Drilling!!

[The Tot]

I've already asked about on MSN for obvious answers. At the moment i've got to drill a 4mm hole in my exhaust to put the baffles in. Unfortunately, my cordless drill and Bosch HSS drill bits are somewhat inadequate. MOT is due on the 11th, and between now and then, i've got to drill about 3mm of what appears to be titanium - dull brown appearance with a purple patina. No swarf is being produced obviously since SS is softer than Ti. What should i do? I don't know any local engineering firms and i'd rather do the job myself on only resort to somebody else's services at the last minute.

I'm only part way through drilling my pilot hole! It appears to be only 1mm deep!
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The Tot 2019 Z1000SX - 2007 R1
Never argue with autism

[UnknownStuntm...]

Are your drills sharp bud? They can go dull every few mins if it's a hard enough material... Also, spray some oil on there as you're doing it. Helps keep them sharp a bit longer.

[Pete.]

Sharp drill with little back-off, should drill easily on a slow speed.
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a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[deanoet]

I will assume you dont have a grinding wheel handy to sharpen the drill.
If you are feeling cheeky go to an industrial estate at dinner time and ask if someone will sharpen the drill for you, it is a 30 second job for someone who knows what they are doing
if you arent feeling cheeky, use a smaller drill, or buy a new drill

Handy hint:
To stop the drill slipping off put a piece of masking tape where you are drilling and drill through that.
Nothing more annoying than a nice scratch as the drill runs away all over the shineyness.
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CBT Passed 18th July 2007 : Previous Bikes> CG125 : Current Bike> Hornet 600 : PASSED DAS 30th Oct 2007
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[The Tot]

Thanks for all the tips guys. The drill bit on my pilot drill feels sharp - thank's for the oil tip too. I've got the drill set on the highest torque setting and lowest speed. Ideally, i want to ask some guys at work for Ti drill bits that would at least have a chance - it's ridiculous after 45 mins of drilling, it's only done 1mm at BEST.

Worst comes to worst, i'll bring the end can to the power plant (bloody bastard job having it signed off by security etc) and get it done there since they're bound to have tools if they're welding and drilling half inch thick pipes. That's a last resort of course.
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The Tot 2019 Z1000SX - 2007 R1
Never argue with autism

[Jamie S]

I can get you 5 drill bits that my dad uses to drill 3 inch think titanium parts with, drill through it like butter.
I could get you them for £5 + p+p
They are Cobalt drills , and will be brand new.

[Jamie S]

Bering in mind I could get £5 EACH for them on ebay.
Heres a picture of them, lovely arn't they.

[The Tot]

Just sent u a PM Jamie - prolly only want/need 1mm-5mm. Well i take your word for it that cobalt'll do the job - almost twice the hardness of Ti if i remember correctly.
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The Tot 2019 Z1000SX - 2007 R1
Never argue with autism

[stinkwheel]

Hardened tool steel is way, way, way harder than titanium.

Of course if you try to drill too fast and overheat the drill, it looses a lot of the hardening.

A normal, sharp but good quality drill should waltz through titanium.

Titanium has a lot of myths about it. It is stronger per unit WEIGHT but not per unit volume than steel. A titanium bar designed to carry the same load as a steel one would be lighter than the steel one but it would also be consdierably bigger.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Jamie S]

[Pete.]

The Brinell number is the proper measure of hardness, not the density.
____________________
a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[stinkwheel]

The density of a material has nothing whatsoever to do with its hardness.

Diamond has a density of up to 3.53g cm-3 and it is pretty much the hardest material known to man (although I think someone came up with a tungsten salt recently that is harder).

With metals especially, the hardness depends a lot on how the metal has been heated and cooled to form crystals. With steel the carbon content is also critical. Tool steel has a high carbon content and is heated hot then rapidly cooled. This makes it VERY hard but brittle.

A titanium exhaust has essentially been repeatedly annealed (by heating and cooling) and so will be about as soft as titanium gets.

