Is this my fault or PSI's?

[Scooley01]

I was drilling some ebony a minute ago, and my brand new 10mm Gorilla Grind drill bit snapped in half, the drill chuck flew out of my lathe across the shop, which of course ripped my blank in half also.

I've never had a drill bit break on me...especially one this thick! Is this something that I did wrong, or is this a shoddy part from PSI? I'll be returning it either way, but it sets me back a bit which is disappointing Does HF carry 10mm bits?

 

[ragz]

Did it chatter as you drilled before it broke?

 

[Richard Gibson]

Don't know if HF carries them but Woodcraft does.

 

[Scooley01]

Nope, there was no warning at all. A little smoke came from the blank, but I've had that happen before on the harder woods like ebony. I'm lucky the bit (either piece) didn't do some damage to myself or anyone else. I doubt my goggles would have stopped a 10mm sharp piece of metal!

 

[wiset1]

...Even more reason to wear eye protection. I would ask for a replacement if it's new. Contact PSI via phone or PM Ed Levy here on the IAP. Could have been an issue with hardening...sounds cool, but really...I have no idea.

 

[cacardon]

Drill bits shouldn't break unless there is a lot of sideways force while drilling, they get dull and I've even had them bend but never break that high up. In the Corps being a mechanic we drill everything even in my metal shop they don't break that high up. I'd take it back

 

[hunter-27]

Not likely the fault of you OR PSI. Most likely a flaw at the manufacturer.

 

[Scooley01]

Do you think it's probably a general flaw in the manufacturing process, or just a defect in my bit? Should I ask PSI to replace the bit with the same item, or a different one?

I'm mostly frustrated because if I have to wait to ship the broken bit back, then wait for PSI to ship a new one, that puts me a week behind on this order.

 

[hunter-27]

Probably just the bit, it is an odd place to break a bit that size. I understand the frustration of not having local options.

 

[Fibonacci]

Tell us more about the drill chuck coming out. What did your setup look like?

I have had bits break off high like that, but it was a result of twisting on the bit while I was drilling. If your chuck was not tight in the tailstock, perhaps it started to come out, then the bit got twisted and everything went flying.

 

[Rollingrock]

Use a 25/64" bit, you can buy them at any hardware/HD/Lowes.
Provides a better fit and cheaper than metric 10mm.

 

[LeeR]

I had a carbide tipped router bit break, and that sure made me glad I had safety glasses on. It was one bit from a 3-bit set from Grizzly. I called them, and they shipped me a replacement set, and said to keep the two remaining bits from the original set.

That is the kind of support I've come to expect. I think I'd be irritated if I had to return the broken product first, and wait awhile for a replacement. I'll have to admit I haven't really done more than a couple returns in my 35+ years of woodworking. (OK, I just gave you a clue that in my advancing years, I've become more impatient and pretty demanding ... )

A few weeks ago I returned a broken Craftsman ratchet wrench that I got in the mid 70s. I wasn't sure Sears still offered their lifetime replacement. The kid at the register had a drawer full of replacements, and swapped it out for me without any question. I was pretty impressed.

 

[Pete275]

If you have a chance to come to Houston there is a Woodcraft and a Rockler. Thought I'd throw that out there in case you have reason to come.

Wayne

 

[crabcreekind]

Save yourself the hassle and get a 10mm colt drill bit. They will last forever and they will most definetly not break! They are as super sharp and drill like butter
http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2080206/28253/Colt-Pen-Maker-Bit-Set-5pc.aspx
this is a set but, u should b able to find one at a wc store

 

[Justturnin]

Do you think it's probably a general flaw in the manufacturing process, or just a defect in my bit? Should I ask PSI to replace the bit with the same item, or a different one?

I'm mostly frustrated because if I have to wait to ship the broken bit back, then wait for PSI to ship a new one, that puts me a week behind on this order.

I had a worm screw threads sheer off and PSI just asked for pics emailed to replace. When you call let them know you are in a bind now and need the bit asap and it would be appreciated it they moved it along as fast as they can.

