[Big_Baller]

OK so I am making a waterblock for my video card. I have a 3/4 inch thick piece of copper. my main problem right now is that I don't have a mill. I have a drill press and a dremel. I have drilled out several holes and now I need to cut out the areas in between them so that I just have small pieces of copper sticking up like crude fins.

Heres the problem. I am having trouble doing this. The drill press just walks and wont actually bore out the small areas. I don't know of what tip would eat the copper that easy for my dremel. I brought a tungston carbide tip but it just broke. I think it was defective but I am at a loss.

Is there some tip that will eat through copper easy?

I might just use my copper cap and buy a small flat piece of copper at this rate. I already spent $20 on the copper ( I have a lot left over). I also dont have a way to braze the top to the bottom piece. I am thinking that I can sodder it with a torch.

Any thoughts? Thanks.

[Aeon Flux]

Originally Posted by Big_Baller

OK so I am making a waterblock for my video card. I have a 3/4 inch thick piece of copper. my main problem right now is that I don't have a mill. I have a drill press and a dremel. I have drilled out several holes and now I need to cut out the areas in between them so that I just have small pieces of copper sticking up like crude fins.

Heres the problem. I am having trouble doing this. The drill press just walks and wont actually bore out the small areas. I don't know of what tip would eat the copper that easy for my dremel. I brought a tungston carbide tip but it just broke. I think it was defective but I am at a loss.

Is there some tip that will eat through copper easy?

I might just use my copper cap and buy a small flat piece of copper at this rate. I already spent $20 on the copper ( I have a lot left over). I also dont have a way to braze the top to the bottom piece. I am thinking that I can sodder it with a torch.

Any thoughts? Thanks.

Copper is pretty soft. First thing to do is put it on your stove and get it incridebly hot. After heating it put it under water and cool it very quickly. The colder the water the better. Just run cold water in your faucet and run it under your faucet. I forget what this is called off hand. Sorry Im in a hurry.

If you did it right the copper will turn a bright shiny color.

After that get a standard metal bit for your drill press. Now that the copper is heated it shouldnt have a problem cutting it. Make sure you clamp the copper down when you are milling it.

You can also use a hand drill but again the bit will walk itself very easily. You have to have a lot of muscle and patients to do it with a hand drill.

Also look online for the design for a dimple block. Since you have a drill press its the best design and also the best performance design of all. Anyway Ill follow up later, Im in Lancaster PA and a flash storm is now hitting us and I have to get my computer off.

[greenman100]

I sure hope tempering the metal like that doesn't change the thermal properties.

don't solder together, use RTV

and you can drill it, patience is key, and you may want to use a happer + punch to start the hole

[VballCoach]

first off, you should try going to your local scrap metal yard. I get my copper bar stock for $1/lb. I use 3/8" copper stock.
When drilling, use a lot of lubricant. I use CRC 2-26 spray lubricant. Go slow when 'pressing' your drill. Don't rush it or you'll break your bit in the copper.
I made both my cpu and vga block using 'rotor' pin-grid pattern. Not sure if his site is still there but it's got great info. When connecting the 'dots', I use a high speed grinder (pneumatic). I also use a Roto-Zip to bore out the pins I don't want. The pic below is what I made using the above tools. I soldered mine but I've also used structural adhesive. Hope this helps...