The hardness is often measured using the Rockwell C (Rc) scale. Industrial diamond is 70+. Good quality steel drill bits will be in the mid 60's. Hardened Titanium alloy is somewhere in the high 40s.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[The Tot]

Ironicaly i'm supposed to be doing a degree in materials engineering . It's glad to know about people's actual experiences as opposed to the bollock load of theories i learn! Cheers guys!
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The Tot 2019 Z1000SX - 2007 R1
Never argue with autism

[hmmmnz]

if all else fails head up to pentland tech map
the 2 guys in there will go out of there way to help,
ell them logan sent you (the guy with the black kawasaki with the single sided swing arm that they machined)
brilliant guys and probably won't even charge you anything
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the humans are dead
I kick arse for the lord
Wiring Diagrams BIDNIP it bitches

[The Tot]

logan, u still in the burgh or have you gone back down under. I haven't been keeping up with the scottish section since my bike has been off the road. Sorry off topic, but pretty helpful.

Also, do you have any useful garages in the edinburgh region that'll help (preferable east or centre - NOT west lothian).
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The Tot 2019 Z1000SX - 2007 R1
Never argue with autism

[hmmmnz]

there is a good bike shop in tranent
Eclipse Motorcycles
5-7 Elphinstone Road
Tranent
East Lothian
EH33 2LG
Tel: 01875 611400
the guys are pritty good in there,
best place to get a mot is
lothian motors they'll pass you bike with a stupidly loud exhaust, they only care about safety not bollocks like noise
yeah still in edinbugger
____________________
the humans are dead
I kick arse for the lord
Wiring Diagrams BIDNIP it bitches

[ZRX61]

[The Tot]

I am truly buggered for my degree . Yeah, i checked the vickers and brinell hardness on both materials. Cobalt is by far harder than Titanium hence why i decided to go on the drills. Remember doing the microhardness tests on steels and using the diamond and ball indentor .

I'll try the place in tranent because if i'm bikeless, at least i can take the 44 bus back home to musselburgh. I'll book ma MOT once i fit the baffles and number plate light on.

Many thanks for all your help
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The Tot 2019 Z1000SX - 2007 R1
Never argue with autism

[hmmmnz]

i think i have a spare roadlegal bolt on can somewhere about...
if it hasnt been binned, failing that, vmax dude is not far from me and he has a small collection of cans, that you could use for your mot,
but im telling you lothian motors won't fail you on a loud exhaust system,(they are not a dodgy place either.. they will ping you for anything else, but they have ype motorcycle tuners and dyno next door, so hey let loud bike through as a matter of course)
they passed mine, and i had ringing ears by the time i got to work with my old system (just to cockenzie powerstation)
i might even have a numberplate light around as well,
an original and a litle after market led job if you want either of them.
____________________
the humans are dead
I kick arse for the lord
Wiring Diagrams BIDNIP it bitches

[bladerunner]

If you were using some crap B&Q drills or the like most of them are ground wrong..ie the trailing edge is HIGHER than the cutting edge!!??

As said before a normal decent sharp HSS drill will do it for you no problems. What I'm wondering is if you have a tool thats rubbing on Ti it turns the Ti into Ti oxide..now thats tough as buggery to get through!!
I've done a fair amount of Ti work..engine mounts for airbus 380 etc so am more than aware how many myths there are about it but pistol drilling should be just fine
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Current bikes...cbr929, KDX200's, Rd125lc mk2, RGV250's

[Jamie S]

[Big Pete]

B+Q sell cobalt alloy drills, not very dear either. a 4mm drill will take all the speed a cobalt drill will do and should walk through titainium. Stainless will be harder to drill through, but a cobalt drill will do it without the tip burning off.
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Trust me, I`m an engineer
GarageOfPower.co.uk

[Jamie S]

he has informed me that he managed to do it , using the drills he bought off me.

[The Tot]

Yeh, thank god Stokes packed 2. I'm a very crap materials engineer if i fail to see the correlation between hardness and conversely being brittle. One of the drill bits sheared off because it just grabbed as it punched through and i didn't back off it time! Well, at least the bastard is done. And MOT 2moro, the bike is STILL loud! Nevermind, at least i made to effort. Cheers Jamie for your help
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The Tot 2019 Z1000SX - 2007 R1
Never argue with autism