Drill Parts on the Truck for disk install?

[Dennis_MN]

Kevin asked if I drilled my steering parts while on the truck. I did and it all worked out but it wasn't easy. I own a 1/2 drill but I had to borrow the 9/16 and 5/8 drill bits with the 1/2 inch shanks. I rented the 5/8 16 tap from the local rental place. I did have one problem when drilling out the steering arm in that my drill bit drifted just a tad and I couldn't mount the adapter plate bolts and have them align. I had to re-drill one hole bigger to solve that problem. Here are pictures on how I secured the parts from moving around while I drilled and tapped.

Asked if I would do it again, my inclination is to remove all of the parts and bring them to a machine shop. What is your experience?

Dennis

Photo 0 shows how I mounted a 2x4 to prevent the spindle from movement.

The toughest was to clamp the steering arms in place I actually ended up bolting one side then the other while drilling.

[woodscavenger]

I was just wiping the sweat off of my face last night after drilling the first hole myself. I just turned the spindle all the way to the stop on the left side and started drilling. It turns far enough that the pressure from the drill basically locks the spindle in place. To do the other one I have to turn the spindle to the other side.

My main problem is getting any leverage. I think I spent 15-20 minutes just with the 1/2" bit and I was spent. This is gonna take me a lot longer to do than I thought. My drill is an old type that only has on/off. It does not have variable speed. Could I be drilling at too high a speed?

[Jim Yergin]

When I did mine, I found it very helpful to use cutting oil on the bit. It made a big difference on the cutting life of my bit. Without it the bit quickly became dull and it would not cut.

Jim Yergin

[Guest Dave Claussen]

woodscavenger, I worked for 21 years in the drilling department of our factory and if there's one thing I learned that I never forget is that too high an rpm can ruin the cutting edges on a drill bit (known as just a "drill" in the trade) in short order. Once the "corners" of the drill are rounded it's cutting ability is shot. Two things really help the life of the drill-lubricating oil and a slower rpm. Slow steady pressure is also something that helps but drilling with a hand drill makes this difficult at best. If your drill is dull you'll need to get it sharpened somehow. I have one of those "Drill Doctors" and it actually puts a better cutting edge on it than you could ever do freehand on a grinding wheel in a bench grinder.

Another trick we learned through trial and error is drilling a smaller hole first and then following up with a larger drill is sometimes easier. This is because the most resistance on a large drill is at the center where there's no cutting edge. If you look at your finished hole size drill end on and measure the thickness of the center between the cutting edges(known as the web thickness) with a caliper or scale that's the size drill you should start with as your predrill size. You effectively take away almost all the cutting pressure resistance of the larger drill by using this method.

Hope this helps make things a little easier for you. Experience has been my best teacher. I wish I had a dollar for every hole I've drilled since I started my machining career, I'd probably be a bazillionare by now. LOL Dave

[woodscavenger]

Thanks for the advise. I have to find someone with a variable spped drill. This old one is not going to get it done.

[Tony Cipponeri]

Man, Youse guys are going at it all Wrong, My neighbor did mine for me. It was a snap. I was going to take mine off the car and use a drill press, but Joe said he could do it, and I let him. Tony C