Here is a collection of RK's wisdom from a variety of posts that go back into 1999. I've been hoarding them for some time. I made a few edits to some of the messages.
I'm sure I've missed some gems. What a wealth of knowledge shared by a very nice man! ------------------------------------------------------------------ D R I L L P R E S S E S ------------------------------------------------------------------ I've been telling everyone that will listen to buy a drill press that has a LOW rpm, less than 200 rpm. You can always go faster if you need to but if your presses low end is in the 300's that's the best your going to get. ------------------------------------------------------------------ At the show we were all standing around getting into every bodies way when someone started talking about using their drill press and having a drill get stuck in the work piece. If this happens to you never, and I mean never, try and raise the spindle up to clear the condition. Keep as much pressure as you can on the spindle and keep the work piece in contact with the drill table at ALL times. When this happens, just push down on the handle as hard as you can and reach up and turn off the machine. Again don't try and clear the obstruction. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Actually any drill press that's close to 200 rpm's will work. I just try and make everyone aware that with SS too high of a speed, over 500 rpm, can hurt you. With SS if you are running at a high speed and you let the drill rest in one spot a little too long the work piece will "work harden" on you and then you'll have a problem getting through the hard spot. With a slower speed the chance of this happening will be greatly reduced. On SS I usually run at about 375 when drilling and 175 when reaming. Also with Ti, high speed, unless it's a VERY high speed 2500 rpm+, will "work harden" the work piece at speeds over 300 rpm. The low end of mine is 175, about the only time I go that slow is when I'm reaming. And yes the rule of thumb for reaming is, half the speed / twice the feed. ------------------------------------------------------------------ R E A M E R S, R E A M I N G, A N D D R I L L I N G ------------------------------------------------------------------ Ro, STOP do not pass go or you'll go to jail. Since you don't have one of my fine drill fixtures you have to do it the very hard way. Ro never and I mean NEVER try and drill anything out on club heads with a hand drill. I the first rule to screwing things up is by using a hand drill. Too high of a speed, not enough pressure. Plus you MUST USE A REAMER when drilling out tapered bores. Cobalt, Carbide drills for our line of work is over kill. The SS that we work with is very mild compared to other higher chrome stainless's. Complete waste of money. I have never in all my tool making life ever used a cobalt drill, used a lot of carbide for drilling REAL hard metals but never a cobalt. Cobalt lathe tools is a whole other matter. ------------------------------------------------------------------ To make your reamers last longer the rule of thumb is 1/2 the SPEED and TWICE THE FEED that you would normally use on a drill bit. .375 drill bit should be run @ 40 SFM or 410 RPM with a chip load of .006 per rev. So a .375 reamer should be run at .205 RPM with a chip load of .012 per rev. In other words when reaming don't let the reamer ride in the hole PUSH IT THRU. When either drilling or reaming DON"T LET THE DRILL BIT OR REAMER RIDE IN THE HOLE. Club heads are made of SS and steel shafts are made from a flame hardening material. So any time you allow a bit or reamer too "RIDE" in the hole the material will WORK HARDEN and you will have one hell of a time getting thru the hardened section. ------------------------------------------------------------------ I knew some day you would finally admit it and I was here to see it. Now as to the web of the drill. When looking at the drill head on you will see the tip and the two cutting edges. Well the web is the thing holding all that together. By thinning out the web you reduce its thickness thereby reducing heat build up. What you do is grind a notch on the back side of each of the cuttings lands and thin the tip cutting portion. You kind of make a little cutting area behind the tip that allows the tip to also do a very little cutting. You must remember that the closer you get to the center of the drill the slower that area is turning so in essence you are pushing the center section through the work piece. So by thing out the web you create more cutting area in the center. I don't know how else to explain it at this time. RK Al Taylor wrote: > Ok guys, I'll be the dummy. What the hell is the web of the drill bit, > and how the heck do I thin