pinning and welding a muzzle brake

[Kimber45 3]

Ok ok i know this is a beat your horse kick your dog topic and its been served many times over but..... ive install muzzle brakes on many of my own ar's and a few for friends of mine and have never had an issue.... until now..... I have a Troy Medievil muzzle brake that i can drill through.... Iam using a drill press and ive gone through 3 Titanium bits which have always worked in the past.... did a little research and i see that folks are using a solid carbide bit with great success. So off to home depot i went.... picked up 4 ridgid carbide bits and back to the bat cave.... WELL iam down 3 of the 4 bits.... two burnt up and one snapped....now i drilling at a slow speed and using cutting fluid this thing wount drill..... I see that Remixer had a comment reguarding this to a fellow poster so could you help me out.... what am i doing wrong... like i said this isnt my first rodeo but this Troy is a real BITCH...........

[FishNJ 2]

Slow the speed down and use cutting fluid. You just have to get through the hardening.

[junkmanted 54]

what are you using as cutting oil ?

the bits you buy at Homedepot are crap , go here and order bits and a good thick cutting oil    http://www.mcmaster.com/#

[Old School 611]

I haven't had the pleasure of drilling these brakes.  But, does spot annealing work prior to drilling?

[Shocker 151]

I haven't had the pleasure of drilling these brakes.  But, does spot annealing work prior to drilling?

 

By this point he's annealed the crap out of it with the failed attempts!

 

I'm not super familiar with everything out there but I thought carbide drill bits were only made for concrete drilling. I use cobalt bits for metal drilling.

[TulsaJohn 1]

Drill is going clockwise right?  JK.

[PK90 3,573]

Give up. Tac weld the seam between brake and barrel.

 

Sent from an undisclosed location.

 

 

[Old School 611]

By this point he's annealed the crap out of it with the failed attempts!

 

I'm not super familiar with everything out there but I thought carbide drill bits were only made for concrete drilling. I use cobalt bits for metal drilling.

 

Probably not annealed with the drill, not hot enough.  But he may have deposited the drill material on the surface making it harder.

 

PK90 is right about the easiest way to go!

[Scorpio64 5,171]

How far into the neck have you drilled thus far?  If you made it to a certain point but can't go any further it's possible that one of the hardened bits snapped off inside the hole and now you are trying to drill through the fragment.  If this is the case it presents two problems, the first being the fragment is hard as hell and the second being the broken piece is spinning as you try to drill through it.

[remixer 1,645]

the problem is your bit, iv done plenty but you need a carbid bit of your not getting in it LOL

[remixer 1,645]

you need a GOOD bit. i pay 10 bucks for my bits and they cut like butter. the home depot carbide do nothing

[remixer 1,645]

BTW did any of the bits snap off? if so Dam because if you snapped a carbide but in that thing its gonna be ruff. those things are like diamonds and are brittle and hard to drill out if you did..

 

I go regular speed with the carbide bit. the slow did nothing

[buell508 6]

How slow will your drill press go? 500 rpm or so is good.

You can get good bits at fasenall ,MSC,McMaster ,grainier.

I like tap magic for oil.

[Kimber45 3]

Thanks for all the replys.. ok to answer tbe questions..1 yes the drill is going in the right direction. 2 the hole is only 3 or 4 mm deep. 3 no the bit did not brake off in the hole. 4 yes i used cutting oil. And as posted by other members to use a carbide bit.... 5 iam using the slowest setting on my drill press 550 600 rpm. Old school spot annealing? Please advise... and i will be stopping at Fastnall for a good carbide bit... the home depot onea suck..... thanks again all.....

[Kimber45 3]

Ok ive contacted Fastnall they dont have them in stock they would have to ship from Texas it will take a week or more.... does anyone have one i could buy or borrow?

[remixer 1,645]

amazon sells them

[Kimber45 3]

Ok was able to locate 2 @ Hunterdon Mill Supply... so the carbide bit, slow drill speed and cutting fluid.... thanks to all that replyed.......

[deerpark 83]

Let us know if it worked. 

 

Unrelated question, when pinning a brake, how do you know that the pin isnt obstructing the path of the projectile?

[Kimber45 3]

I measure the distance from the outside of the brake to the inside rim. Than i measure the barrel about a third distance from the muzzle threads to the bore. Add the two mesurments up and transfer the measurement to the drill press limiter and drill. I than taper the hole for the pin. Install than weld over....

[jrfly3006 42]

How are you guys making the weld?

[PK90 3,573]

How are you guys making the weld?

With a welder.

[jrfly3006 42]

With a welder.

Knew that was coming....specifically what type of welders...just out of curiosity...

[Kimber45 3]

Jb weld..... lol. Just kidding..... Tig weld..

[DeerSlayer 241]

So you guys drill all the way into the barrel? Last one I did I drilled through the brake, then about half way into the barrel. Just deep enough for the pin to hold past the threads, but not all the way in. Then tapped in the pin and ground off the rest, hit it with the mig because I don't own a tig and ground the weld smooth. I didn't think I should drill all the way through?

[magnawing 5]

And...this is why I'm moving to Texas.

 

 

This signature is AWESOME!!!

[PK90 3,573]

So you guys drill all the way into the barrel? Last one I did I drilled through the brake, then about half way into the barrel. Just deep enough for the pin to hold past the threads, but not all the way in. Then tapped in the pin and ground off the rest, hit it with the mig because I don't own a tig and ground the weld smooth. I didn't think I should drill all the way through?

 

+1

One should not drill all the way into the barrel. I use a #30 drill with a 1/8"x3/16" steel pin, and mig weld over top and grind smooth. Then touch-up with either perma-blue or a black paint pen.

[Old School 611]

Thanks for all the replys.. ok to answer tbe questions..1 yes the drill is going in the right direction. 2 the hole is only 3 or 4 mm deep. 3 no the bit did not brake off in the hole. 4 yes i used cutting oil. And as posted by other members to use a carbide bit.... 5 iam using the slowest setting on my drill press 550 600 rpm. Old school spot annealing? Pleease advise... and i will be stopping at Fastnall for  practicea good carbide bit... the home depot onea suck..... thanks again all.....

 

Spot annealing is a little tricky if you haven't done it before.  Though a muzzle brake is a good thing to practice on.

I like to use a Oxy-acetylene welding torch with a #2 tip, none oxidizing flame like you would for welding.

Cone to area to be drilled until the spot is cherry.  Let it cool naturally or insulate and cool slower.  Will drill nicely.

[Kimber45 3]

Whos drilling all the way through the barrel????? That not listed in my posting... Thanks again old school... i tracked down the right drill bit i will try that tomorrow. If that dont work than i will try annealing....

[DeerSlayer 241]

Whos drilling all the way through the barrel????? That not listed in my posting... Thanks again old school... i tracked down the right drill bit i will try that tomorrow. If that dont work than i will try annealing....

I must have miss read what you originally posted.

[Kimber45 3]

No worries.