Deburing small holes in aluminum

[Powder keg]

Hey guys, I drilled a bunch of 1/8" holes in aluminum and when the drill broke out the other side it made a big bur. How do you guys make a clean looking job of deburring these small holes? I tried a countersink that was new and sharp and it wanted to kind of fold the burr over. By the time the bur was gone, the countersink had went in more than I wanted. I tried a centerdrill and cut the burr off with it. It worked the best, but It still isn't what I was after. Everything was sharp. (drill, countersink, and centerdrill)

Thanks for any input, Wes

 

[Brass_Machine]

I use a center drill. It seems you have already tried that though.

Eric

 

[rake60]

I use a sharp, hand held, larger drill bit to deburr small holes in soft metals.

That is possibly the ONLY case where a glove would be a good idea
when using a drill bit......

 

[Philjoe5]

When I get burrs from milling or drilling operations I take some #500 grit paper and polish the workpiece with it. It's usually pretty effective in removing burrs. There are times when, milling steel for example, I may have to start the polishing process with #150 paper to cut through, then I finish up with #500.

 

[raym 11]

Try grinding the drill bit to a flatter angle.
Some times you can clamp a scrap piece to the back of the part and drill through both.

Ray M

 

[shred]

I usually hand-twist a countersink on small holes and use one of the knife-type deburrers on larger ones, but I make no claims either is ideal..

 

[BobWarfield]

Keo zero-flute deburr in a hand drill does the trick:

Enco sells these Keo cutters in sets of 4 (I think). They're wonderful, especially on aluminum. Very controllable. I keep the small one in the hand drill, and the next to largest one in a little air drill I just got for my birthday. Boy is the air drill a fast easy deburr!

Love me air tools.

Anything too large for the air drill gets a quick swipe with one of the curved blade-style scrapers, which also does a real nice job.

Best,

BW

 

[gilessim]

I know it's too late now but I'll mention it anyway ,for wood the drill bit always splinters coming out so I always clamp the piece onto some scrap and drill through into that ,they come out perfect!, this may not always be possible with small engine bits! but worth bearing in mind!

Those keo cutters that Bob mentions are great! especially in wood! , we call them "snail" cutters, I don't know why, maybe because of the curly chip they produce!.....Giles

 

[bigsteve]

How about a tapered reamer?

 

[ChooChooMike]

Enco/MSC (and others) has a sweet set of small deburring tools :

6 PIECE FINE DEBURRING SET

Model #240-3311
Low Price: $63.10 ea

A tad pricey, but work VERY VERY WELL, especially to deburr holes, edges that are a bit buried. Works well on buried holes due to a long shank on the tool - e.g. say, small holes inside a cylinder. Just put the appropriate-sized tool wheel into the hole and twirl it around (ok, insert jokes here :) and it'll leave nice chamfered edge whatever-sized you can manage. It'll work beautifully on 1/8" holes, I know, I've done that on even smaller holes.

Once I used them, I immediately bought 2 sets for myself .... I'm always misplacing the packet. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED !

Mike

 

[kustomkb]

file the cusp off first then de-burr the hole, use sharp tools and appropriate speeds and feeds so you don't get the large break through burr. gotta get me one of those swiss sets too, nice.

 

[ChooChooMike]

It'll work beautifully on 1/8" holes, I know, I've done that on even smaller holes.

In fact used them last nite on a couple of piston/connecting rod holes for my latest steam engine project. 8)

 

[mklotz]

In fact used them last nite on a couple of piston/connecting rod holes for my latest steam engine project. 8)

A show-and-tell at tomorrow's meeting is in order, Mike.

 

[ChooChooMike]

Marv,

I was thinking that myself. Think I'll drag along my laptop and maybe show some pix at the meeting !

Mike

 

[Powder keg]

Sorry for the delay in responding guys. Between the snow, work, school, and the wifey. I haven't had any time. I think If there were 50 hours in a day, I'd use'em up.

I usually just hit the surface with a file and be done with it. The holes I'm deburing are in the top and bottom plates in my LTD's. I want to polish the top, and any scratches I put in I'd have to remove. I'm going to get one of those deburing kits and give it a try on my next model. Thanks Mike!

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions, Wes