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I need to enlarge a hole in a briar stumell shank from 1/8 to 1/4. How do I keep the hole centered? Is there a special drill bit?

Basically the draft hole is drilled and centered but I need to enlarge the hole for a stem to fit.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Cody

First of all, 1/8" is a tad on the small side for an airway. You probably want it more like 5/32. But to answer your question, you could look for counterbores. The best way is, of course, to make sure you drill your mortise and airway without moving the block in between. The counterbore isn't likely to be precise enough to get a tight fit that's perfectly aligned with the mortise. In that size, the pilot on the counterbore is usually quite short.

Unfortunately I am a little late on drilling the mortise and the draft hole at the same time, Do you think I could find a 2 stage drill bit or perhaps a drill with a countersink that is the same size as I want the mortise to be. Is there such a thing. I think the counterbore bit is this sort of bit, is that right.

I use a special clamp for my drill press, and it took quite a while to get this right.
You will have to clamp your stummel very firmly to keep from chewing up the first part of the mortise wHen the counter bites in. I use 220 rpm on the press.
MSC Direct has both the 1/4" counter bore and a 1/8" pilot with 3/32" shaft. The combo will run just shy of $60.
Clamp firmly and align the axes of the vent hole and mortise as best you can. If they are misaligned, the pilot will burn its own path into the briar and your mortise will be misaligned.
Alternatively, you can use a briar button glued to your stummel to mark the direction of drilling, with your tail stock and a pin, with the counterbore and pilot mounted in the chuck. The stummel is held in your hand. This method is in an article by Scott Thile in Pipedia. I suspect that unless you have a great grip, the mortise will be a little conical.
It isn't easy or simple.
DocAitch

Ill check those tools out. Sounds like it will really help. I have 38 pipes to drill in this fashion, Thanks all. CODY

I would use a 1/4" counterbore with 1/8" pilot. My first stop would be a machine shop and ask if they have one or if they will order one for me. But then I don't know if they make that size, I would think they make them. The 1/8"pilot will guide the 1/4" cutter and should keep everything line up.

dogcatcher wrote:I would use a 1/4" counterbore with 1/8" pilot. My first stop would be a machine shop and ask if they have one or if they will order one for me. But then I don't know if they make that size, I would think they make them. The 1/8"pilot will guide the 1/4" cutter and should keep everything line up.

From mscdirect.com
C-bore:
https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/08790164
Pilot:
https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/08901084

Those are the ones, I couldn't copy the addresses oN this iPad, the price on the counterbore is better than I recall.
DocAitch

I think you will find these cheaper.

Pilot  https://drillsandcutters.com/1-8-x-3-32 ... unterbore/

Counterbore https://drillsandcutters.com/1-4-x-3-32 ... 1-4-shank/

dogcatcher wrote:I think you will find these cheaper.

Pilot  https://drillsandcutters.com/1-8-x-3-32 ... unterbore/

Counterbore https://drillsandcutters.com/1-4-x-3-32 ... 1-4-shank/

At these price points they are all imports, either Chi-com or India. I've used MSC for years. Their selection for all things machine shop is HUGE!

oklahoma red wrote:

dogcatcher wrote:I think you will find these cheaper.

Pilot  https://drillsandcutters.com/1-8-x-3-32 ... unterbore/

Counterbore https://drillsandcutters.com/1-4-x-3-32 ... 1-4-shank/

At these price points they are all imports, either Chi-com or India. I've used MSC for years. Their selection for all things machine shop is HUGE!

Your 2 links are also both imports, and possibly out of the same factory. A screen shot off of your link.

dogcatcher wrote:

oklahoma red wrote:

dogcatcher wrote:I think you will find these cheaper.

Pilot  https://drillsandcutters.com/1-8-x-3-32 ... unterbore/

Counterbore https://drillsandcutters.com/1-4-x-3-32 ... 1-4-shank/

At these price points they are all imports, either Chi-com or India. I've used MSC for years. Their selection for all things machine shop is HUGE!

Your 2 links are also both imports, and possibly out of the same factory. A screen shot off of your link.

I was not trying to say the MSC products were not imports. I say again that ALL cutting tools in this price range are imports no matter the vendor. If you want American then at least double the price (brand dependent).

