Stuck Drill Bit

[bloodysafety]

So last night I found out the hard way that stopping the bit in Lucite is a bad thing. I was drilling out the last of the stem when the chuck slipped. by the time I got the bit re-chucked, the lucite had cooled, trapping my bit; in my efforts to remove it I torqued off the bit flush with the stem end so i cant get a hold of it w/ pliers. Any ideas on how to get it out? I was thinking just cut it out but I would like to save the stem if possible

[Jos]

Hi,

this has happened to me some five or six times, up to now - always with the tiny little 1,5 - 2 mm drill bits when drilling the airway at the bit. Once a little heat and a drop of WD-40 solved the problem (this drill bit rest looked out of the rod a few mm), 2 stem-wannabes had to be thrown away, and once I solved the problem by cutting off the part with the stuck drill in it.
Last time, I solved the problem by opening up the bit slot with a dremel cutting tool (like this:http://www.dremel.com/en-us/Attachments ... px?pid=569), until I could grip the stuck drill bit with a fine pincer, and pull it out.
Next time, use drilling fluid - a drop of WD-40 will do the trick ...

Regards, Jens

[Sasquatch]

Soapy water works really well to when you are machining lucite.

The trouble you are going to find is that you probable had things hot in there, and the lucite melted and re-hardened and grabbed the bit. I'm gonna guess the thing doesn't come out easy.

But soapy water keeps the temperature down when you are grinding away at lucite, and provides a bit of lube as well.

Better luck next time.

[bloodysafety]

Thanks much guys! I ended up just shortening the stem a bit. But I'll keep those tricks in mind for next time(later today)!