 

[Smitty37]

look at the broken ends

If you look at the broken ends, if there is a flaw you can usually see it as a partial void or lump of foreign material or something.

That being said if you get enough torque from your lathe, and the bit binds it can break, particularily if it is hot and it will break at it's weakest point, it simply twists off, like twisting any metal when you want to break it....My lathe doesn't develop enough torque to do that, it will just stop the lathe with that size bit binding.

 

[hunter-27]

If you look at the broken ends, if there is a flaw you can usually see it as a partial void or lump of foreign material or something.

That being said if you get enough torque from your lathe, and the bit binds it can break, particularily if it is hot and it will break at it's weakest point, it simply twists off, like twisting any metal when you want to break it....My lathe doesn't develop enough torque to do that, it will just stop the lathe with that size bit binding.

Agree. A clear pic of the broken "ends" would surely give a good idea of this.

 

[dogcatcher]

the drill chuck flew out of my lathe across the shop.

I am going to say this was operator error, a improperly set up drill chuck. When it came it came loose in the tailstock, it twisted a little sideways causing the snapped bit.

 

[Scooley01]

I assumed that the torque on the breaking bit pulled the chuck out of the taper, but there's always a chance that I've done something wrong. How should a drill chuck be set up?

At any rate, this makes me want to go back to the drill press!

 

[ctubbs]

Steven, I tried the lathe for drilling and gave it up except for the most critical blanks, too slow, too hard, too many times the chuck pulled out of the tail stock. I went back to the DP after a lengthy thread here. Sometimes, the only way to get that hole in a blank is going to be the lathe, otherwise, ol' impatient me will be standing by the DP pulling the handle.
Charles

 

[Scooley01]

My problem with the DP was that I always felt like my hole went through the blank at an angle...or the hole was too wide for the tube, which made me thing my cheapo DP had a wobble in it or something.

 

[cwolfs69]

call psi, explain what happened. i am sure they will sen you another for replacement. i have never had a problem with them doing the right thing for bad parts.
by the way that is not normal, but not unheard of for a drill. During the heat treatment process it could have developed a micro crack and failed there while drilling. remember, in the QC process, not every drill is inspected using equipment that would locate that on that level of drill. if they did we could not afford to buy them.
just call PSI.

 

[Ambidex]

I've used 7, 8, 10mm's and the 3/8ths that come in the pack from psi..not had a prob in the drill press, in fact am very happy with them. Much better than the 3 I bought from WC and broke 2 of the drill tips of inside of 75 blanks..But anyway guessing manufacture defect.

 

[THarvey]

If you look at the broken ends, if there is a flaw you can usually see it as a partial void or lump of foreign material or something.

That being said if you get enough torque from your lathe, and the bit binds it can break, particularily if it is hot and it will break at it's weakest point, it simply twists off, like twisting any metal when you want to break it....My lathe doesn't develop enough torque to do that, it will just stop the lathe with that size bit binding.

Also, if there was an issue when hardening the bit, you could see some color variation at the broken edge.

However, since you sake the drill chuck came out of the lathe, I am prone to believe the chuck was loose and contributed to the binding that broke the bit. A sudden allignment shift will snap a drill bit.

 

[Scooley01]

Just got off the phone with PSI, the man I spoke with sounded as surprised as I was that it snapped! He put me on hold for a minute or two, then came back and said he was going to send me a new one, and did I want the same bit or a different one! He didn't even ask to see a picture of the broken one. Thumbs up to PSI's customer service!

 

[Smitty37]

I'm not sure..

If you look at the broken ends, if there is a flaw you can usually see it as a partial void or lump of foreign material or something.

That being said if you get enough torque from your lathe, and the bit binds it can break, particularily if it is hot and it will break at it's weakest point, it simply twists off, like twisting any metal when you want to break it....My lathe doesn't develop enough torque to do that, it will just stop the lathe with that size bit binding.

Also, if there was an issue when hardening the bit, you could see some color variation at the broken edge.

However, since you sake the drill chuck came out of the lathe, I am prone to believe the chuck was loose and contributed to the binding that broke the bit. A sudden allignment shift will snap a drill bit.

