What am I doing wrong?

[Smitty]

Howdy all.
I have been having a problem for quite a while and can not figure out what I am doing wrong. I have a Craftsman drill press. It works just fine except when I try to drill knife blade stock. I usually make damascus with about a dozen layers. But even when I use the imported Indian damascus I have a problem.
The problem is that when I attempt to drill a 1/8" hole the drill starts cutting then after about a 32nd of an inch just stops making progress. If I maintain pressure all I get is friction. I have tried high speed, titanium bits and a bunch of other bits for hard steel. Also tried different speeds.
I usually start the hole in the handle then shift to a dremel tool with a diamond attachment.
Help.

[AUBE]

hmm.. if youve tried different speeds and drill bits then i would gues the problem would be the steel is too hard. maybe try annealing it. i use either titanium or carbide bits run at the slowest or second to slowest speeds on my delta drill press with no probs. if the drill is dull it will start to cut the steel then the friction can cause too much localized heat and it will actually case harden the material that the drill bit is trying to cut. so if your not using new/high quality drill bits try that. has the firesclae been ground off of the surface prior to drilling?

-Jason Aube

[cactusforge]

Use carbide bits and slow speed and be careful as thy are fragile. Gib

[Smitty]

Thanks. Will try your suggestions.

[Bearpaw]

At a home show, there was a demo on Rodman cobalt/tungsten tipped bits drilling holes in bearing races, Nicholson files cast iron etc. I bought the large set. Using the 3/16" bit I drilled rivet holes in 16 15n20 blade tangs with no problem. The bits are guarenteed, if broken or damaged, send it in and it will be replaced free. 1-800-228-1806

[Quenchcrack]

SMitty, I had the exact same problem! The first thing to check is the depth control setting on the side of the machine. I discovered mine worked loose and had allowed the jam nuts to wiggle all the way down the threaded shaft and stop the bit after about 1/8". However, after clearing that up (DUH!) I still had the problem but not on all bits. I concluded that the problem is just one of using dulled out bits. A Drill Doctor would cure this but for the price of a Drill Doctor, I can buy A LOT of 1/8" and 1/4" bits!

[jwfilion]

I have found after years as a machinist and drilling what seems like a billion holes in hard material, that there are certain rules that should be followed:

A sharp drill (cobalt, carbide etc.)
A sturdy setup
A slow RPM
A flooding coolant
A steady downfeed
A backing material beneath the blade as close as possible to the hardness of the blade. No backing or one of a much softer material will most assuredly contribute to drill breakage as the drill passes through.

These rules are not carved in stone, but are a good starting point. It seems every day that a new drill material or coating is developed. Yeah for us!