it? > Al > > Richard Kennedy wrote: > > > William C Swingler wrote: > > "Be sure to thin the web of the drill bit to effect easier cutting not > > to mention to keep the bit very sharp" > > > > This also reduces the heat build up in the tip area, very important when > > drilling SS and Ti. > > > > RK > > > > > > > > The last few posts on drilling tough materials was very informative, > > > including slow rpm's, steady pressure to avoid work hardening and the > > > use of lubricating oils. One area that is often overlooked in drilling > > > is the angle of the drill point. For normal metal drilling 59* on each > > > or 118* overall is recommended. If you attempt heat treated materials > > > the drill point should be flatter or 130* included, the preferred angle > > > for stainless steel and tougher metals is 140* included. Be sure to > > > thin the web of the drill bit to effect easier cutting not to mention to > > > keep the bit very sharp. ------------------------------------------------------------------ I also buy from MSC when Wholesale Tool's out of the item I want. I just purchased some .751 reamers from them, coast $31.00. In the past bought the same item from Wholesale Tool, cost $15.00. Big cost difference between the two. One thing I like about MSC is next day delivery at no extra cost. But for where I live with Wholesale Tool I get the same service, unless they have a back order something. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Bill, since we're always starting out with a hole already there, why in heaven's name would anyone ever want to use a drill. A drill will grab and can cut the bore off line, while a reamer will follow the bore much better. With a reamer you will have a hard time boring out of line where as with a drill removing the little material that we have to remove can easily go a stray and totally screw up the bore. Plus you can only get drills in a set dia. where with reamers you can get them in decimal sizes, .370, .371, .372 etc., etc. Now which would you rather be using??? As far as drill bits are concerned I just have HSS and a roughing set of high carbon, no cobalt, no carbide, just plain out HSS. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Colin, If you just want to bare min. then I would get a .373, .375, .377 for irons and a .337, .339, .341 , .343 for metal woods. But you must remember I never sand down a graphite shaft to fit the hosel, I always ream the hosel to fit the shaft so my reamer sizes are a lot more than what I just posted. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Now as to the reamers. A lot of ST'ers lately have asked me what reamers should they buy, my reply was not as many as I have. I would get for metal woods a ; .335, / .337 / .339 / .341 / and a .343. For Irons i would get; .370 / .373 / .375 / .377 / .379 . These should cover just about all your needs. I have/had reamers in .001 increments from .335 up to .348 for woods and .370 up to .383 for irons. But as all ST'ers know I'm nuts plus I like tools. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Bill, there's only two ways of making an oversize hosel smaller; 1/ bore it out a little larger and insert a shim that has been drilled almost to size, then finished after it's been epoxied into the hosel. Note very slow RPM when reaming, no heat. 2/ if the bore is not that much oversize you can take an oversize 3/8-24 tap, you can buy .005 oversize taps at your local tool supply house, not Home Deport, etc. By running the tap down the hosel bore you will kick up a burr which will make the bore undersize. Then just run a reamer down the hosel bore and you will have a bore that's back into spec. Oversize taps can be purchased from the same place you buy the reamers. ------------------------------------------------------------------ As to how much stock to remove safely, I've always posted that you should never try and remove more than .015 per side, but .0075 is best. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Rick, A drill has very sharp outer edges on the two flutes that dig into the material. If you look at a reamer you will see that most have 6 flutes, none less than 6, but they are chamfered to allow an easy transition into the hole. There's not enough material if using a drill for the drill to ride on, it just wants to dig in. The most amount of stock that you would want to remove with a reamer is .020, .010 per side. I can remove more but then I have the proper equipment to be able to. If more than .020 is needed to be removed from a hole and you MUST use a drill bit take the bit and grind off the the sharp outer edge before using. This will allow the drill to be kinder to you and not dig in as much. Remember they don't just make reamers for the fun of it, they