Bar Drilling- Learned new 4-letter words

[redoakneck]

Well I read on here about drilling bars and how hard the steel is yada,yada, yada...

First time trying to drill an oregon pmp 36" was, well, unsuccessful. New carbide bit but no drill press-- 1 hr, 3 killians, a bunch of foul words. I have a friend that has a shop that does fabricating, waiting to hear how it goes.


I've drilled a lot of holes, but not this time. Thanks for the warnings or I would still be drilling or passed out.

Oh yeah, I kept it real slow and made sure there was no heat so at least my buddy can get a fair shake at it. He has some kind of laser table that can do it if he can't get it drilled. Can't wait to mill some walnut if it would stop flooding and raining.

 

[smokinj]

Well I read on here about drilling bars and how hard the steel is yada,yada, yada...

First time trying to drill an oregon pmp 36" was, well, unsuccessful. New carbide bit but no drill press-- 1 hr, 3 killians, a bunch of foul words. I have a friend that has a shop that does fabricating, waiting to hear how it goes.


I've drilled a lot of holes, but not this time. Thanks for the warnings or I would still be drilling or passed out.

Oh yeah, I kept it real slow and made sure there was no heat so at least my buddy can get a fair shake at it. He has some kind of laser table that can do it if he can't get it drilled. Can't wait to mill some walnut if it would stop flooding and raining.

I have an old cummins drill press Not sure I would even try it on it. I let it drip on the bar... Thanks again for that tip Mtgunn!

 

[srcarr52]

Just drilled mine last night. Cracked the carbide of a drill bit. Resorted to using a small ball carbide in my foredom grinder. That worked well.

 

[willbarryrec]

Yup it is some hard stuff in the center of that bar tip!

I drilled my new Oregon 42" bar last week and that was all she wrote for the bit I had.....the carbide crumbled off one side of the tip of the bit.

Oh well I got three bars drilled with it...guess I got my 8 bucks worth! :msp_biggrin:

 

[logdog]

Bar drilling

I have a set of carbide tipped drills designed for use on hardened or high carbon steels. These bits look more like concrete drills than steel drills but they work on a principal of friction/oxygen cutting. It's not a hole a tool and die maker would approve of, but it gets the job done.

 

[polardoo]

Sorry guys but I drilled one today that went really smooth and I just used a couple good old bits. Musta been a soft bar.

 

[Hillbilly3995]

Sorry guys but I drilled one today that went really smooth and I just used a couple good old bits. Musta been a soft bar.

In my experience there is a great disparity in bar hardness, but have not really noticed an adverse wear condition on the "softer" ones. It could be on some that only the rails and edges are hardened fully.

whatever the case, good for you! may we all enjoy your good fortune...

 

[mtngun]

Sorry guys but I drilled one today that went really smooth and I just used a couple good old bits. Musta been a soft bar.

The bar, or the sprocket bearing ? Sprocket bearing is usually harder than the bar.

 

[redoakneck]

Still waiting on mine... may not be a good sign...

Nice day to do some milling if I only had my stuff together...

 

[redoakneck]

Dude sent it to a machine shop. It is done and I milled some on 3-17.

man, you sure lose a lot of bar length with that helper handle and aux. oil holes.

I have a 36" bar and my mill is only 26" wide:msp_mad::msp_mad:

Now I see what you mean trying to get more bar on a mill.

 

[BobL]

Dude sent it to a machine shop. It is done and I milled some on 3-17.

man, you sure lose a lot of bar length with that helper handle and aux. oil holes.

I have a 36" bar and my mill is only 26" wide:msp_mad::msp_mad:

I can't see why a helper handle is needed on a 36" bar. Also there's no need to drill holes for aux oilers as simple drip systems work nearly as well.

More cutting length from the same bar length can be obtained from alternative mill designs such as those that bolt the mill to the CS via the bar bolts. Combined with a "bolt thru bar nose", these designs lose as little as ~2.5" of bar length. A bit lateral thinking and it is still possible to remove the chain from the CS without taking the CS off the mill.

 

[mtngun]

What BobL said.

My 36" bar can cut up to 30" wide, after modifying the Alaskan to use a drip oiler and bolting the bar to the mill rather than clamping.

 

[YarraValleyDude]

Nothing much to it really, as long as u have a drill press and a masonary bit.
Drill a pilot hole first and open her up with the masonry.

 

[redoakneck]

I can't see why a helper handle is needed on a 36" bar. Also there's no need to drill holes for aux oilers as simple drip systems work nearly as well.

More cutting length from the same bar length can be obtained from alternative mill designs such as those that bolt the mill to the CS via the bar bolts. Combined with a "bolt thru bar nose", these designs lose as little as ~2.5" of bar length. A bit lateral thinking and it is still possible to remove the chain from the CS without taking the CS off the mill.

OK. So drill a hole in the middle of the bar nose bearings?? 3/8"
and then tap the end of the mill so you can get rid of the two outside bolts?? I read your thread and just want to make sure it is ok to drill a hole in the oregon power match plus bar sprocket nose.

pics or details at the power head end? I dont seem to lose much there though

thanks pete

 

[betterbuilt]

How much usable length do you have from the saw out?
How long is the bar overall?

 

[mtngun]

OK. So drill a hole in the middle of the bar nose bearings?? 3/8"
and then tap the end of the mill so you can get rid of the two outside bolts??

Yep, middle of the nose bearing. 1/4" works for me.

I prefer studs and locknuts rather than bolts to attach the bar to the mill.

If you want to be able to swap chains on the mill, you need to get rid of the bar clamp at the powerhead end, too.

 

[redoakneck]

Useable length with the dogs off is close to 36" (no mill). I lose 6" with the helper handle. I can take that off and clamp close to the nose sprocket and gain 4", and if I drill the nose sprocket I'll gain another 2" or so. I do not have anything huge to mill yet, and with the mini mill to trim the sides I can prolly mill some 24-26 wide slabs.

thanks mtn gun!!! 1/4" holes are in the plan.

 

[willbarryrec]

I used some 5/16 18 bolts about 2 inch's long to attach my mill to my bar....just happened to be those bolt heads are the same size as Stihl bar nuts and I can use a scrench to remove and attach the mill from my saw..

Just something to think about..I didn't plan it but it worked out nice!

 

[redoakneck]

great idea willbarryrec!!! always nice to have the same tool for all the nuts. Jumpin up to 5/16-18. thanks, can't wait to drill this bar again:msp_angry::msp_angry:

 

[betterbuilt]

great idea willbarryrec!!! always nice to have the same tool for all the nuts. Jumpin up to 5/16-18. thanks, can't wait to drill this bar again:msp_angry::msp_angry:

:hmm3grin2orange: