# 15/32", 37/64"... Really?



## Wheaties (May 9, 2009)

First let me say I'm new. I was looking through the craft supplies magazine and was looking at the Gent. and the Statesman... is the drill bit size a joke. Is this a big marketing scheme or just another way to nickel and dime us? Do I really need 37/64"? Would a 9/16" work? And instead of 15/32", how about 1/2" and filling the slight (1/32") gap with CA? Like I said, I'm new, but this just seems ridiculous. Thanks in advance for clearing this up.


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## hunter-27 (May 9, 2009)

Welcome to the insanity, better get to ordering those odd sizes, your gonna need them.  This isn't a game of 1/32s its a game of .001s.


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## leehljp (May 9, 2009)

It is ridiculous for all of the odd sizes, but for the most part, the sizes stated are the sizes needed. There are other bits that substitute at times but with closer tolerances than 15/32 vs 1/2, which IMO is too much space.

Fractional Inch	11.9063mm	 .46875" 	15/32"	
Millimeters	        12mm	 .4724"	
Fractional Inch	12.3031mm	 .484375"	31/64"
Millimeters	        12.5mm	 .4921"	
Fractional Inch	12.7mm	 .5"	        1/2"	

You could go up to a 12mm from 15/32, but not 1/2.

It would be nice if companies would standardize better on tube sizes.


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## thewishman (May 9, 2009)

Welcome to the drill bit bizzaro world. Yes those bit sizes are actually needed - using a larger bit may compromise the final thickness of the barrels, those barrels are pretty thin. You can drill a smaller hole and enlarge, but I wouldn't recommend doing it the other way. 

Wait 'til you get the 10.5, 12.5 and 13.3 mm bits.


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## aggromere (May 9, 2009)

yea, i bet i have 25 or 30 bits by now.  I thought the big expense was buying the lathe, but that was just the tip of the iceberg.


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## mick (May 10, 2009)

:biggrinon't forget the Drill Doctor he'll need to sharpen all those odd size bits!:biggrin:


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## markgum (May 10, 2009)

yup you will need every size in the book plus you will then find a nice looking kit only to find you need to purchase yet another bit.  don't try to get by using a larger bit even if it is 1/32" of an inch different.  IMO .001 is the difference between a pen for the house and one for the sale.


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## Art Fuldodger (May 10, 2009)

Wait for Harbor Freight to have a sale on one of their drill bit kits.  I picked up all of the bits from 1/16th to 1/2, 3/8 cut-down shanks, TiN coated for something like $15.  They also have a "big daddy" kit which has all of those bits, all of the lettered bits, and all of the numbered bits as well.  You'll never be without a bit again.

Craft Supplies sells a drill bit kit which, if you look, resembles one of Harbor Freight's kits quite suspiciously...



markgum said:


> IMO .001 is the difference between a pen for the house and one for the sale.



I don't think so.  Remember that even if you had drill bits which were exactly the specified size (which you don't, there is no perfect tolerance), then they'd probably vary more than a thousandth just with changes in temperature.


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## Randy_ (May 10, 2009)

Suggesting that 0.001" is a major difference with respect to the size of the hole in a blank is a bit of an exaggeration; but a difference in fit of the blank and the hardware of 0.003" is something that most folks can detect by feel so precision is important. You can get away with about 0.005"± in hole size so getting the correct drill bit size is important. Even 1/64" (0.015") difference will be enough to cause problems most of the time so, yes, you do need a wide selection of drill bit sizes if you are going to craft many different kits.

The best thing to do is purchase one of the HF 115 drill bit sets that has decimal, letter and number bits. Most folks learn this the hard way after investing a lot of money in single bits and still not having everything they need. Only problem with the HF set is it only goes up to 1/2" so you are restricted to the smaller pen kits or you still need to buy additional individual drill bits.

Don't know if they are still available or not; but Daniel put together a set of all of the commonly needed drill bit sizes and was selling them for about $80, I think.

Welcome to the weird world of pencrafting!!
 
Other thing you will want to look at is a Drill Doctor for sharpening.  Many brand new drill bits are not as sharp as they could be and even good ones loose their edge pretty quick drilling pen blanks.  Having a sharp bit is very important in pen craftiing so you need a way to sharpen your bits or you will constantly be buying replacement bits.


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## Ron in Drums PA (May 10, 2009)

Be careful of cheap drill bit sets. They don't always measure up to the size they are spec'd for. I learned this the hard way.


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## rej19 (May 10, 2009)

I agree Ron. I have found there is some difference it in bits of the supposed same size by different manufacturers. I usually drill a test piece first to make sure it is drilling the size I need for a particular kit. Once it is determined to work it goes in a different storage area as usable. I have also found even though a kit says a particular bit it is best to test it first. I have changed sizes occasionally to get a better fit. This may be related to the different sizes by different manufacture issues.


