Hand Turned Drill Recommendations

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Jan 8, 2013
7,894
5,173
Hey all. I have a few pipes I'd like to open the draft a bit on but don't trust myself with a powered drill. Any good hand turned drills that would do the job well?
 

woodsroad

Lifer
Oct 10, 2013
13,656
25,029
SE PA USA
Neerup also makes a 3.5 mm and 4.0 mm tool for opening up drafts in the shank.

View attachment 377022

I use them on occasion, but they seem a little large to be honest.
I’ve enlarge the airway on straight stems with a regular drill bit, chucked into a handle. go slow, removing small amounts with a progression of bits. It helps to have a set of bits in 1/64th increments.
 

warren

Lifer
Sep 13, 2013
12,538
19,287
Foothills of the Chugach Range, AK
I use the bit from one of my reamers, forget which and am unable to lay my hands on it as I type this. A pair of pliers used in line with the bit seems to be all I need when opening a draw. A bent bit, all of my pipes are, requires reaming from both ends and hoping that'll suffice. So far over the years it has. I count myself lucky as I like a tighter draw than some here do.

Always small "bites" and constant testing.
 
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JackOrion

Can't Leave
Feb 3, 2023
430
3,898
West Yonkers California
There are hex end drill bits incrementally sized in 64ths so you’ll just need to determine the size. And there’s all kinds of hex hand drivers out there. Earlier in the thread someone posted a T handle driver which would be a great choice.