Stocking up on drill bits.

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I have just gotten back into the hobby in the past few months and have decided it is time to stock up on things, such as drill bits. I have a good supply of 50, 76 & 78. What other sizes would anyone recommend adding to my list to stock up on?

Thanks everyone.

2

Whatever sizes you get, remember there are twist drills & they are not hardened, good for wood & plastis. Highspeed drills are hardened tool steel & should be used for any kind of metal & resin as well as wood & plastic. It’s worth the extra to get the highspeed ones. Jerry

3

Jerry,

Thanks. I didn’t realize the standard bits were not hardened and since it seems everything is resin today that’s a great bit of info.

4

The Walthers and other hobby bits work fine with resins. Nos. 80 - 76 will always be fragile especially if used in a pin vise or hand held drill, so always get extras, I usually get 2 packs each (2 bits per pk) of those four bits. Welcome back!

5

Didn’t know that. I have a standard Walthers set and I just ordered a super detail kit for my metal Mikado. Will these bits work in a pin vise on metal or just break??

6

Hello loathar more then likely they will . I broke a bunch on some old Verney’s, Bowser kits. I did get a tip from a guy at bowser he said run the drill bit into a bar of soap it will lube the drill it work ok but they still broke. Get some high speed drill bits and save the headache. Frank

7

There are 2 types of Material that Drills are made of. High Speed Steel, which stay sharp longer but are very brittle, and Carbon Steel which are less prone to breaking but do not stay sharp as long. The latter are good for use in Drilling Plastic and Wood, the H.S. Drills are better for Drilling Brass, Zamak and other metals. Use Beeswax or Soap for lubricant on Metals. As you know, small drills are very fragile, and you have to be patient when using them. Hope this helps.

8

I have found that you never know what sizes you need until you need them.

For HO I got 12 packs of every size #80-#64 from micro-mark. The small ones break quite a bit. The big ones seem to get dull over time. I have never been in want of a bit. I also have a pin vise for each of the common sizes (#80, #79, #76, #74). This speeds things up when building a kit.

DAS

9

where do you guys go to get your small drill bits?

-Dave

10

#8 wood screw countersinking bits. Did I mention I am installing a bunch of Masonite backdrops which dull countersink bits really fast? [;)] Jamie