57/64th drill bit

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mwill135

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Stopped in to a local second hand metal supplier. They have lots of reclaimed metal. They also have tools, motors etc. They had a bin of new Chicago Latrobe 57/64th drill bits. I don't have many larger bits and for 2 bucks couldn't pass it up. Problem is I don't have a chuck to hold it. Would you make an adapter to hold the bit that would fit my chucks, or try and turn the bit shank to a smaller size?
 
Yes, most larger drills have soft shanks and are able to be recut; soft steel is welded to HSS blanks to form the shanks; cheaper than HSS material, and necessary to allow drill chucks to "bite" the shank, if they were too hard, they would easily spin in the chuck if pushed very hard.
 
After you turn the shank, you might have a 58/64" drill bit. :)
 
Tried turning shank down. Was going for 0.500 diameter and about 1" length. At about the 3/4 point (length) metal transitioned to hardened. I ended up with a 0.500 diameter by 0.750 length. Seems to run true in drill press. Since it's primarily for hogging out material I think it will be ok. Would have liked to have gotten a little more length for gripping. Thoughts?
 
Shop for a deal on a bigger chuck? That's a big bit. I'd try to grind that hardened portion in a cutter grinder or tool post grinder.
 
It is water under the bridge, but I would not have turned the shank until I had an immediate need for using the drill. When you finally need to use it for some project, your mod may have made it unusable for the job. I have quite a few tools and tooling that I have no current need to use them for, and I leave them like they are. When I have a use for them, or one of my buddies does, then we will make them fit the job as needed. Just saying, don't close any doors...
 
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