Drilling Mammoth Molar

[carlmorrell]

Apologies, I know this has been discussed before, I did look at the old threads.

I have some Mammoth. Got it a few years ago. It's stabilized.

I tried working with it a few years ago, and it was a disaster. I ignored what advice I could find. Started with the target drill size (10.5 & 12.5), using twist drills wet.

Now I am mentally ready to try it again.

Question 1: wet or dry? (I think dry is the answer)
Question 2: What type of drill?
Question 3: What speed?

Considering what type of drill:
I have a drill index and a Drill Doctor. Should I progress through drill sizes, starting with 1/4" ? Masonry drills, the ones that look like spears some are carbide?
Diamond coated?

I did glue wood around the blank to add mechanical stability.

Thanks for any advice, opinion.

 

[Jarod888]

I would imagine, heat is your worst enemy. That would indicate to me that you need to use a cutting fluid of some kind. Being that you will eventually need to glue in a tube from a kit, is would stay away from oils. Water with a little dawn dish soap may work. You also need to drill as slow as possible with a well sharpened bit. I would start out with a small bit and work up, allowing sufficient time for the blank and the bit to cool. Smaller bits require more speed, but speed generates heat. I would think the bone is very hard, so you may need a decent set of cobalt drill bits.
Harbor freight has a 115 bit set- if you watch for specials, you can probably get it for 70$ or so. This will give you all the steps you need for drilling.