Drilling and squaring aluminum?

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Woodchipper

Woodchipper

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Bought a piece of 6061 T5 aluminum bar at HD. While pondering the whole project of making a pen, I came up with two questions.
1. What drill bit do you recommend? I have a full set of Woodcraft bits in various sizes plus a few odds & ends of drill bits.
2. When you glue in the tube, how do you square the ends? I have the carbide pen mill from Woodcraft.
Searched the resources and found some information but wanted to zero in on these two questions.
Thanks. So much to do, so little time.
 
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I use "high speed steel" (HSS) bits on all my metal parts.

Are you using the 6065 as a full blank or a segment?

I square up all my pen parts on the lathe with this hand tool
 

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First the drill bits are no different than what is used for wood blanks except no brad points. Same procedures apply. The one thing that is important is to keep filings from getting into motor or lathe bed if drilling on the lathe. Clean up right after is a good idea. As fas as sand paper I use aluminum oxide paper. I like Norton brand. As far as needing to true up the ends, what is nice with metals you can be be pretty exact with measurements because they will not blow out on ends so keep it tight and less work after. I will square mostly using tools on the lathe. I sand to square ends on my lathe using the sand paper but start with about 40 grit and go from there. As far as glue, always epoxy glue. Now some people have used metals for pen blanks and acually did not use the tubes and just pressed the components into the metals. I use tubes because I do not have exact drill bits for components. As far as finishing and polishing, again the sandpaper is Norton. I use the black metal sandpaper when I get to finishing stages because it goes way higher in grit numbers. I like a brushed metal look as opposed to a highly polished lokk and for that I finish with a nonwoven pad which is about 400 grit on that scale. The second pen I show I did polish to a high shine because I polished both the acrylic and aluminum at the same time.


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wade45 said:
I use "high speed steel" (HSS) bits on all my metal parts.

Are you using the 6065 as a full blank or a segment?

I square up all my pen parts on the lathe with this hand tool
Click to expand...
Thanks. Cut for a segment for a pen. I like the feel of the bigger pens as cigar pens. Don't have carbide tools.
 
I too use HSS bits, but about 2 years ago, I bought a Harbor Freight set of Cobalt bits and they do so much better than the regular HSS for metal.

One OTHER suggestion - Get some "cutting oil" or "thread cutting oil" and a small spout to keep oil in the hole while drilling. This makes a HUGE difference in drilling metal.

("Thread cutting oil is significantly better than regular motor oil for creating metal threads, as it contains extreme-pressure additives (like sulfur or chlorine) that reduce friction, prevent tool welding, and ensure clean, smooth threads. Motor oil lacks these additives and is ineffective at preventing heat buildup or die damage.') GOOGLE
 
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Hank, thanks for sharing your experience. HF is the place for big toys for big boys. Will check it out.
Hank, what set did you get? HF has several listed on their website.
 
Woodchipper said:
Hank, thanks for sharing your experience. HF is the place for big toys for big boys. Will check it out.
Hank, what set did you get? HF has several listed on their website.
Click to expand...
I have two cobalt sets, the big one:
and the smaller one:

In addition, I have about 4 of the 29 piece cheaper sets for ordinary wood drilling. I use the cobalt on metal and for drilling wood on the lathe.

I buy those ordinary bits when they are on sale and too inexpensive to pass up. I keep a set in my house, a set in my tool box in my car, a set by the drill press in addition to the cobalt sets, and a set as an extra when someone wants to borrow a bit or two.
 
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