·Drilling into a material that causes the point to wander? Use a lathe tool to steady things up. With the drill in contact with the rotating work, very lightly touch the drill near its point with a lathe tool held in the toolpost – but only supply just enough pressure as it need to stop the wobble. Aim to keep the cutting tool against the portion of the drill's edge that is parallel. Move the cutting tool along with the drill bit as you advance it into the work until the drill has fully entered, then retract the tool. This operation takes practice – but is well worthwhile.

 

·When purchasing drill bits, especially small ones, lay the bit on a flat surface, press your finger across the middle and roll back and forth to see if it wobbles. Many drills are not straight, even good-quality brand ones (and especially cheap imports).

 

·If a drill, especially a large one, leaves "scratches" in a hole, it's usually because it isn't straight.

 

·Need to grind a very small drill ? This can be done by hand – but takes practice and requires the ability to accurately observe what the drill tip looks like. Instead of using a horizontal abrasive surface, hold a very fine India stone vertically in one hand and, with the drill tilted at the correct, stroke the stone up and down. By using 4X reading glasses (or a head-mounted magnifier) even a No. 80 drill can be restored. Find some old drills to practice on.

 

·Need to restore a badly treated really large drill ? Put the drill in a chuck and grind the tip with a tool-post grinder while it revolves backwards. When both lips have been cleaned up, hand grind the relief a little at a time until you are very close. Finish by stoning. If correctly done the drill should throw equal-sized chips on each side.

 

·Need to drill a really hard material – a file or even high-speed, all-hard (not just the teeth) power hacksaw blades ? Use ordinary cheap carbide masonry drills and run them as fast as the average drill press will go. The effect is to "heat" the metal on contact and so soften it. Do not be too aggressive; the heat may loosen the brazing that holds the tip in place. Drilling thin sections, like hacksaw blades, will result in a need to resharpen the drill after each operation.

 

·Surprisingly, it's possible to deflect a machine tool by leaning on it. Experts disagree about the likely effect, but to test your own lathe (or miller) put a Dial Test Indicator against some convenient part - and start leaning to watch the result (with the machine switches off, of course…).

 

·When holding material in a smooth-jawed machine vice, slips of paper in the jaws will do wonders preventing work, especially slippery metal like brass, from moving.

 

·To drill sheet metal (especially brass), or Plexiglass sheet, the bit should be ground vertical on its cutting edges – this helps prevent grabbing when it breaks through. At one time straight-flute drills for brass used to be made.

 

·When using ordinary layout dye to stop the surface tearing when scribed first clean the bare surface with lacquer thinner (though results may depend upon the particular brand of dye).