Got a Drilling Problem (Technical Question)

[lohengrin]

First I drilled the chamber of a new pipe with a drill press. After, I started to drill the airhole with a 3 mm. bit. While drilling, I realized that the bit did not perforate any more and discovered that it was broken inside the hole.

The picture shows the broken bit on the drilled path. The short white strip represents the broken part of the bit still inside the block. The lines are the drilling guides for the chamber and the airhole holes.

Question: have I any chance to complete the drilling? I mean without sawing the briar. Any suggestion is welcome.

 

[lohengrin]

P.S.
Of course the bit didn't reach the already drilled chamber hole.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

So, basically your asking how to remove a broken bit?

 

[skraps]

My only suggestion would be a drill bit rated for metal, same diameter and see if you can get a bite on the broken piece and then maybe try to back it out thereby un-sticking the broken piece.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Mostly it depends on what sort of material the bit was made out of. Tool steel can be drilled out with diamond coated bits... which maybe everyone else doesn't have tons of them laying about like me, but maybe... You can also try putting a teeny tiny drop of super glue on another drill bit, insert it, let it dry, and back out the bit. But, be sure not to put so much that it squeezes out and secure both bits into the wood.

 

[derfatdutchman]

if you can drill under or above the broken bit, you may be able to loosen the broken part enough to get it out. Make sure to back your bit out often and clear the chips. If you hear the new bit contacting the metal of the old bit be extra careful.

 

[mawnansmiff]

"You can also try putting a teeny tiny drop of super glue on another drill bit, insert it, let it dry, and back out the bit."
Michael, surely you are jesting here?
Regards,
Jay.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Michael, surely you are jesting here?

Nope, I have to deal with stuff like this quite often. I would have also suggested using a dropper to put in some hydrogen peroxide and then a drop of PH Down used in swimming pools. It eat bits fast, but it might make the pipe taste funny.
Super Glue is some tough stuff. And, the surrounding material is just wood. I've down this removing bits from silver and gold blanks, which tends to hold the bit tighter.

 

[lohengrin]

Thank you sirs for the advices.

Cosmic: do you mean that a diamond coated bit can push or clasp a tool steel bit like the one I employed?

And did you experienced with success the glue method?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I have had success with the glue method. But, at desperate times you grasp for anything. Precious metals force you to try any and everything because of the cost, but if the thing was just a $20-30 piece of wood, I would just reconsider and start over on another chunk.
And yes, if it is just tool steel, which is soft in comparison to high speed bits and carbon steel, you can just grind the bit away with a diamond coated bit. But, not all diamond coated bits are created equal, so YMMV. I guess you could try using a smaller diameter bit and then hold the bit to the side to get a "grasp" on the bit to pull out.
It just depends on how much effort you are willing to give for this piece of wood.

 

[lohengrin]

Cosmic: I agree with all your statements.

So, first I'll visit some friends who have tools and mechanic's machineries and if I shall not succeed I'll

saw the block to divide the bowl and the shank and use them for a different shaping.

 

[tmb152]

lohengrin,
You were probably using a HSS drill bill and were drilling too fast, not removing it often enough to cool and to clear the channel, nand it snapped from the undue heat stress. Cooled off now, the wood of the shank has tightened up and likely has that bit locked in a vise-like hold.
Not in a million years will you ever drill it out. Drill bits wander seeking the path of least resistance, even the best of them, and I don't care what kind you try, the bit will just seek out the softer wood when you try inserting a new one. You will never drill that first one out.
Super glue? First off, cyanoacrylate depends on a good tight fit. Adding more glue weakens the bond. The only way you have a chance of pulling it out (a 1 in a 100 chance) is to dab a tiny amount on the remainder of the original bit and insert it down then by feel twist it until you feel the parts join up. Use the slow set kind. If by some small miracle you happen to join the parts perfectly and the bit isn't jammed in there super tight, there is a CHANCE it might work. My hat is totally off to you if you succeed in doing this though. Most likely, you will just leave a drop of super glue down in there, and if you otherwise fix the pipe and it remains, super glue has a HORRIBLE taste and odor. It is made in part out of cyanide. Not what I want to smoke through.
If you don't mind defacing the pipe, you could drill through the bowl from the front until you hit the bit then try to punch it back out. Then all you would have to do is figure out a way to plug that hole in some cosmetically agreeable way.
You best option is what derfatdutchman said: leave the bit in there--- get a new, better drill bit, use proper drilling techniques, remove the bit frequently to cool and to remove matter, you might try lubricating the bit with walnut oil; when you hit the old bit, realign until you get the bit to jump past it then keep it on the right path until you clear the bowl, drilling right alongside the old bit. You can probably enlarge the mortise of the pipe to keep its shape round. That old bit just leave in there, it will do no harm.

 

[ejames]

If you don't mind defacing the pipe, you could drill through the bowl from the front until you hit the bit then try to punch it back out. Then all you would have to do is figure out a way to plug that hole in some cosmetically agreeable way.

This might just work,but instead of plugging the second hole you might reshape it and make a Cavalier. Why 3MM ? 4MM is the most common size used.

 

[georged]

I haven't read a suggestion so far that I think would have the desired result.
If it was my problem to solve, I'd measure the depth of the hole to the "top" of the broken bit, then cut (shorten) the shank with a saw by that amount (minus a smidge so there was no risk of ruining the blade), keeping the cut as close to a right angle to the airway as possible.
When nearly flush, then use a small gouge-shaped chisel or rotary tool to remove briar from AROUND the bit---think 2001: A Space Odyssey monolith on the Moon--- enough to grab it with a suitable pair of vice grips and twist out.
Then face the shank flat & pretty again, and either use as-is (the shank in the photo looks pretty long), or attach an extension---bamboo, some other wood, etc.---if too short.

 

[balkisobrains]

Try freezing the whole thing and then using a small but powerful magnet on a stick. Maybe that could work.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

You could burn away the briar till the bit drops out. Haha.

Chunk that piece of wood, and do over. If that was a two thousand dollar blank of gold that would one thing, but a piece of briar should not cause so much anxiety.

 

[cossackjack]

Use a tapered 4 or 5 mm drill bit to widen the existing draft hole

Then use a Core Bit, 4 mm (or may need 5 mm) to "core out" the trapped drill bit. The core would need to be drilled through to the bowl
That's what I would try..

 

[lohengrin]

Many thanks for all these advices.
Cossackjack: this is what I was thinking from the brginning, but I did not know that such a tool as the Core Bit really existed. Now I'll see if I can get it.

Thanks again everybody.

 

[georged]

The linked core drills don't look to be long enough to reach the chamber when chucked.
Also, the dimensions are for the tubing before the grit is bonded to it. I'd guess the actual, finished hole diameter left in wood by a tubular bit of that type that will "slip over" a 3mm twist drill bit would be nearly a quarter inch. A quarter inch draft hole in a pipe is effectively unsmokable.
An idea based on the above that SHOULD work came out of it, though: :D
Take a piece of thin-walled stainless steel tubing of the appropriate length and inside diameter, file teeth into the END of it, chuck it in a hand drill and go to town... after first opening the existing airway with a tapered drill bit that's the same as the O.D. of the ss tube. (followed with a regular drill but to completely clean things out)
ss tubing is inexpensive and available in any length, diameter, and wall thickness size you need. (the thinnest available wall thickness should keep the airway opening into the chamber at a reasonable/smokable size)
https://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-stainless-steel-tubing/=14sq872

 

[cossackjack]

George, I was thinking that as well. Your approach is better.