drilling into slate

[hestan101]

hi all
im starting work on my gd project, and for the base im planning to pin him into some stone. its 08\'s gd mini (the running marine),this means that the surface area of his feet is too small for just glue. i have a gw pinning drill and paper clip wire. how do i go about drilling itnot rock without dmaging myself, my equipment or the rock?
i did a forum search on this topic and i found refernece to covering a drillbit in wax first, is that still standard procedure or have other techniques been developed?
thanks in advance for any help
max

 

[darklord]

for drilling a pin into slate i just use standard gw drill and bits - just be careful not to put and sideways pressure and take it slow

 

[Shadzar]

???

I haven\'t tried recently but with trial and error was able to use a dremel with a diamond point to put a hole into a rock for someone making an Iwo Jima model.

I would think just go very slowly with your pin vise and make your hole the smallest you can first, then if it needs wideneing you should be able to widen it without shattering it.

Is it actual slate or a bathroom tile or what?

I do recall I started my hold with a grinding stone to place a dimple into the rock so the drill bit didn\'t jump around and cause disastrous results in the rock or myself.

Odds are the pin vise may not be strong enough and you will break a bit or two, so you may want to try to get a diamond point set for cheap somewhere that will fit into the pin vise.

You can find those 20 pc sets fairly cheap depending on where you are, and they are great for many things even without a rotary tool and if they don\'t fit in your pin vise, you can still use them in your fingers.

 

[Ritual]

It depends on what type of slate it is. Slate comes in different varieties and blends of various types of stone. Some are easy to drill through, some are neigh on impossible. I wouldn\'t advice using a dremel or other electrical tool. If the slate is possible to drill through you should be able to do it with a pin vice, with much less risk of injury or damaging your tools or drill bits.

 

[darklord]

put a little masking tape over where you want to drill and go straight through it - stops it slipping

 

[freakinacage]

i would wax the bit and try to get your hands on an electric drill. you will be there forever with a pin vice. maybe start off with the pin vice.

be prepared to blunt the tip FAST

 

[Godlikebuthumble]

Orginal gepostet von freakinacage

be prepared to blunt the tip FAST

Which is why I, if at all possible, try to avoid using real slate. Depending on base size and the model\'s centre of gravity, a suitable substitute will do just fine. Whether it\'s cork sheet, bark, or layered and/or textured putty. All much easier to drill and shape to your liking.

Otherwise, I\'d still go with a manual pin vice and keep some spare drill bits.

 

[Shadzar]

So I didn\'t put my mouth where I wasn\'t willing to put my money I tried drilling into some \"slate\".

The stuff from my carport that was broken away from the rest.

Put some electrical tape around it.

Made a starter hole with the lowest setting on my dremel and one of these bits.

Proceeded with my drill and a funny bit that was about the size of a bamboo skewer until it punched through.

Here is the type of bit used with the drill and the result over an index card for size comparison and to see through the hole.

Here it is with the bamboo skewer in place, the hole slightly larger than it.

And lastly the hole itself in the \"slate\" with the tape gone and the slate washed from the sticky stuff off the tape, and dried.

So hope this helps with yours. Whether you have a drill bit like that, or anyone knows what kind it is, or if what I used was even slate, maybe someone can tell.

But the \"slate\" did get hot, and none of the bits were damaged at all in the process, not did they get hot.

No wax or oil or anything was used during drilling to help lube the stone or bits because very low speeds were used to grin away slowly rather than trying to drill in quickly. But heat was still generated, so you may want to use something for lubrication if you are concerned about it with your tools.

Didn\'t want you to waste time/effort so hope this in some way helps, and good luck on your GD entry!

 

[Donga]

That sounds like an over long job.

To drill slate:

1. hold slate in one hand
2. hold drill in the other hand (pin vice, dremel, I\'ve used a cordless drill more often than not, on the fast setting).
3.Make hole...

I\'ve drilled roof slates and the shale you get in garden centres. It does blunt the bit, but a 95p bit at the end of it\'s life is no loss. I\'ve even drilled marble with a standard 0.9mm drill bit.

It\'s easy, it\'s just difficult in your mind!

 

[Shadzar]

Originally posted by Donga
That sounds like an over long job.

To drill slate:

1. hold slate in one hand
2. hold drill in the other hand (pin vice, dremel, I\'ve used a cordless drill more often than not, on the fast setting).
3.Make hole...

I\'ve drilled roof slates and the shale you get in garden centres. It does blunt the bit, but a 95p bit at the end of it\'s life is no loss. I\'ve even drilled marble with a standard 0.9mm drill bit.

It\'s easy, it\'s just difficult in your mind!

Well I am out of motor brushes for my Dremel(tm) dremel, so used a cheap wood working one. without a lot of torque or would have just chewed through with the Dremel. That is why I went with the drill bit for slower speed and to save what little power I have until I get my new motor brushes for the real thing.

Took about 2 minutes for that to be done give or take time for the photos in between the steps.

Same principal, just quicker than trying to do it with just a pin vise.