serve a very well needed purpose. Tool and die shops do not go to the added expense and time using a reamer just because. They do it because a reamer will hold the hole to a given size with out endangering their employees. If you were trying to open a .370 hosel bore to .375 and tried to do it with a drill bit the best you could do would be to open the bore to .377. Because of my background I can take a .375 reamer and open the .370 hole to .3745, that's .0005 under the size of the reamer. Try that with a drill bit. Can't do it every time but I have done it about 80% of the time. Or I can take a reamer and ream the .370 hole to .377 with the .375 reamer if I want. With a drill bit YOU have NO control what size the bore will come out to. Hope this better explains the benefits of the reamer. RK Rick Sina wrote: > RK - > > Not being a machinist, can you explain why it is dangerous using a drill to > make a whole larger. I have heard you over and over explain the threat of > loss to limbs and digits but in my mind I can't figure how/why this might > happen (believe me I'll use a reamer but it would be nice to know why I am > buying these damn things). Are there guidelines for how much larger a hole > can be made with each reamer - do you use them in succession to remove > additional material? > > We appreciate your knowledge ------------------------------------------------------------------- I cut down the reamer's length for safty reasons not because I can't get them under the reamer/ chuck. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ro, I have found that TT steel shafts are pretty close to the advertised size but their graphite's are sometimes over the oversize dim. That's why I call for so many reamers to cover these manufacturing defects. If you don't have a chop saw or abrasive cut off wheel to trim your shafts then you can just go to your bench grinder and grind the end of the shank the you won't need off. Just use the edge of the wheel and dig right into the area that you wish to remove, Make sure that you notch 360* around the shank. Notch it in about a quarter of the way, again 360* around, then put it in your vise and clamp it on the ground out notch and hit it with a hammer, it will just break off at the grind mark. George is right on with the sizes, but like him I substitute a normal size reamer when I can. Like the .343 can easily be replaced by a .3438 ( 11/32") or a .399 is a "R" reamer size, .377 is a "V" reamer size. These standard sizes will cost a lot less than the in between sizes. I hope this better explains the problem. But George is right on in his explanation. RK George Lafleur wrote: > Ro, > > I think you will be ok for TT shafts with the sizes that you list. You > might check with RK or TFlan as they have much more experience than I do. > > You may find that the shanks are a little long for use in a table top drill > press with RK's reamer fixture. Just wack them off to the size that works > for you. Don't waste your time with a hacksaw. Use a chop saw with a metal > cutting blade. Ought to be easy to find someone to do it for you. Try > machine shops, metal sellers, iron fence builders, tool freaks (yes, I have > one). > > Here goes: > > MSC phone number (800) 645-7270. > > .337 02033371 13.44 > .339 02319184 8.03 > .341 02033413 13.44 > .343 02033439 13.44 > .375 02310241 7.03 > .377 02319226 8.94 > .379 02033793 15.03 > > The crazy sizes are twice the price of the standard sizes. Here's a > standard size that you may want to substitute for the .343. > > .3438 02310225 7.40 > > > george: > > > > thanks, i would really appreciate your help here. there was only one > > local source and they would have to order them. to complicate matters, > > we had a dialect problem. i want .337, .339, .341, .343, .373, .375, > > .377 and .379. > > > > also, it seems to me like true temper graphite shafts are all > > substantially larger than spec. do you any idea whether they tend to be > > larger than the sizes i listed above? and whether i might need to get > > larger sizes? (i have found that their shafts are particularly worthy of > > a controversial type of shaft matching and also they are made in > > mississippi so i tend to use a lot of them). > > > > i really appreciate your assistance with this; otherwise, i got a > > "skookum" hosel clamp and no reamers to ream in it and life is tough > > enough without that considerable additional strife. > > > > ro > > > > George Lafleur wrote: > > > > > > Ro, > > > > > > It's really not that hard, just unfamiliar. They are called "Straight Flute > > > Chucking Reamers" - really. If you call them by that name you will get what > > > you need. > > > > > > Sales people at tool supply places will know what you want if you call them > > > by their