Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with drill

Where in Los Angeles can I Cut and Drill Metal Plates?

VikingSword — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:38:57 -0800

Recommendations for Los Angeles: machine shop - metal work. I have a little project that's extremely simple, but I don't have the tools.

I need some flat metal plates - steel or hard aluminum - cut to a specific size. The plates would be pretty thick 0.25", sizes of 4"x36" and 8"x8".

I also need several holes drilled into these plates of specific diameter and exact placement.

But first, I need to acquire the metal sheets and plates so I can have them cut to size and drilled.

Where can I (a)obtain the steel and/or aluminum plates/sheets 0.25" thick approx 8"x8" and 4"x36" and (b)have them cut and drilled in specific ways?

This machine shop - metal work (maybe even a DIY hobby place) can be anywhere in Los Angeles, though West side - Hollywood area is a plus. Hopefully won't cost an arm and a leg. TIA!

Drill recommendations requested

Acari — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:50:55 -0800

Please recommend a cheap, variable-torque, corded drill that will not destroy everything it touches. My previous experiences with [my grandfather's] corded drills has led me to believe that they all have so much power that screws must always pull halfway through 2x4s with only a quick pulse of the trigger. Cordless drills have had the option of squeezing the trigger gently to turn the bit more slowly, but battery life was always an issue. They never seemed to survive an entire job.

When I borrow cordless drills these days, I am *so impressed* by the amount of power, the fineness of speed control, and the battery life. I would buy a fancy cordless drill if I found an inexpensive one, but I believe that corded drills are cheaper and less likely to die when I need them most.

My two main concerns in drill selection are:
price, and
torque/speed variability.

The most intuitive style to me is where a harder squeeze of the trigger results in less action. The other [less desirable, but still acceptable] style is the torque-limiting chucks. You know the kind? Where you spin a ring on the chuck to select a number and once there is enough resistance the drill just makes a clicking sound without turning the bit? That kind. Maybe there are other ways, too, and I won't avoid them if they actually work.

I do not need an impact driver, but I do work on everything from very soft woods to medium-gauge metal. I generally don't use power tools for many months and then am involved in a random project like framing/drywalling/bulk ikea assembly/making shelves/building decks/whatever.

My limit is around $100 for the moment. If I didn't have a pool of people who didn't mind lending me their tools, I'd have a bigger budget.

Bonus points if you tell me about a cordless drill that fits in that budget that has sufficient power/battery life.

Also noteworthy is that I am in Alberta, and shipping things from the US is always more expensive than I expect.

Art! Now with heavy machinery! (But preferably not.)

elfgirl — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 07:54:33 -0800

Drilling holes in glass. Little ones. How do you do that? I have about 10lbs of scrap stained glass. I'd like to use it for art projects, but for some of the ideas I have I'll need to be able to put 1/32" to 1/8" holes in the glass. The only suggestions I've found online are for water cooled drill presses, which cost more than I was hoping to lay out.

Is there any way to do this with a Dremel? What is the best way to do this that doesn't require heavy shop equipment?

One Battery, Multiple Tools

sjuhawk31 — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 10:14:39 -0800

One battery, multiple tools: for what line of power tools did I see a commercial that featured one battery that you could switch out between the tools? Two that stick out in my mind are a mower and a screw gun.

Bonus questions: has anyone used this series of tools or something like it? How well do they work?

How do I work this drill?

Xianny — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:43:15 -0800

How do I put a drill bit in my Black and Decker handheld power drill? I don't know anything about drills, but I needed one today and found one in the basement. The label says "Black & Decker, 3/8" drill, variable-speed reversing, No. 7140, Type 1". There's no drill bit in it. I found a bunch of drill bits in the bottom of the toolbox.

After some googling I determined that the drill has a "key" for its "chuck" and I need to find that in order to put a new drill bit in. I don't even know what a key would look like! And I don't know what I'd do with it after I find it. Please help.

Drill me. Not like that.

number9dream — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 12:45:31 -0800

Help me choose a cordless drill. This will be for home use only. Mainly drilling holes to hang things on walls, drive in screws, etc. No heavy construction. I would like something durable. I'd like to spend under $150, but I could go higher if it were worth it. From my preliminary research on Amazon, this looks like it should be possible. Some specific questions:

1) Is an impact driver useful? What does it do that a regular drill doesn't?

2) How does having a higher voltage affect the performance? I assume it's more powerful, but uses up battery power more quickly. Is this correct?

3) What other important factors am I neglecting?

4) Are there any brands or specific models that you would recommend?