My chuck comes loose often and all it does is start spinning. Usually the chuck doesn't even come all the way out of the taper because there's no place for it to go and it surely doesn't whip around -- it just spins. It almost always happens when I am backing the drill out to clean the hole or let things cool down.

 

[GrantH]

Okay, I had this happen as well on a 7mm.

My problem was that my Drill Chuck actually released from my tail stock morse taper. That is the absolute only way the chuck is going to leave the lathe. At least in my mind. So my question is, did it happen as you were backing out of the blank or what?

 

[GrantH]

If you look at the broken ends, if there is a flaw you can usually see it as a partial void or lump of foreign material or something.

That being said if you get enough torque from your lathe, and the bit binds it can break, particularily if it is hot and it will break at it's weakest point, it simply twists off, like twisting any metal when you want to break it....My lathe doesn't develop enough torque to do that, it will just stop the lathe with that size bit binding.

Also, if there was an issue when hardening the bit, you could see some color variation at the broken edge.

However, since you sake the drill chuck came out of the lathe, I am prone to believe the chuck was loose and contributed to the binding that broke the bit. A sudden allignment shift will snap a drill bit.

My chuck comes loose often and all it does is start spinning. Usually the chuck doesn't even come all the way out of the taper because there's no place for it to go and it surely doesn't whip around -- it just spins. It almost always happens when I am backing the drill out to clean the hole or let things cool down.

If I am reading correctly, you only drill the 2 or so inches that the tail stock allows for movement? If thats the case, the chuck would b sort of on an axle when it lets loose so it would spin. If you drill using the lock for the tail stock, worse can happen.

 

[Smitty37]

Yes

If you look at the broken ends, if there is a flaw you can usually see it as a partial void or lump of foreign material or something.

That being said if you get enough torque from your lathe, and the bit binds it can break, particularily if it is hot and it will break at it's weakest point, it simply twists off, like twisting any metal when you want to break it....My lathe doesn't develop enough torque to do that, it will just stop the lathe with that size bit binding.

Also, if there was an issue when hardening the bit, you could see some color variation at the broken edge.

However, since you sake the drill chuck came out of the lathe, I am prone to believe the chuck was loose and contributed to the binding that broke the bit. A sudden allignment shift will snap a drill bit.

My chuck comes loose often and all it does is start spinning. Usually the chuck doesn't even come all the way out of the taper because there's no place for it to go and it surely doesn't whip around -- it just spins. It almost always happens when I am backing the drill out to clean the hole or let things cool down.

If I am reading correctly, you only drill the 2 or so inches that the tail stock allows for movement? If thats the case, the chuck would b sort of on an axle when it lets loose so it would spin. If you drill using the lock for the tail stock, worse can happen.

That's true....I advance the tail stock with the wheel -- if I need to drill farther I stop the drill, retract the tail stock, move the whole works, tighten things back up and advance the tailstock again. I think there is never a time when the lathe is running that the taper can actually come out of the tail housing. I don't fully tighten the tail stock because on my lathe if it's fully tightened it won't advance with the wheel.

 

[Texatdurango]

I was drilling some ebony a minute ago, and my brand new 10mm Gorilla Grind drill bit snapped in half, the drill chuck flew out of my lathe across the shop, which of course ripped my blank in half also.

I've never had a drill bit break on me...especially one this thick! Is this something that I did wrong, or is this a shoddy part from PSI? I'll be returning it either way, but it sets me back a bit which is disappointing Does HF carry 10mm bits?

Sorry but this just doesn't sound right! I'm sitting here reading all the replies and I keep coming back to the highlighted sentence above and can't help but think that either you are exxagerating what happened or you didn't have a defective drill bit, in my opinion, you had a poor, unsafe setup when you were drilling and you need to take a hard look at what you did wrong rather than worry about where to buy another drill bit!

I can't image a drill chuck mounted on a morse taper shaft flying out of the tailstock.

