Does a Dremel have enough torque to drill Zamac?

If the drill bit is sharp, and lubricated properly, a Dremel should have no problem if it's run at the higher speeds.

No problem. Get a can of Tap Magic to use as a lubricant and use a slow drill speed to avoid loading the flutes with melted chips. Use high speed steel drills for best economy. Cobalt, carbide and TiN drills are unneccessary for zinc alloy metal drilling. If you can't find Tap Magic, get some kerosine and use that. Diesel fuel will do OK also, but stinks.

.........F>

Dremel most definitely works, as others have suggested -- make sure you lube the sharp drill bit. The drill press is a must for accurate drilling (and drill bits not breaking). Just don't push the drill bit into the frame too hard. Let the motor/bit do the work.

Aww cmon!! It don't stink! It's the lifeblood of the modern locomotive! :-)

And it might have a little bit better lubricating property than the kerosene as it helps lubricate the fuel injectors as it is used.

I just had to say something about the stink part though. ;-) I part time on motor coaches and get the smell on my shoes every once in a while when re- fueling. To some people it is an objectionable odor and I understand that.

Al Butler ka0ies

Like kerosene don't stink???

I use sewing machine oil. The chips tend to float out. Something to do with viscosity?

Jay CNS&M North Shore Line - "First and fastest"

I like to use a lubricant for both drilling and tapping. Over the years I've used nearly everything (3 in 1, 30wt motor oil, WD40, Marvel Mystery oil). One seems to work about as well as another. I'll keep my eyes open for "Tap Magic" though.

David J. Starr

Almost any bona-fide lubricant will do. The advantage of Tap Magic, and some of the others, is that they are especially engineered to be used as machining lubricants. They have additives to enhance chip flushing and cooling. Its sort of like the difference between putting butter on your toast instead of beef tallow.

.............F>

Something to do with

Magic, and some of the

machining lubricants.

sort of like the

tallow.

Froggy,

Where do you find this 'TapMagic'?

The local Lowe's, Home Depot, and Ace Hardware folks just gave me a blank look when I asked about it.

-- Len Head Rust Scraper KL&B Eastern Lines RR Museum

Start here:

If you're drilling into a steam locomotive frame, is it OK to use coal instead? :-)

"Tap Magic" (several varieties) can be found at most machinist's supply stores. MSC, J&L, Wholesale Tool, KBC, etc. A Google search on any of those should get you a source. All have outlets in many major cities, and most do mail order.

Dan Mitchell ==========

Len wrote:

Indeed yes it is "Coal oil" will work just fine. . . . . . .........that is, if you can find any anymore We used to get it from the Coal & Ice delivery man, but that was a while ago. ~Quite~ a while ago, in fact.

...........F>

me

some.

Thanks for the URL, I gave them a call and got the name of the local distributor. I'll call them Monday to find out who the local retailers are, or if I can get it direct from them.

-- Len Head Rust Scraper KL&B Eastern Lines RR Museum

Probably any good "cutting fluid" would probably work, should be available at any good hardware store.

Don

I'm really confused now. Regarding drilling Zamac castings, first:

Then, second,

One recommendation for slow speed, one recommendation for high speed.

Both recommend really sharp bits and lubrication.

Can it be that for drilling thin metals (and Zamac castings are thin, it ain't 1/2 inch bar stock) that the two keys to drilling success are sharp, sharp bits and lots of lube to keep the bits cool and the flutes free of metal chaff?

I truly have no real experience with Zamac nor with much metal working at all and I don't know what the better approach is.

It just seems odd that two knowledgeable folks like Froggy and Sean would have such diametrically opposed techniques for drilling Zamac. Not trying to start an argument here, but just trying to learn a bit (uggh. that pun was unintended) about metalworking.

Thoughts?

Thanks.

-- Jim McLaughlin

Please don't just hit the reply key. Remove the obvious from the address to reply.

Well, what's confusing you is the fact the slow speed for a Dremel is still high speed for drilling metal. Use the slowest speed you can on the Dremel. If you're lucky enough to have a _real_ drill press, use an even lower speed there. Maybe even just use it for positioning, and turn the chuck by hand!

High speed and small drills are a bad mix. They can overheat and lose their temper (hardness) before you know it. Save the high speeds for sanding and grinding. Drill at the Dremel's lowest possible speed.

On Sat, 03 Jan 2004 18:28:31 GMT, "Jim McLaughlin" wrote:

The drill speed depends on a lot of factors. Some of them are:

Type of drill Composition of material being drilled Thickness of material Diameter of hole

and there are others as well.

If you want the proper results you need to use the correct drill RPM and feed rate. Now, admittedly, this is not the easiest thing to do with a Dremel drill press, but you need to try to stay in the acceptable range to the greatest extent possible. There are all sorts of charts and guidelines for machining parameters available from tool sellers, book stores and on the internet. Generally, the larger a drill, the slower its optimum speed will be. This is not always the case, but is a good rule of thumb, especially for the home workbench environment. The material in the workpiece has also to be considered as well. You can run a handheld router at 30,000 RPM and take a quarter-inch cut off the edge of a piece of wood with no problem. try that with a piece of aluminum* and you will kill yourself. If not from actual injury, then from fright. Where this is all going is: if you run the drill too fast in zamac or other aluminum alloys you will generate enough heat such that the workpiece will melt and gald (stick-to) the tool. When that happens your tool will become unbalanced and will chatter and wobble. You will also enlarge the hole to a greater diameter than desired PLUS you will have a conical hole instead of a cylindrical one, in short, a ruined workpiece. Perhaps a ruined tool as well. Generally, you will not injure a drill or workpiece by drilling to slow so long as you lubricate and keep the chips flushed out. since you are not a machinist doing production work, there is no need to go as fast as possible. My perception here is that you are interested more in the quality of the work than the speed at which you can produce identical parts. So then, take your time, measure twice and cut once. Use the WWW to look-up drill speeds and materials and enjoy your leisure time.

• aluminium for certain residents of the British Isles

................F>

Distribution:

Good Lord people, we're talking about a #50 drill and number 2 screw! Unless you're drilling a 2 inch deep hole you ought to be able to do this with a pin vise. I just mounted Kadee coupler boxes on a pair of older P2K FA's and it took me less than 15 minutes. And I'm not a professional by an any stretch. If I had used my Dremel(couldn't find it) it might have taken me 10 minutes. And I'd never use it for the actual tapping process; much easier to control the tapping and chip clearing by hand.

Steve

Trainman ( snipped-for-privacy@prodigy.net) wrote: : Probably any good "cutting fluid" would probably work, should be available : at any good hardware store.

: Don

: > >

: > > >Froggy, : > > >

: > > >Where do you find this 'TapMagic'? : > > >

: > > >The local Lowe's, Home Depot, and Ace Hardware folks just gave : > me : > > >a blank look when I asked about it. : > > >-- : > >

: > >

: > > Start here: : > >

: > >

: > > Post back if you don't find what you want and I'll find you : > some. : > > .........F>

: >

: > Thanks for the URL, I gave them a call and got the name of the : > local distributor. I'll call them Monday to find out who the : > local retailers are, or if I can get it direct from them. : > -- : > Len : > Head Rust Scraper : > KL&B Eastern Lines RR Museum : >