Bent “Taper Drills”

[Moderatemixed]

Hey everyone. As I proceed down the path of life I am generally reminded why my grandfather had so much “junk” when he passed...... because of that age old adage; that as soon as you get rid of it, you’re going to need it! It is with this adage in mind that I pose this to the group.

I have drawers of odds and ends. During the Covit “break” I have been organizing and re jigging things in the shop. I came across some tapered shank drill bits that when put into the mill seem to wobble. They are apparently “bent”. Are they garbage or is there a reason to hang onto them?

Regards all.

Derek.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Martin W]

if it was me. I would hold onto them. How much wobble? Will they fit in the tail stock of your lathe? Sometimes you just need to get a hole drilled and not worry about accuracy. They are well made Cleavland drills . Not cheap to buy new. They should work on almost any drill press with a MT #3 taper. They look to need a good sharpening!

Cheers
Martin

 

[Moderatemixed]

Very good points. I have the equipment to sharpen them so I will set them aside to be sharpened and use them as you suggested; to just make a hole on the way to a precision one. I might shorten them as well, to “cancel out” some of the bend. Thanks for the reply!

Derek.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Martin W]

This video is in Russian but he reworked an old taper drill. Found it interesting.
cheers
martin

 

[matthewsx]

Why not put them in a press and straighten them?

John

 

[benmychree]

I look at the overall condition of them and note the poor condition of the shanks, especially, if I had others in good condition, I would toss them, but it might take years to actually do it ---

 

[MrWhoopee]

I can see the bend in one of them, meaning it's fairly significant. Makes one wonder how this was accomplished. I might be inclined to turn the shanks straight, making S&D drills out of them.

 

[cathead]

Maybe try straightening it with a pair of vee blocks and a mjolnir, quite possibly using a bit of heat.....

 

[Bob Korves]

I can see the bend in one of them, meaning it's fairly significant. Makes one wonder how this was accomplished. I might be inclined to turn the shanks straight, making S&D drills out of them.

First test them to see if the bends are in the shank, the drill, or both. Two V blocks, a press, and a dial indicator with some sort of stand would do the job. Indicate them at various points along the length, mark the high spots, and then use the indicator to press them as close as possible to straight, keeping track of the measured high, low, and spring loaded dimensions as you proceed, writing them down on a piece of paper so you have a feel for the issues and the improvements as you proceed. Be careful to not over bend the drills during the process. It is not difficult and is a really useful skill to have in the shop.

 

[WarrenP]

If