Extra long regular twist drill bits

[Random Orbital Bob]

I've hunted high and low for long drill bits incl Screwfix, Toolstation, Axy etc and to no avail.

I'm really after a chunky and long (8" if possible) twist drill for inserting into a turned handle for hand drilling into the end grain of chuck held blanks to facilitate the deep hollowing process. Just cant find any decent length ones anywhere.

Anyone any idea who stocks them please?

To be honest, 50p from a 2nd hand tool bin at a tool fair is really what I need as I can sharpen them myself, just cant find them.

 

[petermillard]

Lip & spur any good? eBay, here, or here for regular HSS. Depends how chubby you want them of course, seem to top out at 12-13mm.

I bought a set very similar to the first one in a blow-moulded case for about the same money from CPC but they don't seem to have them now. Decent enough for the number of times I'll use them.

HTH Pete

edited to add 2nd vendor

 

[Steve Maskery]

Long series twist drills do exist. I have a 4mm one. You may have to go to a proper engineers' merchants. I think mine came from Cromwell's.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Make one as per CHJs instructions for making a long hole borer - fixing a normal drill bit to a rod? I did mine by brazing without involving any machining.
Could you not mount it between centres and drill as a normal long hole?

 

[Monkey Mark]

How clean a cut does it need to have?
You could make one from steel rod. You would of course have to keep retracting it as there would be no flutes to eject the chips.
Or, depending on diameter needed (for joint clearance), use and extension rod.

 

[Monkey Mark]

You said chunky, but you didn't say how chunky.

https://www.cromwell.co.uk/shop/cutting ... s/39150603
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Joiners-Carpe ... pLMyK80JmA
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FAITHFULL-400 ... acTUNTj-eg
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bosch-Selfcut ... SwvgdW5ILP

 

[novocaine]

grinder plus welder plus rod plus drillbit.
you cut slots out the unfluted but of the drillbit.
you weld the rod to the back of the bit.

or regrind a masonary bit. they come in massive lengths.

(note, neither of these ideas is all that serious)

you could make a spoon bit though.

 

[oakmitre]

Irwin do 400 and 600mm long twist bits.

They are confusingly sometimes named as augers. So lumped in with them.

This site sells them,not 50p though ! And there is postage on top.they also sell on Amazon.I've been to the actual shop, but in store the prices are not the same and stock varies.

http://www.brooklyntrading.co.uk/catalo ... rwin+auger

 

[blackrodd]

These are available from Axminster, possibly a bit pricey, but look good quality though,_

http://www.axminster.co.uk/long-series- ... ts-ax21588
HTH Regards Rodders

 

[Eric The Viking]

grinder plus welder plus rod plus drillbit.
you cut slots out the unfluted but of the drillbit.
you weld the rod to the back of the bit.

Done that with a 3mm drill. It worked a treat and it's now about 400mm long. I used it for routes for lighting wires in a dolls house, through the MDF walls and floors, edgewise. The welding part was far easier than I expected - I just ground a bevel on the bar and the drill, and held them aligned in wooden jig. The bar is slightly thinner than the drill, meaning that alignment didn't need to be critical.

In use, drill a pilot/starter hole first, of the same diameter.

E.

 

[CHJ]

I've hunted high and low for long drill bits incl Screwfix, Toolstation, Axy etc and to no avail.

I'm really after a chunky and long (8" if possible) twist drill for inserting into a turned handle for hand drilling into the end grain of chuck held blanks to facilitate the deep hollowing process. Just cant find any decent length ones anywhere.

Anyone any idea who stocks them please?

To be honest, 50p from a 2nd hand tool bin at a tool fair is really what I need as I can sharpen them myself, just cant find them.

Bob, by chunky what diameter are you referring to? aren't you talking in the realms of something that is going to take some holding against the torque if just held in a hand.

Any reason why you can't use forstner bits and an extension held in a tailstock chuck?

 

[MusicMan]

Search also under Shell Auger and D-bit.

It's also possible to make a D-bit out of tool steel rod (Cromwells) of any reasonable diameter, for drilling up to 2 m deep, would that do you? More than 50p though. Let me know if you want details.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

Thanks for the replies folks. Chas, 1/2" was what I had in mind. I currently have a 3/8" one I made myself and that's fine to cope with the torque hand held (I've handled it). But it's the depth I cant get because none of them are long enough. I could of course use forsteners in the tailstock and do frequently but this is about speed and convenience. It's dead easy to mount the blank in a chuck, cone the centre with a skew and then hand drive a drill bit in to the hollowing depth. Doing it by hand I'm batch drilling a bunch of blanks for some flower pots I'm making and it just avoids the faff of rigging up the forstener and tailstock assembly.

I'll peruse the many and varied comments from folks when I get more time as I'm snowed today.

Thanks again to all for responding.

 

[CHJ]

Thanks for the replies folks. Chas, 1/2" was what I had in mind. ....

I'd be tempted to use Blacksmiths bits glued into wooden handles, the shanks in a tube extension of the wood handle or a metal extension.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/blacksmiths-d ... _container

 

[custard]

You could call Matthew at Workshop Heaven, if he doesn't stock them he'll happily order specialised bits in and he's always managed to get stuff to me within a few days.

Good luck!

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Ebay do extra long series twist drills, but for sizes large enough to get a turning tool in, even the cheapies are £50 or so.

Another possibility is making a spade drill. Piece of flat tool steel ground to a shape like a child's drawing of a house, with a bit of clearance to each 'roof' facet, glued to a steel or wooden rod. Since the 'spade' is usually wider than the shank, there's even chip clearance space.

 

[woodpig]

Irwin sell extra long spade bits. Not listed here but I have a 6mm as well. They weren't expensive either when I bought mine.

http://www.irwin.co.uk/tools/drill-bits ... 400mm-long

 

[Normancb]

Long series twist drills are pretty standard at engineers suppliers. MSC do a 12mm one with a flute length of 134 mm and overall 205 mm:

http://www.mscdirect.co.uk/DLE-10472B/S ... oduct.html

Not cheap though especially when you add their £5 delivery charge and the VAT

 

[MusicMan]

In the old days, for woodwind instruments, a shell auger with a large T handle would be used freehand after a small starting cone had been made, as you suggest. No tailstock. More usually for spindle turning, but it should succeed on cross-grain. It's the rotation of the work that keeps the auger centred.

There's an excellent thread featuring the late and great Richard T here: gouge-bits-don-t-t58164-15.html

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

Well what can I say....a very nice man called jimmy_s up Scotland way has kindly welded various bits of metal together for me, to be posted next week. What a thoroughly decent chap and yet again underlining the generosity of spirit inherent in the folks on this forum.

Thanks again Jimmy - very kind of you.