- Joined
- Feb 13, 2001
- Location
- Twin Cities
Three restarts and untold numbers of .050 drill bits have passed since my last mention of the capillary block. It took a design change or two to get it to the point of almost finished and I thought I'd give you an update.
You may remember these pictures from the "cathar is at it again..." thread:
and
Well, I kept snapping .050 inch bits. The tactile feedback from my 16-1/2 inch drill press was not sensitive enough to feel when it was time to retract and wipe off the particles. Despite three different kinds of drilling/tapping/milling oil and nine different drill speeds, they would seize enough to snap and believe me, it does not take much torque to snap them.
So, I had to increase the holes to .062 inch (1/16 inch) bits with .030 inch spacing. The total volume is about the same as the .050 holes, that being about 50% of the inlet barb. The 5/8 inch barb allowed me to hit all the holes in the new pattern after I reamed it out to 9/16 ID. Even at .062 inch holes, I snapped two bits but was able to retrieve them and keep going. The hardest part was not drilling all the holes so that they lined up, but rather milling the "sink hole" for the inlet barb without the benefit of a mill. Thank goodness the drill press table rotates. So, here's where I'm at so far:
What remains is to face the mating surfaces flat and solder them together to make one block. Then drill the mounting holes and lap it:
This will be my last hurrah of this season. Once the weather gets cold, I'll be back. I will write an article for the front page on experimenting with DIY blocks, when I'm done.
Hoot
You may remember these pictures from the "cathar is at it again..." thread:
and
Well, I kept snapping .050 inch bits. The tactile feedback from my 16-1/2 inch drill press was not sensitive enough to feel when it was time to retract and wipe off the particles. Despite three different kinds of drilling/tapping/milling oil and nine different drill speeds, they would seize enough to snap and believe me, it does not take much torque to snap them.
So, I had to increase the holes to .062 inch (1/16 inch) bits with .030 inch spacing. The total volume is about the same as the .050 holes, that being about 50% of the inlet barb. The 5/8 inch barb allowed me to hit all the holes in the new pattern after I reamed it out to 9/16 ID. Even at .062 inch holes, I snapped two bits but was able to retrieve them and keep going. The hardest part was not drilling all the holes so that they lined up, but rather milling the "sink hole" for the inlet barb without the benefit of a mill. Thank goodness the drill press table rotates. So, here's where I'm at so far:
What remains is to face the mating surfaces flat and solder them together to make one block. Then drill the mounting holes and lap it:
This will be my last hurrah of this season. Once the weather gets cold, I'll be back. I will write an article for the front page on experimenting with DIY blocks, when I'm done.
Hoot