--- In
Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "jerrytr2.com" <jerry@...> wrote:
>
> --- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "jerrytr2.com" <jerry@>
> wrote:
> > ∗∗∗ Just got back from the kitchen sink. The board is GORGEOUS.
>
> ∗∗∗ And yesterday I ran to the store and bought the dremel drill
> press attachment to drill the holes. Worked great! Stuffed the
> board last
> night, and it just worked. Well, except that my TO3 transistor got
> too hot. Gonna have to heatsink that thing, which is going to pork
> things up considerably. Or I might mount it remotely on a heatsink
> or on the back of the chassis....
>
> This morning, I spent a bit of quality time with various
> components and a dial caliper. Thinking about drill bits here. My
> quarter watt resistors have .018" dia leads, augat machine sockets
> have .019" pins, etc etc.
>
> Yesterday while drilling I noticed that my drill bits were mostly
> way too small or way too big. I had purchased an assortment from
> Jameco. Most small parts have lead diameters between .018 and .040.
> And Jameco only lists two drill sizes in that range - #75 at .021 and
> #59 at .040. Jameco's prices are reasonable at less than $2 a bit.
>
> Digikey OTOH has the same limited stock, and their prices are through
> the roof. $8/bit and up. They have priced themselves out of the
> Jerry drill bit market.
>
> Harbor Freight has an assortment of 50 bits for $10. Has anybody
> bought this one? Are the sizes useful?
>
>
> - Jerry Kaidor
>
Jumping in here: The best bits to use (from my experience) are the
carbide bits. They are super-sharp, cut beautifully, and stay sharp
MUCH longer than HSS bits. I get mine from Drill Bit City
(
http://www.drillbitcity.com/). They sell resharpened bits, which are
much better priced than new. They often have specials on various sets
of bits and, if you don't see a set that will suit your needs, they'll
make up whatever you need.
Carbide bits are VERY brittle, so you need to be careful. If your bit
is off-axis at all it will break. If you have one of the newer Dremel
chucks you'll have to make sure the bit doesn't wobble, but the
carbide bits are worth the effort.
flight