Example of American made vs. Asian made tools and related hardware:

A few weeks ago the power supply for an Electrix halogen task light in my shop went south. I couldn't find a replacement online, so called Electrix in Connecticut. Within 30 seconds (literally that fast... his secretary was who I'd been routed to when I told the switchboard lady why I was calling) the president of the company was on the phone and told me he'd take care of it personally. Just give him the model number and a new one would be delivered within two days. It was.

If I'd bought a no-name Chinese one, I'd doubtless ended up throwing the entire light away after wasting hours online and be forced to buy another. (Not fun, either---halogen lights are quite $pendy.)

George's (and Oklahoma Red's) Rule: Buy the best and cry only once.

LatakiaLover wrote:Example of American made vs. Asian made tools and related hardware:

A few weeks ago the power supply for an Electrix halogen task light in my shop went south. I couldn't find a replacement online, so called Electrix in Connecticut. Within 30 seconds (literally that fast... his secretary was who I'd been routed to when I told the switchboard lady why I was calling) the president of the company was on the phone and told me he'd take care of it personally. Just give him the model number and a new one would be delivered within two days. It was.

If I'd bought a no-name Chinese one, I'd doubtless ended up throwing the entire light away after wasting hours online and be forced to buy another. (Not fun, either---halogen lights are quite $pendy.)

George's (and Oklahoma Red's) Rule: Buy the best and cry only once.

I want to emphasize that I was not trying to get into a whizzing contest with dogcatcher inre who has the cheapest prices. I only want to point out the price gulf between imports and American made. Given a choice I will ALWAYS buy American. Unfortunately having such a buying choice these days is getting to be a rare event. The Chi-coms, in particular, have all our money and can run any American business they choose right off of the map and our panty-wearing government will do nothing to stop it. The most glaring example that affects pipe makers is small bench lathes. I'm just pointing out what we all already know.
BTW, I own three Electrix brand halogen task lights. Expensive? Yes. Worth it? HELL YES!
Yes, I am fully aware that not everyone can afford to buy American so please don't shoot the messenger.
I shall now get off of my soap box and go sit in the corner.

George I would say that your experience there had nothing to do with country of manufacture (the light failed after all), but rather to do with a retailer/distributor standing by their product and offering good customer service.

caskwith wrote:George I would say that your experience there had nothing to do with country of manufacture (the light failed after all), but rather to do with a retailer/distributor standing by their product and offering good customer service.

Actually, the American-made light didn't fail, only its separate Chinese-made inline transformer (which was the only foreign-made component. ) Electrix uses them because of a certification process that makes anything else cost-prohibitive. I had that conversation with the company president. I got the feeling that part of the reason for the great service was because he was personally embarrassed BY the situation.

In any event, tossing the entire light and replacing it would probably have been necessary if a new transformer couldn't have been found, and "phoning China" wasn't an option. (In-line transformers are plentiful and cheap but not interchangeable. Halogen requires "soft start" circuitry and a particular output profile to work properly).

So then my point is illustrated perfectly, you had good service because they kept spare Chinese made parts in stock. The result would have been the same if the whole item was Chinese.

You are missing the dynamic, I think.

Doesn't matter enough to keep on with this, though.

The issue is that this will be used on wood, not steel, not even brass, copper or aluminum. The wood won't wear it down like milling a chunk of steel. Another issue is this is a an error that he is trying to correct, a one time mistake not something that he plans on doing all of the time. This might be the only time he uses this tooling in his lifetime. There is not a lot of wisdom in spending extra dollars for the best of the best, when a cheap substitute will handle it.

If I am building a dog house, do I need to buy a $2000 Sure Stop table saw, or will a Ryobi $139 throw away saw handle the job? Assuming a one time building project with no other planned in the future it would be foolish to spend more on a saw than the cost of buying a complete built dog house.

LatakiaLover wrote:
In any event, tossing the entire light and replacing it would probably have been necessary if a new transformer couldn't have been found, and "phoning China" wasn't an option.

Know that you can phone* China anytime you want** I'm always available to talk***

Kiel

* international call rates applt
** I probably won't be able to help you
*** between the hours of 2:00a.m. and 5:00 eastern time