I went down the Grand Canyon this summer (18 day raft trip) and I bought a moderately well stocked repair kit. We had some minor but not catastrophic equipment failures, and it would have been very convienient to drill a few holes into some aluminum and steel. In the canyon there is no electricity, and I am not sure it would be a good idea to think cordless batts will last that long.
This makes me wonder the best way to hand drill holes. I could use an eggbeater style drill and some butter as a lubricant, but wondering how big a hole, and even if it will work.. thinking I should bring a center punch to start the hole….
any thoughts?
Jeff
Replies
1/8" dia hole with eggbeater to start with, followed by whatever is needed.
Have drilled 3/4" dia holes in 1/2" thick steel plate in the woods with the pilot hole followed by brace with 1/2 HSS bit.
VERY Sharp bits really help when drilling by hand.
If the holes are 1/4" or less, on something flat 1/16" or thinner, and located no more than 1.5" from the edge, get yourself a Whitney punch.
http://roperwhitney.com/punching/2-45.cfm
It would be going through 1.5 inch pipe (1/4" wall) and through diamond plate.... in the middle....
Ok, you went and made me go dig out a couple, pulled 2 out of the stack as somebody once accused me of having only one of a few things.
What you want to pack along is the type on the right, it has a 2 speed transmission for high torque or high rpm, just like Makita and DW! Note you post on the background screen<G> and, just like most of my DWs, it has a broken/missing handle!
BTW, where are you in Jersey? Going to be in Princeton all next week.
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Edited 1/27/2006 12:29 am ET by junkhound
I like the idea of a smaller drill to cram into an ammo box, and then get super sharp bits....
I am north west of princeton in a town called westfield.... 07090....
How NOT to "drill" without power:
In the late 60's, my Dad was appalled when a hippy commune descended on the property just up the road from him.
But they were mostly quiet; occasionally some Ravi Shankar music or some drumming or acapella singing would waft through the woods and over the fence.
But one day, the country solitude was shattered by gunfire. Dad wandered over to check it out and found four "longhairs" peering under the hood of an old Ford pickup. They had a 30-06 rifle and were attempting to shoot new engine mounting holes in the frame to accept a Chevy engine that was sitting nearby.
Afraid they might injure or kill themselves with a ricochet, he loaned them a drill and bit and assisted them with the engine mounting.
Oddly enough, Dad, a WWII vet and quite conservative and with my brother and I in Vietnam, overcame his prejudice and later confessed; "Best neighbors we ever had."
LOL..choose the caliber wisely..a .223 FMJ or .308 FMJ makes a fine hole on one side.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
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Yeah, but they tend not to locate accurately to the center punch divot. ;-)
-- J.S.
Actually, the hippies may not have been too far off. I'd bet that someone reasonably clever could figure out how to use a Ramset-type tool to punch holes.
If ignorance is bliss why aren't more people
happy?
I've done it the same way as junkhound, witha brace and twist bit. With a sharp bit it works better than you might think, since quite a bit of pressure and slow rpm is efficient with steel. I think that you could apply more pressure with a brace than with an egg beater style.
My other answer is: cordless drill. you can even charge it with a small solar panel if you need more holes.
zak
One of my "cordless" drills. It was a freebie when DW worked at Hobby Lobby.
http://www.fiskarscrafts.com/tools/craft-tools/craft-drillscutterspliers/craft-hand-drill/default.aspx
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My Grandparents and their brothers and sisters moved out west and homesteaded a place on the Wyoming Nebraska line in 1900. No electricity, no phone, no cable, no sewer, and guess what - no house, and nearest water was 25 miles away on horseback or horse and wagon with a five gallon cream can. My grandfather was a carpenter but his son was a machinist-blacksmith sort of guy. Neither one saw an electric tool or appliance on the place as there was no electricity until 1941, just before the war. Amongst the forge and tongs, they had an eggbeater drill, and a post drill "antique drill press that hangs on the wall" which still exists. Yes, always center punch your work. I moved away in 1964 but still own the farm. I enjoyed many hours using the post drill and hand drill amongst many of the other tools. Yes, you can drill holes with out electricity - just a little slower, probably a little harder to control, and a whole lot of work, but it is still fun.
Edited 1/26/2006 11:19 pm ET by tinkerer2
Get one of the old eggbeaters with a breastplate and you can drill darn near anything.
happy?
It should be noted that a lot of holes can be made with a simple scratch awl or something similar. I prefer it when, eg, making holes for self-tapping screws in auto panels.
happy?
What kind of rafts were they- the powered ones or paddled? If you had a cooler, zip-lock bags and a way to keep the batteries at less than 100 degrees, they should hold a charge. Phantom Ranch has power. If the rafts are powered, there's a battery onboard and you could use an invertor.
If it was 18 days, you went all the way to Lake Mead, right?
What did you think of Red Wall Cavern?
I did lees ferry to diamond creek, and it was outstanding. We did all oar powered boats. On the canyon, the sand is amazingingly good at destroying everything that it gets into (it is a super fine abrasive) and it kills seals on dryboxes and drybags, so I would rather bring a purely mechanical solution. I am also hoping to do a middlefork/main salmon trip and there is no power options out there.
Jeff
I've done three rafting trips there- Lee's Ferry to Phantom in '91 and Phantom to Diamond Creek in '97 and '02. Hiked out once and in, twice. I put my cameras in a zip lock bag with a hole for the lens to stick out of (hole was smaller than the lens so it was tight) on the last two trips. The first time, I didn't and haven't had any problems with them due to sand. Since the drill won't be taken out till needed, the zip lock bag should work fine. Besides, the charger and batteries don't care about sand. Did you do any fishing when you were there? We had fresh rainbow trout as a first course one night. Going back next year, if enough of us are available at the same time.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
There was a ton of fish and the water was clear all the way down to phantom, but, if I had to fish to live, I would starve to death. I had 18inch trout swimming around my legs and could not get a single one on the hook. Kinda frustrating. gave my rod to someone else and they where jumping onto my hook in his hands.
Guess I am not a fisherman.
This is where you could use that 30-06.
If ignorance is bliss why aren't more people
happy?
A good cordless will last a long time in aluminum and not oo bad for steel if you have sharp bits and not too many holes.
Always remember to break down at Phantom Ranch..haha. Back before there were battery tools, I hauled a big Milwaukee rotohammer with 80 volts of the little bigger than D size Gates cells in a belt pak. Installed a bronze plack on a rock. 80 volts of dc will run the pants off of a ac/dc drill motor.
The funny part was that the great rock we selected turned out to be sandstone and was so soft we must have used one bazillinth of the power we had available.
Plack is still there after 20 years. It commemorated a great river rat buddy who passed on too early in life at 45.
Being as how it was all illegal, zipped lips on where it is.