Teeny-tiny Tools

[Lee DeRaud]

Has anyone seen a really small self-centering bit? What I need is something for the tiny hinges on jewelry boxes etc. Key dimension is that the screws that come with the (cheap) hinges I've been using need a 1/16" pilot hole; the screw heads are only about 9/64".

[Steve Stube]

A smaller 4 side cut brad with the head cut off and chucked in your drill may work okay - I have done so in a pinch.

[Kevin Herber]

Lee - When I was building R/C airplanes I got a small self centering bit at the model shop. It was about 6 inches long and had a cone shaped centering end. You twisted the drill with your fingers.

Check with the local R/C shop and I bet they will be able to fix you up.

If I still have it I will post a picture.

-- Kevin

[Lee DeRaud]

A smaller 4 side cut brad with the head cut off and chucked in your drill may work okay - I have done so in a pinch.
No, I've got a 1/16" bit. The issue is getting the pilot hole centered in the larger screw hole in the hinge. It doesn't take much, if any, offset to throw the hinges out of alignment.
I've got some larger drills (e.g. #6) that have a retractable sleeve to center the bit in the hinge hole...just looking for something in this much smaller size.

[Brad Knabel]

I got curious and did some looking - I found this link to what I think Kevin is talking about:

www.myrcstore.com/product2.php?cid=4&pid=120 (http://www.myrcstore.com/product2.php?cid=4&pid=120)

It looks like a handy gizmo I think I'll have to pick one up the next time I'm around a hobby shop. I also noticed that McFeely's carrys vix bits down to a #3 size (with a 5/64th bit) but this sounds like it's a little too big for your uses.

Kevin - thanks for the heads up on that tool.

[Steve Stube]

In wood, seeing where the center of the hole ought to go and drilling it there are two different things. Being on the edge of a growth ring or high density/low density boarder will tend to steer the bit. A drill guide would be nice and they may be available in teeny tiny sizes but I can't help you there. A pin vice can help to gain some control over the situation but still no guarantees. In drilling very small holes in material higher speeds sometimes help to maintain alignment - one reason that precision micro drills operate at 9,000 rpm and sometimes 90,000 rpm. I have a micro drill that will allow me to drill a hole thru a human hair but it takes very expensive XYZ staging and optics. For your case perhaps a guide made from a piece of micro metal tubing held in the hinge hole with an ID appropriate for a pin vice and bit to drill the pilot hole. One suggestion for the guide is an appropriate size syringe needle. The metal portion where the needle projects is usually quite hard and are cone shaped on the outside to center in the hinge hole. Grinding the needle off with a dremel tool and drilling the inside with the pilot drill (if it isn't too hard) might work. Holding that revamped needle base (guide) with vice-grip pliers while drilling with a pin vice and bit might be the best you can do in this case.

[Steve Stube]

Nice rescue Brad, I think I have one very similar - on my way to the shop to check.

[Kevin Herber]

Brad - That's exactly what I was talking about. Thanks for searching it out. It was real useful on the planes. Hope it does the trick for Lee.

-- Kevin

[Lee DeRaud]

I got curious and did some looking - I found this link to what I think Kevin is talking about:

www.myrcstore.com/product2.php?cid=4&pid=120 (http://www.myrcstore.com/product2.php?cid=4&pid=120)

It looks like a handy gizmo I think I'll have to pick one up the next time I'm around a hobby shop. I also noticed that McFeely's carrys vix bits down to a #3 size (with a 5/64th bit) but this sounds like it's a little too big for your uses.

Kevin - thanks for the heads up on that tool.
Hmm...that looks similar to what I did with the last set: used a 1/8" brad-point bit in the hinge hole to mark the location for the 1/16" pilot hole, which I then drilled using the drill press. Guess I'm getting greeding looking for a one-step solution. Sounds like a "#2 vix bit" might be the right answer...assuming such a widget actually exists.

Thanks for the assist.