Dead power supply on a charger - can I replace it?

tomble — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 01:21:10 -0800

Can I replace a power supply on a cordless drill battery charger with a different voltage power supply? I have a black and decker cordless drill, and three batteries. The power pack for the charger has died, and it seems the charger is the older model, thus rather hard to get.

The existing power supply that plugs into the wall is 14.5V, 200ma.

I have a bunch of 12V power supplies laying about the house, unused.

If I replace the dead power supply with the 12V unit, will I cause any problems, or will it just charge slower?

Will a universal Craftsman charger work with my 15.6V drill?

ets960 — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:57:24 -0800

Will a universal Craftsman charger work with my 15.6V drill? It's a 15.6 V cordless drill, numbers on the drill are G0330, model number 315.114630. There's an image of the drill on ebay: here.

The battery number is 130234027. My other charger stopped charging and I forgot about the warranty and was pissed off so I threw it away. Now I have the drill with two batteries but can't charge them. I can buy a new 15.6 V charger, but it's not worth it to pay 40 dollars for the charger when I can pay 80 for a brand new 18V drill. I just want a cheap charger that will keep this thing going for a while until I end up buying a new set of tools.

The 18V universal chargers don't mention this battery, but I feel like it would work anyways, but I'd hate to spend 20 bucks and have it not work. Does anybody have any ideas?

How do I drill a hole through a human tooth without shattering it?

mediocre — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:40:42 -0800

How would I drill a hole through an extracted human tooth without shattering it? Tracking my history of posts in the green it's easy to see my life has revolved around my teeth, or lack thereof lately. I now have no teeth in my head, a cup full of teeth, and a head full of ideas of what I want to do with them. My first idea was a chainmail bracelet with the teeth woven into rings, but I'm not sure that would work at all. So I guess I have two questions. First, how the hell do I drill a hole through these things without shattering them? And second, any ideas for tooth based jewelery? I'm not really a necklace person, as obvious as the idea sounds. I would prefer something like a bracelet, but can't think of a way to integrate human teeth into a bracelet.

What do you call the doohickie that allows you to drill into dirt?

Tacos Are Pretty Great — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 08:25:42 -0800

I saw my landscape contractors using an extended drill auger bit, to drill holes for plants, rather than digging them manually. What are these called?

Make my hole bigger!

Mach5 — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 18:20:59 -0800

How do I make a deadbolt hole in a door wider? I bought a brand new fancy expensive deadbolt lock for my new apartment, a Medeco Maxum to be exact. The problem is, the old hole for an old deadbolt which I never had the key for is 1/2" too small for the new mechanism. I have a semi-powerful cordless drill, and the appropriate hole bits to drill out the lock, but I cant get any sort of leverage or pull to be able to drill through the wood sandwiched on either side with metal. The drill bit is for metal/wood and is similar to this, where there is a large hole bit, and a smaller bit inside to initially drill and pull the rest of the bit through the wall straight.

Now I ask you, metafilter, what's the best way to widen this hole? My ideas thus far have been:
- Fill the hole with bondo or similar and see if I can drill it out like that.
- Screw a bit of wood in a T shape with the bottom of the T going through the hole, and then nail/screwing the top of the T to the outside of the door and drilling into that.

Thats all I got. Is there a better/proven way to do this? Should I fill and forget about this old hole? There's already a second lock, and a doorknob, and the old deadbolt is in a good place, anywhere else and it would be awkward.

Drill that rock!

Ynoxas — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 11:46:51 -0800

How do I drill a hole through a rock? Details inside. I'm looking for the right tool(s) and method for drilling holes in/through rocks. I'm not talking about the ground, or bedrock, or rock walls, or small pebbles to string on a neckace. I'm specifically talking large movable rocks, say 1 foot cubic.

I realize the type of rock could affect things, etc, but I assume I would need something like a drill press and then perhaps a method of cooling the drill bit, like water or antifreeze or similar. Are we talking masonry bits, or something much much different?

Basically, I would like to take a large rock, and drill a nice 1/2" hole right through it completely. Pointing me towards resources is perfectly acceptable, but most things I've found on my own have been of the "drill through bedrock to make a well" type things.

Gravity pulls water down how far?

Kickstart70 — Tue, 20 Dec 2005 15:59:19 -0800

How much potable-ish water is water is extremely deep underground? Having investigated how far I'd have to drill for water on land I own (not too deep...surface water within 30 feet, 110 feet to a decent well supply), I've started to wonder...barring water being pumped to the surface in the form of magma-heated steam, how much is down there much further than is reasonable feasible for us to drill for it?

A side point to this question, how far down are we likely to find large cave structures (empty or filled with water)?