Drilling in white metal

[joelwideqvist]

I have a couple of issues to take care of when building an S27 ZX-RR kit. I need to drill holes for most of the screws and for some other adjustments. My problem is that this is my first metal part build and as I don't want to ruin it I thought I'd better ask what kind of drills to use for this purpose. I have the standard Tamiya mini drill bits and some larger ones of the same kind, are these ok to use as the white metal is soft or should I use some bits made specially for metal purposes?
/Joel

[klutz_100]

I just used regular mini-drills in my pin vice/vise and it worked fine.

As you say, white metal is pretty soft but you still need to be careful not to snap the thinner drill bits (e.e. 0,2-0,4mm)

HTH

[joelwideqvist]

Ok, thanks, I'll give it a try!
/Joel

[Captain Mark]

Yep, I agree with Klutz - the Tamiya drill bits are fine in white metal. The smaller ones are also very easy to break if you're not careful, so take care!

[bobss396]

If you can possibly center punch the locations, the drill won't have the tendency to walk off. Use a small sharp center punch if you have one. A pocket scriber or awl will also work for your smallest holes, just give it a tap with a tack hammer.

Bob

[Murray Kish]

Something I've learned recently with the whole jump into the machining world...

When drilling in metal using small drills, there's a technique where you only drill a little bit at a time, and keep removing the drill bit to clear the chips. It's kinda like 'pecking' at the hole. Drill about 1mm at a time, then remove the bit, then go at it again. Apparently this helps preserve the bits and reduce the chance of breaking them. Might be something to try in white metal too??

Murray