name. Then you have to tell them what kind of steel you want them > > > made of and the size you want. > > > > > > You want HSS (high speed steel) and you already know the size. You don't > > > want any other options (like coolant through the shaft). > > > > > > This is the most basic reamers made. Seems like any tool place would have > > > them by the ton (except for the one you listed) Lexcut has plenty of > > > straight flute chucking reamers, but I saw no HSS. They may have them if > > > you ask. The ones in the Lexcut catalog look exactly like what you want, > > > they are just made out of the high price stuff. > > > > > > The easiest way to know you are getting warm is the price. If it's more > > > than $10 (more likely $5-6), then you don't want it. > > > > > > BTW, the odd sizes that we need are harder to find. Why fight it. MSC has > > > them at a fair price. Start with one for irons and one for woods. Go about > > > .005 bigger than the typical shaft (after tip prep) that you use. > > > > > > I'll be happy to give you the part numbers, price and phone number for MSC > > > if you tell me the size you want. > > > > > > Good Luck, > > > > > > George > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------ Vito, you can safely ream .03215 of SS without any trouble. But if you want to reream them to the same taper you have better have a milling machine like I have because remember when rereaming a taper you have 100% contact, not like a straight reamer, so if it bore is say 1 3/8 deep its like using a 2 3/4 drill. I just ream them out parallel like your question. RK "Sparto, Vito (FUSA)" wrote: > RK, > What do you use to ream tapered tip irons? I thought > you might need to start with something less than .370 > because the tapered irons are .355 or does the .370 > work? ------------------------------------------------------------------ Like Harold Still posted you can purchase a tapered ream from GS / GW & DC but be careful when purchasing one if you expect to use it on several different sets of irons or in some cases heads with in the same set. Tapered reamers may bottom out in side the hosel on some heads but on other heads with in the set do not go all the way to the bottom. If it bottoms out then the only way to use it is grind some off the tip, which will fit THAT iron but may not allow you to ream the entire set. Also you MAY be able to ream THAT entire set but trying to ream another manufacturer it will not work. Just be careful when spending your money, By the way Wholesale Tool sells a 1� cutter for less than $15.00 ------------------------------------------------------------------ Harold, it can be used for a number of things 1) reaming out holes, must be used on a solid piece of equipment, not a hand drill. 2) Taper required for the manufacture of blanking dies. 3) The draft required in the making of plastic and die cast molds. I know that a tapered reamer is used in the reaming of holes but in production a tapered cutter is used because a reamer gets clogged up real fast were as with a cutter it only has three flutes most of the time which allows a lot of room for chips in between the flutes. If I was using a 1� cutter on a drill press I would first make sure it was at least a 3/4 HP and the drill / hosel clamp was very well built and BOLTED to the table and the table was fully clamped in place before proceeding. For your info 1� = .017 per in. RK [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > In a message dated 10/7/1999 9:10:09 PM Eastern Daylight Time, > [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > By the way Wholesale Tool sells a 1� cutter for less than $15.00 > > > RK: > For us none machinist what is a 1* cutter used for ??????? ------------------------------------------------------------------ U S I N G A C H A M F E R I N G T O O L ------------------------------------------------------------------ Keith, first off it's a 40� chamfering tool, 20� per side angle, and it's not a countersink. If you would like it to last twice as long get yourself some "Tap Magic". If you don't know what your doing in cutting SS DON'T use just any cutting oil. With Tap Magic it works very well with SS, if you can't find Tap Magic cut it dry. RK ps; You can buy a 100% carbide chamfer tool from WT for around 1/2 the price as GS's. Plus you can get it serrated which cuts a lot better and the tool will last longer. Keith Anderson wrote: > Should I be using cutting oil with my 20* countersink? I have the GS > version. P.S. I really hope that chinese download thing is over. Keith ------------------------------------------------------------------ M A K I N G G R O O V E S L E S S A G G R E S S I V E ------------------------------------------------------------------ Brent, fill in the