If you had the drill chuck mounted in the tailstock, the only thing that I can think of that would cause it to fly out of the tailstock is to get the bit stuck in the blank and rather than stopping the lathe and safely remove the bit, you tried to pull on the chuck or tailstock to dislodge the bit with the lathe running and the morse taper came loose but I still can't see it come flying off. I'm guessing the bit broke in half when the chuck hit the floor or wall right!

One of the biggest problems in people having home workshops is that 99% of the time, they buy a tool, bring it home and teach themselves how to work with the tool and if they start out wrong they wind up doing things wrong and probably unsafe all the time. Just curious, have you ever had someone come over and show you the proper way of working around a lathe?

 

[PenMan1]

You read my mind, George. I kept going back to the original post to see if I misread something!

I agree, if the chuck came out of the tailstock, SOMETHING IS TERRIBLY WRONG, and most likely accounted for the broken bit.

 

[ed4copies]

I'm guessing!!!!!!!!!

But I have seen a shop teacher set up the drillbit on the headstock and the piece to be drilled on the tail. I suspect that was the setup here.

 

[PenMan1]

I'll bet you nailed it, Ed!

I was just in the shop trying to make the Jacobs out of line enough to even fall out of the tail stock. I couldn't do it.

Now a mt2 chuck in the headstock! That's a different story. I can make the chuck fly!

 

[Smitty37]

aaaaaaaaaaaaaah

I'm guessing!!!!!!!!!

But I have seen a shop teacher set up the drillbit on the headstock and the piece to be drilled on the tail. I suspect that was the setup here.

Methinks you might have smacked the nail on the flat part one traditionally aims the hammer at.

 

[dgerwin11]

I had this happen to me once. TOTAL operator ignorance. I was backing the tail stock and did not notice that the bit was stuck in the blank. The chuck started spinning, and in my ignorance I kept backing off. Next thing I knew, bit, chuck and blank were airborne. Luckily the only damage was a broken bit and blank. That was one of those lessons I only needed once to learn.

 

[RSQWhite]

I assumed that the torque on the breaking bit pulled the chuck out of the taper, but there's always a chance that I've done something wrong. How should a drill chuck be set up?

At any rate, this makes me want to go back to the drill press!

Are you advancing and retracting the drill bit with the quill or by moving the entire tail stock?

Tim

 

[Lenny]

When drilling on the lathe you must advance the tailstock enough that the morse taper "seats" properly ... on my lathe it's about a half an inch for one chuck but nearly a full inch for the one I keep a center drill in. (I need to cut that one down sometime)
ALSO ... ALWAYS steady the drill chuck with one hand while advancing it with the other hand turning the wheel. That will alert you if the bit gets stuck and starts to pull the chuck out of the tailstock. Of course this is all assuming you are holding and spinning the blanks in the headstock while using a drill chuck in the tailstock.

 

[ed4copies]

I'm guessing!!!!!!!!!

But I have seen a shop teacher set up the drillbit on the headstock and the piece to be drilled on the tail. I suspect that was the setup here.

Methinks you might have smacked the nail on the flat part one traditionally aims the hammer at.

A LOT to be said for NAILGUNS!! 100% 'Dead aim"

 

[Scooley01]

My lathe is setup for drilling the way I was told to set it up on here (Search the thread if you like) with the pen jaws in the headstock and the drill chuck in the tailstock. I could mount the drill chuck in the taper on the headstock, but since the jaws screw onto the 1"8tpi threads of the headstock, there's NO WAY they could be mounted down there.

But I'm glad you've all decided you had me figured out.

As for what I was doing at the time...I really don't remember. It happened quickly, and it was over in about one second. However, there is every possibility that I was backing the bit out at the time, and it bit into the blank while I was backing it out, which would account for it coming loose from the taper. The bit definitely snapped before it hit the ground, because the broken piece stayed on my bench after it hit the pegboard, while the chuck with the remaining piece ended up on the floor.

 

[sbell111]

... However, there is every possibility that I was backing the bit out at the time, and it bit into the blank while I was backing it out, which would account for it coming loose from the taper. ...

When you back out the bit, do you do it by sliding the tailstock back or by turning the tailstock handwheel?