Ace Hardware.
1) i have my lathe at the lowest possible speed
2) the drill bit was new
3) i havent been able to go slow enough to where it doesnt burn.
4) im not able to quickly clear the chips because, after 2 " of drilling, i have to pull the tailstock close enough to where the bit is always in the rod, in order to keep drilling.

Should my bit have threading all the way along the bit? or just the normal inch or two?

[sandahlpipe]

You will need to clear chips one way or another, even if you need to pull the bit out with the tailstock. You do want the chips to clear all the way down, so you want the flutes to go as long as possible on the bit. Clear the bit off every quarter inch or so.
You might also try using a shorter drill bit to start your hole and switch to the longer one as needed. That may help with keeping your lines accurate.
Also, in my opinion, it is worth the extra money to buy high quality drill bits. I use Viking/Norseman drill bits for just about everything. If you're going to be drilling more than one churchwarden stem, I recommend getting the right drill bit for the job. 135 degree split point is what you want. The higher quality drill bits are straight, rigid, sharp, and remain sharp as you use them.
And take the drilling very slow. Sharp and slow is the main secret here. If it's getting burnt, you're feeding the drill too fast.

[BlueBriar]

Awesome thanks a bunch Sandahl, where can I buy these drill bits?

[sandahlpipe]

I buy mine on Amazon.com, but you can find a local distributor by calling them: 1-800-328-4655

Glad to help where I can.

[PremalChheda]

If you carefully hand feed it in instead of using the tail stock, you can drill more quickly in small increments and it should stay nicely on center. Use either beeswax or some sort of coolant.

[BlueBriar]

Thanks guys, I'll give it a go, I tried the freehand before, but i couldn't keep the hole clean and true to the bit's diameter .

[oklahoma red]

Personally I've never seen an extra long "bell hanger's" bit that had flutes beyond a couple of inches. That's NOT to say that they don't exist somewhere. I have a 5/32 that is 12 inches long but only has an inch and 3/4 of flute and a 12 inch long 1/16 bit with less than an inch of flute. My suggestion would be to start your hole with a regular sharp bit going as deep as you can with it (slowly and with lube and withdrawal) then take the tailstock entirely off of the lathe so you have some room to work. If you have the capability, make an aluminum handle for the bit. Grind a small flat on the end of the bit that is going into the handle and use a set screw to lock it so the bit cannot spin in the handle. If you cannot make such a handle use a pair of ViseGrips to clamp onto the end of the bit. Carefully feed it into the starter hole and apply pressure to get it going. You'll know when it's cutting. Do not drill more than about a 1/4 inch. Pull the bit clear out and clean off any material in the flutes and dip it in soapy water and repeat the process. Do NOT let the flutes of the bit get completely packed with swarf or you're screwed. If the bit you've been using is already dull from previous attempts you're going to have trouble and will have to push way too hard to get it to cut and it's going to wander. You must make every effort to keep the bit going in straight-no up/down, left/right movement. If you are creative, rig up a drill bushing two or three inches in front of the rod much like what a steady rest would be. This is how gun barrels are drilled (with a guide bushing) using a spade type bit with coolant pumped down the drill to flush the cuttings. I've successfully drilled 5/32 airways in 1/4 acrylic rod for a length of over 8 inches using this method. You can partially see such a stem in my avatar pic.

[BlueBriar]

Thanks Oklahoma, where did you get your 1/16 bit? and does anyone know where i can get a norseman 5/32 12in bit? I cant find one above 6 in on amazon, and Fastenal will order one for me but it will cost around $40.

[oklahoma red]

Thanks Oklahoma, where did you get your 1/16 bit? and does anyone know where i can get a norseman 5/32 12in bit? I cant find one above 6 in on amazon, and Fastenal will order one for me but it will cost around $40.

I've had it a long time and I cannot remember for sure. Might have been MSC. If I remember I will be sure and post it.
You have to remember that there is nothing about pipe making that comes cheap inre specialty tools. We always seem to require the really odd crap.

[BlueBriar]

Very, very true.

[mightysmurf8201]

Just ordered a few of these to try out. I'll let everyone know how well they work.
http://drillsandcutters.com/straight-sh ... th-drills/

[PremalChheda]

Just ordered a few of these to try out. I'll let everyone know how well they work.
http://drillsandcutters.com/straight-sh ... th-drills/

I really did not need to find out about this. PMTAD is hitting me hard right now.

[Sasquatch]

Show me a tapered 12" bit and I'll get a little hard.

[LatakiaLover]

The longest tapered bit I've found in airway-usable diameters is 8 inches.

With enough money and patience you could get one made in virtually any length, but you'd have to want it bad.

[mightysmurf8201]

Show me a tapered 12" bit and I'll get a little hard.

I'm actually gonna put a taper on one of them by chucking it up, throw it in reverse, and taking some sand paper to it. A friend of mine just asked for the longest pipe I could possibly make, so like a fool, I told him I'd do it. As of now, stem length is going to be around 15", that's being segmented of course. He's a real nerd, so I got one of these http://www.exoticblanks.com/Emerald-Ice ... hoose.html and I'm gonna cut off a bit below the dragon so it's centered on the white background, slap a half inch black ebonite spacer on the bottom, and the rest of the length of the stem on top. All drilling and turning will be done before assembly, then I'll just hand sand to even it out.

[caskwith]

I have a couple of 12" bits, in 4mm and 3mm for extra long airways and shanks. A word of caution, these drills often have a very thick web to stop them breaking so you need to drill very carefully, they are very bad at clearing chips and are just begging to get jammed. Peck drill only!

[mightysmurf8201]

Thanks for the words of caution Chris. I had every intention of being careful and going slow. Now I'll go extra slow. They should arrive here tomorrow, so then I'll see what I'm really dealing with.

[Ratimus]

Personally I've never seen an extra long "bell hanger's" bit that had flutes beyond a couple of inches. That's NOT to say that they don't exist somewhere. I have a 5/32 that is 12 inches long but only has an inch and 3/4 of flute and a 12 inch long 1/16 bit with less than an inch of flute. My suggestion would be to start your hole with a regular sharp bit going as deep as you can with it (slowly and with lube and withdrawal) then take the tailstock entirely off of the lathe so you have some room to work. If you have the capability, make an aluminum handle for the bit. Grind a small flat on the end of the bit that is going into the handle and use a set screw to lock it so the bit cannot spin in the handle. If you cannot make such a handle use a pair of ViseGrips to clamp onto the end of the bit. Carefully feed it into the starter hole and apply pressure to get it going. You'll know when it's cutting. Do not drill more than about a 1/4 inch. Pull the bit clear out and clean off any material in the flutes and dip it in soapy water and repeat the process. Do NOT let the flutes of the bit get completely packed with swarf or you're screwed. If the bit you've been using is already dull from previous attempts you're going to have trouble and will have to push way too hard to get it to cut and it's going to wander. You must make every effort to keep the bit going in straight-no up/down, left/right movement. If you are creative, rig up a drill bushing two or three inches in front of the rod much like what a steady rest would be. This is how gun barrels are drilled (with a guide bushing) using a spade type bit with coolant pumped down the drill to flush the cuttings. I've successfully drilled 5/32 airways in 1/4 acrylic rod for a length of over 8 inches using this method. You can partially see such a stem in my avatar pic.

Did nobody else catch this?