PCB drill bits

[Fonz]

Good morning all.
Just wondering if anyone knows of a source of PCB drill bits that's local
ie:australia/Melbourne sized at .5-.6mm with a 3-3.2 shank. I think they're
called turbo bits. I have a drill press which is perfectly alligned, bit
only takes a 2mm shank or larger. I have a mini-chuck which wobbles
everywhere and is breaking bits. A 3.0-3.2 would be perfect, but I can only
find some from England, reground at 15-00 for eight plus shipping.
Thanks in advance,
Rob.
Melbourne.

 

[David L. Jones]

Good morning all.
Just wondering if anyone knows of a source of PCB drill bits that's local
ie:australia/Melbourne sized at .5-.6mm with a 3-3.2 shank. I think they're
called turbo bits. I have a drill press which is perfectly alligned, bit
only takes a 2mm shank or larger. I have a mini-chuck which wobbles
everywhere and is breaking bits. A 3.0-3.2 would be perfect, but I can only
find some from England, reground at 15-00 for eight plus shipping.
Thanks in advance,
Rob.
Melbourne.

RS Components have both 0.5mm and 0.6mm carbide bits:
http://www.rsaustralia.com/cgi-bin/...ion.do?N=0&Ntk=I18NRSStockNumber&Ntt=264-3671

And Computronics have 0.6mm too:
http://www.computronics.com.au/kinsten/drills/

Dave.

 

[Trevor Wilson]

Good morning all.
Just wondering if anyone knows of a source of PCB drill bits that's local
ie:australia/Melbourne sized at .5-.6mm with a 3-3.2 shank. I think
they're called turbo bits. I have a drill press which is perfectly
alligned, bit only takes a 2mm shank or larger. I have a mini-chuck which
wobbles everywhere and is breaking bits. A 3.0-3.2 would be perfect, but
I can only find some from England, reground at 15-00 for eight plus
shipping.
Thanks in advance,

**As David suggested, use the carbide bits. You'll never look back. Don't
even THINK about using the bits with a handheld drill though. They are
extremely brittle.

Trevor Wilson

 

[The Real Andy]

Good morning all.
Just wondering if anyone knows of a source of PCB drill bits that's local
ie:australia/Melbourne sized at .5-.6mm with a 3-3.2 shank. I think they're
called turbo bits. I have a drill press which is perfectly alligned, bit
only takes a 2mm shank or larger. I have a mini-chuck which wobbles
everywhere and is breaking bits. A 3.0-3.2 would be perfect, but I can only
find some from England, reground at 15-00 for eight plus shipping.
Thanks in advance,
Rob.
Melbourne.

I used to buy mine from braemac, but that was many years ago now.
They used to come shipped in a hard red plastic storage case too. They
were genuine tungsten carbide too, so always sharp and always
snapping!

 

[Robbo]

Good morning all.
Just wondering if anyone knows of a source of PCB drill bits that's local
ie:australia/Melbourne sized at .5-.6mm with a 3-3.2 shank. I think
they're called turbo bits. I have a drill press which is perfectly
alligned, bit only takes a 2mm shank or larger. I have a mini-chuck which
wobbles everywhere and is breaking bits. A 3.0-3.2 would be perfect, but
I can only find some from England, reground at 15-00 for eight plus
shipping.
Thanks in advance,
Rob.
Melbourne.

http://www.computronics.com.au/kinsten/drills/ Pretty sure the shank is
1/8"

In Perth rather than Melbourne. Last time I bought something the delivery
fee (Perth metro) was about $5.50. Order delivery takes 2 or 3 days. As
mentioned by others carbide bits are very fragile, I've gone back to HSS
(which blunt very quickly).

 

[James]

Good morning all.
Just wondering if anyone knows of a source of PCB drill bits that's local
ie:australia/Melbourne sized at .5-.6mm with a 3-3.2 shank. I think
they're called turbo bits. I have a drill press which is perfectly
alligned, bit only takes a 2mm shank or larger. I have a mini-chuck which
wobbles everywhere and is breaking bits. A 3.0-3.2 would be perfect, but
I can only find some from England, reground at 15-00 for eight plus
shipping.
Thanks in advance,
Rob.
Melbourne.

Are these the reground ones you are referring to?

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/SOLID-CARBID...yZ105830QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

There is no mention of them being reground in the ad, but hey, who knows,
they do seem cheap.

I gave up on the mini chuck idea and made a collet to hold the HSS bits
because they are easily and quickly obtainable. They do go blunt bloody
quick though producing a rough edge.

Regards
James

 

[Glenn]

Good morning all.
Just wondering if anyone knows of a source of PCB drill bits that's local
ie:australia/Melbourne sized at .5-.6mm with a 3-3.2 shank. I think they're
called turbo bits. I have a drill press which is perfectly alligned, bit
only takes a 2mm shank or larger. I have a mini-chuck which wobbles
everywhere and is breaking bits. A 3.0-3.2 would be perfect, but I can only
find some from England, reground at 15-00 for eight plus shipping.
Thanks in advance,
Rob.
Melbourne.

Go to Kalex in Melbourne (www.kalex.net.au). Small business and good
service.

Cheers
Glenn

 

[Fonz]

Thanks to all who replied. The cheapest of all were the computronics, at
$3.20 per unit. +GST, BUT, they have a minimum $20-00 delivery fee.
Kalex are at $4.65 each, but I don't know if they have a 1/8th shank. I
spoke to a lady on the telephone who had a poor understaning of English, and
couldn't help, and said they would call back. I'm going to drive down there
(About 30minutes drive), and check for myself.
Thanks again all.
Rob.,

 

[Adam S]

Thanks to all who replied. The cheapest of all were the computronics, at
$3.20 per unit. +GST, BUT, they have a minimum $20-00 delivery fee.
Kalex are at $4.65 each, but I don't know if they have a 1/8th shank. I
spoke to a lady on the telephone who had a poor understaning of English, and
couldn't help, and said they would call back. I'm going to drive down there
(About 30minutes drive), and check for myself.
Thanks again all.
Rob.,

Yep, all carbide bits have 1/8" (3.175mm) shank, I think this is an
industry standard left from the old imperial days. Beware, drill bits >
3.175mm , the price jumps to from $4.65 to > $10 ~ $15. I got one 3.3mm
just for PCB screw holes.
Kalex prices
http://kalex.net.au/Text/1095999370609-2807/uploadedFiles/1139282199453-2401.pdf

 

[Fonz]

Went to Kalex and picked up the bits. $4.65 Incl GST. They had two shelves
of bits.
Very friendly lady and happy to spend time with you. Most of their work is
for schools and education/uni's.
Tried the bits out yesterday and they run straight as, and cut like butter.
Regards, Rob.