Drill Bits

[screenman]

Cwrepair
Do you not find the resin acts as a lubricant and stops the drills from working properly I have spoken to the manufactures and of our drills and they recommend no lubricant just drill in short bursts that will not allow the drill to get hot. I wil normally use the drill to either clean the pit or drill and pop on most repairs and will make a drill last about 100 repairs.

Do not use to much pressure and do not let it get hot.

I have just remmembered that we were told in the early days pre 1988when I started that some of the guys were using diamond tipped drills maybe these needed some lubricant.

[StarQuest]

Nicely put Screenman,

If your using the proper resin the only drilling most commonly required is to clean out the pit. If your drilling for oil....try using the ground and not the shield, you'll make more money;) On a bullseye there's seldom a need to drill at all because it's a cone and resin will flow easily. (one exception to that would be if it was previously filled) Personally, I try to stay away from these because 50% of time they often result in dissapointment.

I've used diamond bits in the past and found they still cut while lubricated. I've found Carbide bits just won't cut with lube. So if you have to re-drill.....always wipe of excess resin before proceeding. The art of drilling is probably as important as the art of probing your star legs. Too much pressure and you'll always lose. It's just a feel you'll acquire as time passes. You have too practice both patience and skill. Patience is really all that separates good techs from becoming great techs in this biz. Always remember that!

When anybody tells me there only getting 4-5 repairs per drill bit, it tells me a a number of things about this tech.

1. You might be using the wrong bit
2. You might be using the wrong resin.
3. You might not be drilling properly (not allowing bit to cool between burst)
4. You might be drilling deeper than is necessary for that repair.
5. You might be "using too much pressure with dremel"
6. Your simply not letting the repair to come to you.....try to be more patient and wait for that occassional slow fill without drilling more holes;)

[Mike Allen]

Can I make sure that I understand this drilling processs talked about here?

Is the resin being used as you drill the break and then you switch to the bridge to finish the repair?

[souchie]

OK StarQuest, where do you get your bits that last 70-90 repairs?Most of mine last about 10 and I have tried quit a few different brands.Also seems to me drilling takes longer than the actual repair does to complete.Here in Louisiana it's hard to stay in the heat when it's over a 100 degrees and the humidity is 80% you need to drill and get in the A/C ,you can't stand there and baby the drill cooling it off and on when your about to pass out.

[cwrepair]

screenman, Thats a good point about the resin acting as a lubricant and slowing the drilling process. I would say yes that it does to some degree but not enough to matter when its saving your bits life. In fact I dont think I have ever spent over a minute drilling while adding resin . My bits last so long I dont even really know how often Im changing them. The resin continually being dripped while drilling keeps the bit and the glass so much cooler that theres very little chance of overheating the glass and causing further damage to repair area and of course the bits life being extended greatly. It also seems like the hole is much cleaner with less glass powder and debri in it as well as some resin gets down in the break and starts to fill before I inject the break. Chris

[screenman]

CWREPAIR I am in confusion with you answer on this one as the resin we use Deltakits will act as a lubricant and just spin the drill on the glass causing it to overheat and burn out quicker.

Now I use my drill on most repairs sometimes to drill and pop and sometimes just to clean the pit I prefer it to a probe. My drill bits last about 200 jobs in fact I cannot remember the last time I changed one.

They way I use my drill is in very short bursts so as not to allow the bit to get warm, I use bits made from carbide I think. Drilling to the laminate will clog the bit you can either clean them with a brush or burn it off with a flame.
Drilling into a old repair wil also do the same.

Because so many people come to us saying they have been trained to drill after they have started filling if it does not fill we show them how hard it is to drill through the new uncured resin as part of our training.

The time to drill or not is before you start to fill.

[GlasWeldTech]

I buy my bits in bulk and was paying $1.00 each until they had a price increase to $1.60. I also add enough resin to my injector to do a quality repair. My bits last around 20-30 drills UNLESS drilling into an old repair. I am throwing away a few drops of resin BUT always have enough to finish my repair. These bits and resin are cheap compared to what we make per repair so do not try to cheat yourself. What I am saying is yes it is great to use a bit for 30 plus repairs but in reality if we have to use a bit per repair and trash a few drops of resin our cost per repair is what$2.50 and we charge $40-$50 per repair. I have never been one to count how many drops of resin comes out of a bottle but instead focus on doing the best repair possible. I also never LUBE my bits.

[screenman]

I do not make my bits last this long just for economy. I just change them when required. I agree the amount we spend per repair on consumables is not worth trying to save on.

I tend to find it far more profitable to find a second or more jobs at each call.

[souchie]

Ok guy's where do you get your bits and how much do they cost?2 bits,4,bits ,6 bits or a dollar.HA HA HA.I could not pass it up.Rick

[Delta Kits]

I buy my bits in bulk and was paying $1.00 each until they had a price increase to $1.60.

Buying in bulk is definitely the way to go, assuming you use many of them. Ours are $1.40 per bit by the 100.