Thread: Morse taper drill recommendations

Thats not a bad Idea PDW I know I have about 4 1" drills and a 50mm one which is useless on my machines

For the hobbyist with a smaller lathe MT drills are not really that great . They are expensive and usually lack a range of sizes like you would get in a set of normal drills . Also if you break one it's a bigger financial setback than a normal drill and the risk of damaging the tail stock taper surface is a possibility if it breaks the tab . A much better option is to put the money into a quality tail stock chuck like a Jacobs and use normal drills .
If you are making the same product over and over then a few MT drills can be ok . MT 2 restricts what size you could get anyway.
The correct way to drill out a big hole with steps of drill size is. After center drilling the pilot hole should be slightly larger than the thickness of the web of the next bigger drill.
The web is measured across the end of the drill between the flutes . So you choose a dill size that the lathe can handle easy and measure the web and make the first hole with that first drill slightly larger than the web. Then choose the next drill with a web slightly smaller than the hole you already have , working the final diameter drill in as necessary .

This may result in cutting more out at a time than you might otherwise do with many multiple steps but I have found that it works way better and smoother and produces less grabbing and heat and more accurate holes due to the centre of the drill having the correct support width of cut as opposed to a drill cutting right out on it's edges more like a reamer or ina too small pilot hole. I hope I have got that explained right doing it is one thing , writting it down right is another .
Once you have a good tailstock chuck it can be used for other tools also.

Sometimes I buy larger second hand drills , machine down the shank to a smaller parallel size , resharpen them and use them to hog out bigger holes .
However the secondhand tool maket is just about dead now in my area and ebay.
Over 25mm diameter I go to a boring bar to make any hole bigger it's slow but less stressfull than big hot running drills .
Peck drilling may still be required . Coolant is always a good idea.

Thank you all for the very good advice. Bryan or anyone else, could you tell me how much runout one should expect from a drill?

Ew, who is Fred? BobL?

Thanks,
Joe

Runout from good twist drills should be minimal.

That said runout can be caused by other things than just the quality of the drill.

If using in a drill press not very much at all as long as everything is running true,the same as in the lathe.

If the lathe spindle is not true to the bed you will get runout.

If the tailstock is not true to the spindle you will get runout.

If using a chuck in the tailstock and this is not holding the drill true you will get runout.

If you are using long series drills of small diameter you will get runout.

If you dont centre punch or use a centre drill or spotting drill you will get runout.

The length of the drilled hole can give you runout.

The actual amount of runout will depend on a lot od different things.

All very good points pipeclay and something to think about but I really meant (and I'm not sure that it's the correct term) the run-out of the drill itself. Bryan wrote about checking for it with a drill press and the way I read it I assumed the test described is to check for how round it has been manufactured.

I would expect zero to maybe .001"

Originally Posted by jmebgo

Ew, who is Fred? BobL?

Oh dear....there goes my marbles!
I swear bigshed (Fred) posted early on on the thread but now i see he didn't it was BobL.....

Freds lathe is a newer asian machine so it has no back gear as far as i am aware, hance the comment about the back gears.

Ew

Originally Posted by Ueee

Oh dear....there goes my marbles!
I swear bigshed (Fred) posted early on on the thread but now i see he didn't it was BobL.....

I'm not worried about it but this is not the first time this has happened.

I was called Jim for most of my primary school years, and I have been called plenty of unmentionable names too

I can't see the point of buying morse taper drills.

I use an E32 collet in the tailstock.

That way you can use the drills in other equipment.

I used to use a Metabo key chuck on a morse arbor, but the ER is way better accuracy wise and also it does not allow the drills to slip.

Just another option to think about.

Rob

Originally Posted by jmebgo

Thank you all for the very good advice. Bryan or anyone else, could you tell me how much runout one should expect from a drill?

Joe I'm no authority but I'd agree a thou or less would be ideal, although another factor is how well it's been ground. I mean even if the runout is perfect on the flutes, as soon as it starts to cut it's likely to wobble because the lip lengths will be uneven by at least a few thou. I'm thinking of a drill press here; tailstocks are more forgiving. Drills are only for roughing anyway so don't get too uptight about 'em.

Rob, the question was about larger sizes, I think between 1/2" and 1". Your collet chuck would go to 20mm; what do you use above that, reduced shanks? Boring bars?

I find MT2 handy. I can use them in a drill press and 2 lathes. (I would like a couple of native MT4s in bigger sizes.) I use ordinary drill chucks for sub 1/2", and never really had a slipping problem. I also have a MT2 collet chuck I could use for small stuff but never seen the need for the extra fiddling.

What I do like about newer m/t drills is the longer flute length for deep drilling.

(except when you buy an imperial set and the one marked 5/8 is actually just under 17mm)

Ken

[QUOTE=Bryan;

Rob, the question was about larger sizes, I think between 1/2" and 1". Your collet chuck would go to 20mm; what do you use above that, reduced shanks? Boring bars?
[/QUOTE]

Yes and yes.

I have reduced shanks from 1/2" right through to 1".

I also use boring bars when required.

I have nothing against taper drills, but wouldn't buy any as they're too restrictive in application (especially when you consider their cost).

Rob

Originally Posted by nearnexus

I have nothing against taper drills, but wouldn't buy any as they're too restrictive in application (especially when you consider their cost).

Here is a price comparison between the CTC MTs and RS bits ranging in size from 14 to 25 mm.
All up, a set of MTs in these sizes costs 4% more.



The RS bits do weigh less so there is an additional saving in shipping which increases the difference to 12% - still not a big deal in my book.

Hi Rob,
How are taper shank drills restrictive?

Keep in mind, you really should not use a drill chuck to drill a hole bigger than its max size. So if you have a 20mm drill with a 12mm shank and put it in a good 1-12mm chuck you will eventually ruin the accuracy of the chuck.

I can use a taper shank drill in the lathe, or the mill. If and when i get a big drill press i'll use them in that too. Really what is the difference between having a 25mm staright shank and a taper shank? Its not like you would put a drill like that in a hand drill.....

Ew