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## GaryMadore (May 10, 2009)

Yup - I'm putting together some Gents as we speak: There isn't a lot of meat left on the tube once the cap end (the 37/64" end) is turned down to size... I wouldn't want to use anything larger, else the wood that is left on the tube would likely be transparent (an exaggeration, of course, but....)

I buy premium brad-points and so don't think a drill doctor would help, but the bits are staying sharp long enough for my level of productivity.

Cheers!

Gary


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## Manny (May 10, 2009)

Art Fuldodger said:


> Wait for Harbor Freight to have a sale on one of their drill bit kits.  I picked up all of the bits from 1/16th to 1/2, 3/8 cut-down shanks, TiN coated for something like $15.  They also have a "big daddy" kit which has all of those bits, all of the lettered bits, and all of the numbered bits as well.  You'll never be without a bit again.
> 
> Craft Supplies sells a drill bit kit which, if you look, resembles one of Harbor Freight's kits quite suspiciously...
> 
> ...




I bought this set and some of the bits are not truly straight. I get some wobble that causes me to not exit in the same place I entered. I have been buying higher quality bits one by one now and have not had that problem. 

So be careful!!!
Manny


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## GaryMadore (May 10, 2009)

Manny said:


> I bought this set and some of the bits are not truly straight. I get some wobble that causes me to not exit in the same place I entered. I have been buying higher quality bits one by one now and have not had that problem.
> 
> So be careful!!!
> Manny



Agreed. I pay > $20 for a single bit but I know it's spec'd and straight.

I can tell by the way the tubes fit in the bored holes similarly to the way Johnny's bushings then fit in the tubes: Perfection. (a little steath plug there)

Cheers!

Gary


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## Wheaties (May 10, 2009)

Alright... I'm sold. Just seems like some more standardized bits would be nice, but I suppose even then you wouldn't want to use the cheap ones you have laying around.

Thanks for setting me straight!


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## hunter-27 (May 10, 2009)

thewishman said:


> Welcome to the drill bit bizzaro world. Yes those bit sizes are actually needed - using a larger bit may compromise the final thickness of the barrels, those barrels are pretty thin. You can drill a smaller hole and enlarge, but I wouldn't recommend doing it the other way.
> 
> Wait 'til you get the 10.5, 12.5 and 13.3 mm bits.


 10.5mm and 12.5mm I can handle. :frown: What the heck was the guy who decided on 13.3mm drinking at the time?


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## thewishman (May 10, 2009)

hunter-27 said:


> 10.5mm and 12.5mm I can handle. :frown: What the heck was the guy who decided on 13.3mm drinking at the time?



Dunno. I just use a 1/2" bit and then use a round file for those.


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## Randy_ (May 10, 2009)

Wheaties said:


> Alright... I'm sold. Just seems like some more standardized bits would be nice.....


 
Lots of folks complain about the great variety of drill bit sizes required for crafting pens; but I have "NEVER" heard a complaint about the great variety of kits available.

I strongly suspect that if we only had ten different kits available that all used the same drill bit size, there would be tons of crafters complaining about the lack of variety in the kits available??


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## Wheaties (May 10, 2009)

Randy_ said:


> Lots of folks complain about the great variety of drill bit sizes required for crafting pens; but I have "NEVER" heard a complaint about the great variety of kits available.
> 
> I strongly suspect that if we only had ten different kits available that all used the same drill bit size, there would be tons of crafters complaining about the lack of variety in the kits available??



Good Point. You won't find me complaining anymore. But as a newcomer I couldn't help but having that thought pop into my head.


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## randyrls (May 10, 2009)

Randy_ said:


> The best thing to do is purchase one of the HF 115 drill bit sets that has decimal, letter and number bits. Most folks learn this the hard way after investing a lot of money in single bits and still not having everything they need. Only problem with the HF set is it only goes up to 1/2" so you are restricted to the smaller pen kits or you still need to buy additional individual drill bits..



I too got one of the drill bit sets, and after I checked which bits I used on a regular basis, I ordered good quality individual bits.  Norseman, Chicago & Latrobe, and Gunhring (sp?) are all good bits.


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## Randy_ (May 10, 2009)

GaryMadore said:


> .....I buy premium brad-points and so don't think a drill doctor would help, but the bits are staying sharp long enough for my level of productivity.....


 
It is common for brad point users to grind off the points and resharpen them in the split-point configuration that the DD can handle.  I recently purchased a DD; but have not yet used a split point bit so I can't comment first-hand; but there have been many posts saying the split point configuration works very well. 
 
At the prices charged for premium drill bits, it sure does make sense to resharpen them!!:wink:


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## wolftat (May 10, 2009)

If you get lucky, you may find someone selling a penmakers drill bit set. They sell for around $100 and have just about every bit you need to make pens. The best part of it is that you don't have all the extra bits that don't get used for anything. If you see a kit advertised, you should consider jumping on it, they don't usually last long. Since I bought my set, they are about the only bits that I use.


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