Drilled Lug Mishap

[Bill_C 148]

Well, I knew this could happen and it did... three times, because, you know, I'm an overachiever.

I was drilling the lugs on my 5513 case. I bought some cobalt bits off of Amazon for like $2 a piece so I assumed they were pretty good bits. Then they arrived and I questioned whether they were, in fact, cobalt. But what the heck, it's all I have so lets give it a try. I followed NCRich's write up and set up my drill press identical (same drill press as well). 

First one went through fine. Maybe they are decent bits after all. Second hole seemed to go fine too... changed out the bit for good measure and proceeded to numbers 3 and 4, changing the bit between each of them. Each hole meticulously lined up, oiled and drilled. After all of them were done (about 30 minutes later) I decided to check my handiwork. So, remember when I said they seemed to go fine? Well, I was wrong. Turns out that when I thought I had popped through the backside of the hole, I was in fact just breaking the bit. Since I was changing them out after each hole I didn't think twice about it. I didn't even notice they had broken.

So now I have a case with three broken bits in three of the lug holes. Any idea if better bits will drill out the stuck bits or is it time to source a new cartel case?

[NCRich 13,762]

This is like the 5th time I have posted this.  Take this:

put one of these in the hole on the inside of the lug:

and hit it with the first item.  It will pop the broken bit out.

Ask @Popperini 

 

[Bill_C 148]

LOL, yeah... remember when I said I'm an overachiever? I tried that... and bent one of the punches. Then I tried using the blunt end of the broken bits... bent all of them. I tried using a brad and larger hammer... won't budge.

What can I say? When I make a mistake I do it like a pro.

[Popperini 17,888]

11 hours ago, NCRich said:

This is like the 5th time I have posted this.  Take this:

put one of these in the hole on the inside of the lug:

and hit it with the first item.  It will pop the broken bit out.

Ask @Popperini 

 

I thought that Rich he must be some kinda crazy guy, till I did it  - and it worked!

11 hours ago, Bill_C said:

LOL, yeah... remember when I said I'm an overachiever? I tried that... and bent one of the punches. Then I tried using the blunt end of the broken bits... bent all of them. I tried using a brad and larger hammer... won't budge.

What can I say? When I make a mistake I do it like a pro.

Wat? Oh dear... 

Also, I have to quote the great Oscar Wilde... "To lose one end of a drill bit, Mr. Bill, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose three looks like carelessness."

[Bill_C 148]

Wat? Oh dear... 
Also, I have to quote the great Oscar Wilde... "To lose one end of a drill bit, Mr. Bill, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose three looks like carelessness."

You're probably right Neil, I should have stopped and checked progress more often. It just seemed to be going so smoothly after the first one when through with ease.

On the brightside, on further inspection I noticed that two of the broken bits were nearly at the end so i drilled from the inside out and freed them up. Still have one remaining broken bit I can't free up but I've orders a slightly larger drill bit in hopes that I can free up the stuck one or drill it out. We'll see... otherwise I chalk it up to experience and buy a new case to start over with.

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[Rokerite 2,446]

8 hours ago, Popperini said:

I thought that Rich he must be some kinda crazy guy, till I did it  - and it worked!

Wat? Oh dear... 

Also, I have to quote the great Oscar Wilde... "To lose one end of a drill bit, Mr. Bill, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose three looks like carelessness."

Oscar Wilde was asked at the New York customs house if he had "anything to declare". He replied "Only my genius" and walked off. 

[Popperini 17,888]

BTW, just as a FYI for future reference Bill - I checked with Marv (when I also thought I’d need to buy a replacement case for the one I busted a bit in) and he quoted me $40 for a cartel complete case set (they only sell the full set).

[Bill_C 148]

That's not a bad deal at all! Might pick up a few just to have on hand for future builds.

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[Bill_C 148]

I got my new drill bits in and was able to finish the lugs. I am not happy with the results and at some point in the process I managed to mar the threads on the case. Seems it happened while trying to beat the one stubborn broken bit out. Can't screw the caseback on and my loupe reveals the damage is more work to repair than it is worth.

So, I will be ordering the case set from MR when I get ready to order my next rep. Not sure when that will be as nothing new has caught my eye, but I am sure something will pop up at some point in the next few months.

In the meantime I will probably play with what I have and use it as a learning tool for next time. I am thinking about aging the insert and case, reshaping the CGs and seeing what can be done to secure the caseback until I get a new case set. Can't mess it up any worse! LOL

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[Bill_C 148]

Oh, by the way, I just want to say thanks to@NCRich and@Popperini for your guidance and inspiration. You guys have some great vintage builds.

This stuff is a fun hobby to play with and it really is more about the learning than anything else for me. If this were too easy I would lose interest and move on to something else... so seriously, thanks for the guidance and inspiration. I may never produce anything of note, but I sure am having fun along the way.

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[Popperini 17,888]

It all sounds so painfully familiar, and just like my own ongoing modding adventures Bill... Still, that's one of the benefits of having these readily available and cheap JKF jobboes to practice on. And it's why I tend to order them 3 at a time from M.  

Plus you end up with a nice big box of spare parts.

[GingerApple 7,300]

1 hour ago, Popperini said:

It all sounds so painfully familiar, and just like my own ongoing modding adventures....

How is the Snoopy coming along? Are we at the one year anniversary yet?

[tribefan 6,768]

After shipping, you might as well buy the whole watch.

[Bill_C 148]

After shipping, you might as well buy the whole watch.

Yeah, I had thought about that but I assumed (maybe a stupid thing to do) that MR would combine shipping if I order it with another watch.

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[Popperini 17,888]

2 hours ago, Bill_C said:

Yeah, I had thought about that but I assumed (maybe a stupid thing to do) that MR would combine shipping if I order it with another watch.
 

He will. That's why I buy 3 watches at a time. Means the shipping only adds $10 per watch.

3 hours ago, TheGingerFerret said:

How is the Snoopy coming along? Are we at the one year anniversary yet?

Must be. And it's been a lockdown year too, which is really like... 7 normal ones or something.