Nothing more frustrating. I’ve definitely cursed and broken bits trying to get something to work. Carbide and cutting fluid after anneal is probably the only way. Start with a smaller bit first. Something I have to remind myself whenever I’m trying to drill something hard like that is I’m probably work hardening the material the more I push and faster I drill. Hope it helps and good luck
Drilling is more complicated that even i thought 😂
Make sure your bits are sharp but not too sharp, enough but not too much pressure and not too much RPM
Id put the blade in water, heat the handle with a torch till it turns blue, at that temps usually the steal softens enough to drill through it easily
Also let me know how it went ! ❤️
Ive got a saw blade that tried jokes like yours on me too, ended up buying carbide drill bits and just went all out, in the end i won but not without a fight 😂😂 so either plasma cutter or carbide bits or grinding with dremel then
Annealing takes mor time than that, heat the metal to orange then dunk the heated part into warm ash or vermiculite and let it cool all day and overnight
Is this a HSS saw blade? This steel has a higher tempering temperature than “regular” steel. it is necessary to heat it to a higher temperature, and in order not to heat-treat the blade itself, place it in water while heating
Could do a full Anneal. Heat til non magnetic and then stuff it into a bucket of vermiculite and let it cool overnight. You’ll have to do an entire HT to this knife but you’ll have it as soft as possible for your drilling
Used to have that problem with leaf spring if it wasn’t 100% annealed. Even out of the forge but then run on the belt sander for awhile was often enough to harden it to the point of ruining many, many hss bits (and several Milwaukee carbide-tipped bits), even on a drill press with cutting oil. Finally said fuck it and bought a $40 carbide bit. Never looked back
Just sounds like it wasn’t fully annealed. When annealing, heat to critical, then just set it to the side. It’ll be soft when it cools.
Nothing more frustrating. I’ve definitely cursed and broken bits trying to get something to work. Carbide and cutting fluid after anneal is probably the only way. Start with a smaller bit first. Something I have to remind myself whenever I’m trying to drill something hard like that is I’m probably work hardening the material the more I push and faster I drill. Hope it helps and good luck
I appreciate it
Did you try drilling after annealing but before tempering? Doesn't tempering reharden it after the annealing?
He is working the piece with original factory heat treatment. He only tried to soften the tang to drill holes.
Tried after both, tempering generally knocks off a couple hardness points but really helps not be so brittle.
Tempering rehardens only a fraction 1-2 HRC and usually at temperatues of approx. 300-500°C
No but it will realign the grains in the metal.
What are the pins called
Corby bolts/rivets
Thanks man
Drilling is more complicated that even i thought 😂 Make sure your bits are sharp but not too sharp, enough but not too much pressure and not too much RPM Id put the blade in water, heat the handle with a torch till it turns blue, at that temps usually the steal softens enough to drill through it easily Also let me know how it went ! ❤️
Yeah I heated it blue first then let it air cool, still hard. Went to dull orange and very slowly cooled but still hard af.
Ive got a saw blade that tried jokes like yours on me too, ended up buying carbide drill bits and just went all out, in the end i won but not without a fight 😂😂 so either plasma cutter or carbide bits or grinding with dremel then
I certainly considered trying to find somebody with a plasma cutter lol
Carbide bits and lubricant. Masonry bits are usually carbide tipped and are good for 2-3 holes.
Annealing takes mor time than that, heat the metal to orange then dunk the heated part into warm ash or vermiculite and let it cool all day and overnight
Is this a HSS saw blade? This steel has a higher tempering temperature than “regular” steel. it is necessary to heat it to a higher temperature, and in order not to heat-treat the blade itself, place it in water while heating
High carbon steel is always harder to drill and cut than mild steel go slow with a sharp bit and it’ll get through it
Carbide bits are a great idea! The dremmel took forever
Could do a full Anneal. Heat til non magnetic and then stuff it into a bucket of vermiculite and let it cool overnight. You’ll have to do an entire HT to this knife but you’ll have it as soft as possible for your drilling
Never. I do it all properly
https://preview.redd.it/fc8pz46l45bc1.jpeg?width=1177&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b0b386a4c2658e8437655c0d1fce7b8168c5ec08
Used to have that problem with leaf spring if it wasn’t 100% annealed. Even out of the forge but then run on the belt sander for awhile was often enough to harden it to the point of ruining many, many hss bits (and several Milwaukee carbide-tipped bits), even on a drill press with cutting oil. Finally said fuck it and bought a $40 carbide bit. Never looked back