Drill a square hole anyone?

**4V50 Gary** · October 3, 2011, 10:31 PM

Drill square holes anyone? This video is amazing and (besides pretty women) is Japan's greatest gift to mankind. Link

Milling just got easier.

FrankenMauser · October 3, 2011, 10:51 PM

Here I was, expecting some kind of new broaching tool...

...watching a milling process that resembles a rotary engine, more than a drill.

Pretty sweet.

Don P · October 3, 2011, 10:55 PM

I must have missed the pretty women. Now the next question is are they going to make square bolts for the square holes?

claymore1500 · October 3, 2011, 11:41 PM

Square bullets anyone?

ClayInTx · October 4, 2011, 12:18 AM

Not new.

Invented in the 1800s.

Ideal Tool · October 4, 2011, 12:18 AM

"Square bullets anyone?" Puckle-Gun..cylinders for both round & square bullets..round one for Christians..square for Turks.

HiBC · October 4, 2011, 04:25 AM

I did not go to the link,but as I recall,a three flute drill in a floating holder will give a four sided hole.
Most of us know how to drill a three sided hole in sheet metal with a two flute drill.
I spent some time running an old 1950 something American Broach machine.
The limitation on a broach is how much chip you can pull in the gullet of a tooth.But,doggone,what an efficient,amazing,simple machine!!Squares,dees,splines,.Its perfect for a part like an AR barrel extension.Old school,but,load the part,load the broach,and draw it though!!

mkk41 · October 4, 2011, 10:17 AM

I just use our EDM machine.

oneoldsap · October 4, 2011, 11:53 AM

It doesn't drill square holes , it squares drilled holes , big difference !

HiBC · October 4, 2011, 03:08 PM

mkk41,I have done a lot of sinker edm work,and they are a great tool.
But,for many applications,the broach is far more efficientThis thing stood about 8 feet tall,and part of it was below the floor.I'd guess the hydraulic ram was 6 in or 8 in.It had a chuck type fixture that would hold the lower end of the broach,easy load/unload.It worked below the table.There was a floating center for the upper end of the broach.The broaches themselves were 2 to 3 feet long,most of them,except for the real small ones.

But you just clean the fixture on the table,load the part, the broach through a hole in the part,and draw the broach through.A typical "cut" might take 3 to 5 seconds,to to what an edm would take several minutes to a chunk of an hour to cut.If you are blasting with the EDM,surface finish will be rough.To get a fine finish,takes time,and generally another electrode..And,the broach leaves no recast skin,subject to cracking.

A man on a broach can go through,say 5 or 8 different setups in a shift,and pull 30 or 50 or 100 parts each setup.

I love the EDM,I built molds.But an old broach is a producing machine!!

I have also used similar tooling on an old Monarch EE toolroom lath to make 6 sided allen wrench pockets.

And,agreed on reshaping a drilled hole,the broach is a through hole machine.It wont do a blind hole

Sodbuster · October 6, 2011, 07:55 PM

Oh, a mortising machine! Wood guy here.

October 3, 2011, 10:31 PM	#1
4V50 Gary Staff Join Date: November 2, 1998 Location: Colorado Posts: 15,539	Drill a square hole anyone? Drill square holes anyone? This video is amazing and (besides pretty women) is Japan's greatest gift to mankind. Link Milling just got easier. __________________ Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt. *Molon Labe!*

October 3, 2011, 10:51 PM	#2
FrankenMauser Senior Member Join Date: August 26, 2008 Location: 1B ID Posts: 5,415	Here I was, expecting some kind of new broaching tool... ...watching a milling process that resembles a rotary engine, more than a drill. Pretty sweet. __________________ "Such is the strange way that man works -- first he virtually destroys a species and then does everything in his power to restore it."

October 3, 2011, 10:55 PM	#3
Don P Senior Member Join Date: December 17, 2005 Location: East Central Florida Posts: 4,412	I must have missed the pretty women. Now the next question is are they going to make square bolts for the square holes? __________________ *NRA Life Member, NRA Range Safety Officer, IDPA Safety Officer* *As you are, I once was, As I am, You will be.*

October 3, 2011, 11:41 PM	#4
claymore1500 Senior Member Join Date: May 20, 2008 Location: northcoast, Ohio Posts: 232	Square bullets anyone? __________________ Where there's a will, I want to be in it.

October 4, 2011, 12:18 AM	#5
ClayInTx Senior Member Join Date: November 17, 2009 Location: Texas Posts: 1,066	Not new. Invented in the 1800s. __________________ . No people should have to fear the will of their government; all governments should have to fear the will of their people.

October 4, 2011, 12:18 AM	#6
Ideal Tool Junior member Join Date: October 6, 2010 Location: Michigan Posts: 1,080	"Square bullets anyone?" Puckle-Gun..cylinders for both round & square bullets..round one for Christians..square for Turks. Last edited by Ideal Tool; October 4, 2011 at 12:24 AM.

October 4, 2011, 04:25 AM	#7
HiBC Senior Member Join Date: November 13, 2006 Posts: 3,057	I did not go to the link,but as I recall,a three flute drill in a floating holder will give a four sided hole. Most of us know how to drill a three sided hole in sheet metal with a two flute drill. I spent some time running an old 1950 something American Broach machine. The limitation on a broach is how much chip you can pull in the gullet of a tooth.But,doggone,what an efficient,amazing,simple machine!!Squares,dees,splines,.Its perfect for a part like an AR barrel extension.Old school,but,load the part,load the broach,and draw it though!!

October 4, 2011, 10:17 AM	#8
mkk41 Senior Member Join Date: December 4, 2004 Posts: 283	I just use our EDM machine.

October 4, 2011, 11:53 AM	#9
oneoldsap Senior Member Join Date: September 16, 2009 Location: I live in the foot of the Green Mountains of Vermont Posts: 1,512	It doesn't drill square holes , it squares drilled holes , big difference !

October 4, 2011, 03:08 PM	#10
HiBC Senior Member Join Date: November 13, 2006 Posts: 3,057	mkk41,I have done a lot of sinker edm work,and they are a great tool. But,for many applications,the broach is far more efficientThis thing stood about 8 feet tall,and part of it was below the floor.I'd guess the hydraulic ram was 6 in or 8 in.It had a chuck type fixture that would hold the lower end of the broach,easy load/unload.It worked below the table.There was a floating center for the upper end of the broach.The broaches themselves were 2 to 3 feet long,most of them,except for the real small ones. But you just clean the fixture on the table,load the part, the broach through a hole in the part,and draw the broach through.A typical "cut" might take 3 to 5 seconds,to to what an edm would take several minutes to a chunk of an hour to cut.If you are blasting with the EDM,surface finish will be rough.To get a fine finish,takes time,and generally another electrode..And,the broach leaves no recast skin,subject to cracking. A man on a broach can go through,say 5 or 8 different setups in a shift,and pull 30 or 50 or 100 parts each setup. I love the EDM,I built molds.But an old broach is a producing machine!! I have also used similar tooling on an old Monarch EE toolroom lath to make 6 sided allen wrench pockets. And,agreed on reshaping a drilled hole,the broach is a through hole machine.It wont do a blind hole Last edited by HiBC; October 4, 2011 at 03:13 PM.

October 6, 2011, 07:55 PM	#11
Sodbuster Senior Member Join Date: September 27, 1999 Location: Gallatin Co MT Posts: 1,248	Oh, a mortising machine! Wood guy here. __________________ "...politicians appreciate a phraseology that flatters the masses and offers an excellent opportunity not only for evading responsibility but also for crushing opponents in the name of the people." --- Joseph A. Schumpeter