BallReviews
General Category => Drilling & Layouts => Topic started by: dR3w on February 11, 2014, 01:26:41 PM
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I am having a little bit of trouble with sinking the thumb slugs lately. I used to use the drill press quill to wedge the slug into the hole, but after the whole motor assembly lifted up and I had to recalibrate everything, I stopped doing that. I used a rubber mallet for a while, but that doesn't work very well. Lots of banging, and very little movement. I have tried starting the slug in the whole and using body weight to sink it in, off the floor, but the last ball I did this with, developed a few small splinter cracks around the thumb hole.
I have thought out trying to widen the whole slightly with a sander, but don't want to generate a big gap.
Anyone have any suggestions, other than those mentioned?
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I have seen seen 2 balls from different companies drilled at the same time where the slug slipped into the hole easy on one and on the other ball not so easy. The driller said it has to do with the density of the ball. True or not, I have no idea.
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I have had that drill bit sharpened in the past, but I don't think they mess with the width. I can try the cool down method, maybe that would help.
Maybe a new drill bit ? Has yours been re sharpened correctly? Also, you might try drilling the hole, waiting a little while for everything to cool down and then redrilling slowly. drilling up/down slowly for a while to get a better/cleaner cut. You might be drilling too fast.
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It's not the bit. The sides aren't touched when a bit is sharpened. If anything when resharpened they could lose the point which would make the holes come out too large.
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Used to use the quill as an arbor? I guess you learned the hard way on that method...
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Used to use the quill as an arbor? I guess you learned the hard way on that method...
That was how the guy who taught me, used to do it ... but I don't do it that way anymore.
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What I do is take a piece of sand paper, form a circular tube and turn the slug a few times until it will slip into the hole. Not so much that it falls in but with a light tap goes in easily. Been doing it that way for years and never a problem.
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If you are having trouble getting the slug in with a rubber hammer, the hole is not big enough. You can open the hole with your bevel sander.
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It may sound silly, but be sure you are using slow zip super glue. The faster drying may be locking it up before it goes all the way in.
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Just wondering if everyone is using the slugs with the vent slot on them.
Using ones without it in a tight fitting hole, could be compressing the air in the hole making it harder to go in.
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I had a similar issue of the slug needing to be hammered in. It worked fine but took a little work.
Replaced the drill bit and noticed that now the slug could just barely be tapped into the hole.
Sometimes depending on the core of the ball you will notice that the hole isn't perfectly round going all the way in. There are dips and peaks from the difference in densities from material. This can also be an issue as to why it requires a little more work then usual.
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It may sound silly, but be sure you are using slow zip super glue. The faster drying may be locking it up before it goes all the way in.
+1 Here. Slow super glue is your friend regarding thumb slugs. I like the medium for finger inserts, and rarely use the fast anymore.
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Slow drying glue and the chuck of the drill with an 1 1/2" slug as a buffer is how I do it. Sand the slug around and it goes in extra easy. Just be sure that you first ease the slug in the hole first by hand to account for pitch then run the chuck down. A lot of people mash down on the handle and the slug locks up and they mash it down anyway. That can lead to damage. Everyday I doublecheck the pitches and depth of the press and haven't had any issues with damaging it.