Pin Holes and drill bit sizes

Outdoor Gear Dad

Outdoor Gear Dad

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Jun 1, 2019
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211
Alright I thought I saw a post on this but maybe my search abilities just suck.

I use 1/4 pins and lanyard tubing a lot. If I use 1/4 drill bit they won't fit, so I size up to 17/64. But that's too big.

Whats the trick here...Do they make drill bits with smaller increments? If so what do you guys recommend for a set that will give me the widest variety of sizes and still be strong and tough. Im willing to spend the money! Not as concerned with the steel as the handle material because it looks oversized and awful.
 
Yep! They have lots of sizes in between.

Take a look at McMaster-carr and you'll find a bunch.

drill-size-chart-english.png


Here's a chart of sizes.
 
I'm pretty sure I have a dozen posts on this

First realize that you have to measure everything.

what ever you buy as 1/4" is probably not 0.250"

Buy a 6" dial caliper, measure everything in thousandths

A .250 pin with glue will not freely fit in a .250 hole

Get a good HSS set of Number Size drills, plus maybe a letter F drill

Download this chart
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...tin-1317.pdf&usg=AOvVaw3M9jDH1rg_5uq1MBvCLD9F


You can also get them on ebay for $, or free from Starrett if you're in the usa

Drill a couple or few thousandths of an inch larger.
0.003 "

Letter F drill is .257" which is what you want for quarter inch


and apply that to other sizes
 
I tend to use the same size drill bits for the pin stock and have never had an issue. When the fit is too tight I’ll toss the pin in my drill press and hit it with some sand paper for a minute.

The lanyard hole has given me fits. I finally switched over to an “F” bit and it’s changed my life lol.
 
I have not had any issue until my last order of tubing and it is a few thousands wider in diamter than the 1/4 drill bit, let me tell you when I first ran into the problem with a scale glue up I was not a happy camper.

I now just ream the holes out a little bit rotating the blank around the bit, not a perfect solution but it works.
 
I am in Europe, so I use metric pins - but still. For a 5mm pin I drill a 5.1mm hole. If I am using a pin size I do not have the right drill for, I enlarge the hole with a small carbide burr to a smooth sliding fit. I used to use a 5mm drill and force the pins in, but buying the drill saves a whole lot of hassle when testing/assembling/gluing ... And the pins are glued, not just friction fit.
 
i find the F drill @ .2570 too large for thong tubes. too much wiggle. i have a .252 bit, but i do not remember where i bought it. i also have a .252 reamer, which i run through after drilling with a 1/4" bit. in a pinch you can also put your thong tube in the drill press chuck, and while its spinning clamp it between 2 hard sanding blocks with your hands using 120 or 220 grit paper to make it smaller and fit.
 
Reamers are worth every penny of their cost. If you use three size pins, get three reamers about .005" larger than the measured pin sizes. If your 1/4" pins are .257, get a .262" reamer. I like a slightly looser pin fit that gets some epoxy down the hole between the pin and the wood. At .005" oversize, the space between the pin and the hole is only .0025". That is almost half the thickness of a piece of printer paper.

Also, make the tang holes 15-25% Larger than the pin size. Trust me, you will be glad you did when fitting up the handle scales.
 
Last edited:
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Reamers are worth every penny of their cost. If you use three size pins, get three reamers about .005" larger than the measured pin sizes. If your 1/4" pins are .257, get a .032" reamer. I like a slightly looser pin fit that gets some epoxy down the hole between the pin and the wood. At .005" oversize, the space between the pin and the hole is only .0025". That is almost half the thickness of a piece of printer paper.

Also, make the tang holes 15-25% Larger than the pin size. Trust me, you will be glad you did when fitting up the handle scales.
Click to expand...
Sorry for what seems like a dumb question but math isn’t a strength. How is .032 only .005 larger than .257?
 
Thanks - Sorry, too fast on the head math and old age. I corrected it.
.257+.005 = .262
 
Or you could mix and match metric and imperial systems. I use "0.25inch" pins, drill with 6,5mm (0.256"), but I could just as easily use a 6,4mm (0.252") drill. I suppose that in the US there are a greater selection of good quality and good price number and letter drills? In the UK, while there are HSS number and letter drills, the selection of materials, coatings, lengths and flute styles is very limited.

Fractions are fine for measuring big things, but get used to decimals for times when sizes matter. :)
 
I use the same procedure indicated by Stacy. When it says "Also, drill the tab holes 15 -25% Larger than the pin size Trust me, you'll be glad you did when you assemble the scales.". I got there after a few years of suffering .... you will not be sorry!
 
After some years of fighting all this with different size bits for different size pins, I settled on using only 1/8" pins and 1/4" lanyard tubing. (I really like the thin wall stuff, gives ya more room for the lanyard). So I use a #30 for the 1/8" holes and a F bit for the 1/4" Unlike John I don't find the F to be too sloppy. For all my knife making these are the only two size bits I use. The vast majority of my knives are done this way. The occasional kitchen knife etc that will have Loveless bolts or corbys I do have special step bits for them. My knives all have a lanyard too except kitchen knives or some other specialty knives:

rZxBigt.jpg
 
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