Drill a SQUARE HOLE in a round shaft !

[aschumacher]

A friend sent me this email that is really quite different. Drilling square holes on solid metal.
Special thanks to KentuckyKen who found a working URL for me to post here.
Note on the side of the site there are other references to square drilling, guess its not as new and novel as I thought, oh well.
Ken were you aware of this process ??
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALiqAXiTQBg&feature=player_embedded#!
<font size="-1">OK, dont know why it wount activate, pls copy & paste. A.</font>

 

[mpatterson]

Now THAT is neat! It's new to me, have never heard or seen anything like that! Now, can we buy a bit in North America to do that on a regular drill press? Or do we all need to buy a $125,000.00 milling machine?
Thanks for sharing that, really cool!

 

[digger]

CLICK HERE

 

[gcoleman]

my mind is officially and completely blown

...that is ingenious. And I thought "the clapper" was genius. haha.

 

[aschumacher]

Charlie...<font size="-2">Thanks for fixing that. </font>

 

[kshultz]

So, why would I need a square hole?

 

[mpatterson]

Something to put a carrige bolt into when fabricating something. Like a new trailer for behind a Cub!

 

[dfrisk]

I heard about those bits/cutters way back when I worked for the machine tool company back in the mid/late 1990's. They were developed either in the US or Europe, but YES, they are available in the US. But don;t plan on getting the full set unless you win the BIG Lottery!

I've tried to do some milling with my bench top drill press. I used it because it was shorter and I hoped more rigid than my floor standing drill press. I can 100% positively assure you that a drill press is NOT a mill. It's not even CLOSE to being as rigid which allows the cutting tools to wobble around with terrible results for both the machining trying to be done and an early death to the cutting tool. I had four holes in some 1/2" thk steel plate I wanted to make into slots about 5/8" wide and an inch to 1-1/4" long. I started with a brand new 1/2" solid carbide 4-flute double-ended end mill and I got my slots made, but they were ugly, and the one end of the end mill was destroyed.

I've given up trying to find an old Bridgeport verticle mill. They're either absolutely beat to death or sell for crazy high money. I'll maybe get an imported off-brand mill from some place like ENCO when I have to give SON back his floor standing Delta drill press.

 

[cmwkrill]

(to make larger slots) could you not carefully drill very small holes in a square pattern, heat it enough to knock it out with a hammer, and file the inside? just a thought.

 

[aschumacher]

Charles, in certain situations you could try your way, say in sheet metal or some types of wood. I used that method to put a hole in a masonary wall for my dryer vent.
I think the main idea for this type of cutter is for solid blocks of metal where putting a hole thru the item is not intended. I think in industry a thru square hole would be drilled round, then finished square with some type of broach.

 

[digger]

Speaking of square hole punches.
I've got a 2 sets that go from 1/4" to 4" that I used back in my working days doing commercial/industrial electric work, and I use that term loosely, LOL
This is for thin stuff, 12 gauge and under.

This is for up to 5/16 mild steel and stainless.

Anything bigger got taken to the laser!

 

[wshytle]

This went around a few months back somehow. I may have seen it on wimpdotcom. It even explains in writing as you go.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9orX-GmdVoc

The slow motion photography is pretty cool.

 

[aschumacher]

Took me a few looks, but there are 3 cutting edges on that mill. Yes slow motion is cool !

Charlie, Ah yes, good 'ole Greenlee chassis punches !