grooves with "Liquid Steel' wait about 5 minutes then scrape off the excess then wait about 1 hour then lightly sand the face of the club going against the grooves, (90*). I use a 240 to 320 grade. Not too heavy but just to bring it back to the orginal surface. This will leave you enough groove to spin the ball but will not scuff the ball. I do this every time I build a set of clubs and the customer has that problem. What's happened is at the foundry to make their molds for investment casting last longer they make the grooves just a tad deep and as they use the molds the grooves in the mold wear down, since they are the easiest and thinnest section in the mold. RK --- Brent Olson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >Purchased a new Titleist Vokey wedge and hitting balls > >with the club leaves large and deep abrasions on the cover. > >Is there anything I can do to the > >face of the club so I do not ruin every golf ball I hit with it? ------------------------------------------------------------------ C H O P S A W C U T T O F F W H E E L S ------------------------------------------------------------------ (This in response to a discussion on chop saws, one had a 3,800 rpm the other around 9,000 rpm, and thin and thick cut off wheels) I hate to jump in here at this late date "BUT" I just can't sit by and let this much misinformation go on answered. The reason for the two different spindle speeds is due to the fact that the faster speed "REQUIRES' a smaller wheel than the slower speed. WITH THE THINNER wheels you have a much better chance of getting yourself "BADLY HURT" than with the thicker wheel. And another MYTH a thinner or thick cut off wheel makes no difference in the taping or not taping of a graphite shaft. When you are cutting off any part of a graphite shaft 95% of what you are doing is melting the resin & glass that bond the whole thing together, so taping of the shaft does diddle squat when using an abrasive cut off wheel. Over the years I have "EXPLODED" about 1000 thin cut off wheels doing tool & die work but to date, a little over 21 years, I have "YET" to have one of the thicker wheels even look like its going bad. ------------------------------------------------------------------ R E M O V I N G A B R O K E N S H A F T ------------------------------------------------------------------ Graham, What you do is stack up a bunch of 3/8" washers or something that has a hole thru it that is larger than 3/8" and about 1' thick. Run the tap down as far as you can, bottom tap if you can also afford one, then take a length of threaded rod about 4 to 6 inches long. Put three nuts on to the threaded rod two to act as jam nuts and one to pull with. You will also need one washer so that you will be pulling just the broken shaft and not binding up the pull nut on the spacer. Now with the two jam nuts thread the rod into the broken shaft as far as you can, in some cases I have used just the threaded rod and just kept on screwing it into the broken shaft, but if that does't work. Apply heat and tighten the single nut against the washer / 1' spacer making sure NOT to put too much pressure as to strip out the threads. Just make sure to apply plenty of heat. RK Please don't do something stupid and try and drill it out. I've been making clubs now for over 22 years and Tom F has been at it for more than 35 years and both of us don't do drill bits ----- Original Message ----- From: "Graham Little" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > RK > > Can you tell me a little about how this works please? I'm assuming > you tap into the inside of the shaft, take it out and then screw > in the threaded rod. I'm then a little lost about the spacers, > washers and nuts. How is it held in the vice? > > Thanks > Graham > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Richard Kennedy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > John, you must use some sort of spacer to have it work. The spacer has > > got to be at least 1.0" long with a 11/32" hole all the way thru. Then > > what you need is an oversized 5/16-18 tap. You can buy the oversized > > tap at Wholesale Tool. You will also need a length of 5/16-18 thread > > rod, about 6" in length and 3 nuts. and one thick 3/8" washer. > > > > RK > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "John Payne" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > Jents: > > > > > > I need to pull a shaft from an iron head that broke off below > > > the hosel. I know I've seen it mentioned here before but could > > > someone please post what size tap to get to pull this out with. > > > It's a standard .370 steel shaft. > > > > > > Thanks in advance, > > > > > > John Payne ------------------------------------------------------------------
