Itsy bitsy, teenie weenie...

[nachoman]

Wow, lotsa good information there. I like the hypodermic needle idea... keep that as a backup plan. Since the family had to run out to Sonic for dessert, we stopped by Harbor Freight to see what they had. I found a little pin-vice that had 6 bits in the handle (most of which are the ones I need). I did see the big package of 30 that went up as high as a #60 but I also found a smaller package of 30 assorted bits. Trouble is, the smaller package is labeled in mm's. How do the two labeling systems interact? #'s to mm's? For instance, how do I tell what # bit a .8mm is?

I was gonna suggest that you go there. That pin vice looks exactly like the one I bought at radio shack a few years ago for much more $$. First of all, many holes arent that critical. If it is a little oversized it is usually okay. I can't remember which size is which, so when i want to drill a small hole, I find one to match the size of wire that I am intending on threading in there. They also break often, so having more than one of each size doesn't hurt. Somewhere online there has to be a drilll size chart... hmm...

[nachoman]

try this chart:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.engineersedge.com/drill_sizes.htm">http://www.engineersedge.com/drill_sizes.htm</a><!-- m -->

[Squidbait]

How do the two labeling systems interact? #'s to mm's? For instance, how do I tell what # bit a .8mm is?

You Google a Drill Bit Size Chart.

[LynnB]

Have you tried drillbitcity ? <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://drillbitcity.com/">http://drillbitcity.com/</a><!-- m -->

[Russ Bellinis]

Wow, lotsa good information there. I like the hypodermic needle idea... keep that as a backup plan. Since the family had to run out to Sonic for dessert, we stopped by Harbor Freight to see what they had. I found a little pin-vice that had 6 bits in the handle (most of which are the ones I need). I did see the big package of 30 that went up as high as a #60 but I also found a smaller package of 30 assorted bits. Trouble is, the smaller package is labeled in mm's. How do the two labeling systems interact? #'s to mm's? For instance, how do I tell what # bit a .8mm is?

You might be able to find a conversion table somewhere, but without a conversion table, the only way I know of to tell is to use a micrometer to measure the drills and compare. I did pick up a digital caliper from Harbor Freight a few years ago, and it might be sensitive enough to measure bits that small, but it would still involve buying the set and measuring the bits.

[Russ Bellinis]

I found a conversion table with formulas. Rather than edit the last post, I'll do another reply.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.france-property-and-information.com/metric_conversion_table.htm">http://www.france-property-and-informat ... _table.htm</a><!-- m -->

if you go to the link the first formula is for length conversions. The table shows 1 yard = 0.9144 meter. There are drop down menus for the "yard" and "meter" boxes. Using the drop down menu change yard to inch and meter to millimeter. Erase the 25.4 on the right side of the equation and input 0.8. Left click on the box with the 1 on the inch side and it will give you the inch equivalent.

Here is another chart giving dimensions in thousandts of an inch for fractional and wire size drill bits

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.carbidedepot.com/formulas-drillsize.htm">http://www.carbidedepot.com/formulas-drillsize.htm</a><!-- m -->

[MountainMan]

Check out Mocro-Mark http://[/url]http://www.micromark.com[url] You can get the set from #61-#80. I lists for about $30.00 or a little bit more. For your build I don't think I would order one of those sets though. As you go through the menu, they list drill bits, rather than drill sets. On that page you can order individual sizes and get them in packages of 6. If you haven't used those small drills yet, or even if you have a lot of experience with them, you probably will not get your box car done without breaking a few bits. If you spend $30+ for that set and the first hole you try to drill you break a bit, you will be in deep do do. You need 6 packages of 6 each of those drill bits the sizes 60 to 74 will run $7.15 per package and the sizes 75-80 will cost $8.20. The other alternative is to go to a pharmacy and buy a hypodermic syringe. You should take the box car kit in with you to show the pharmacist what you want to do with the syringe. It is considered "drug paraphernalia", so you need to show him that you are buying it for a purpose other than shooting up drugs. The advantage of the syringe is that it is cheaper and stronger than all of those tiny drill bits. You should also get a "sharps Box." used syringes are considered medical waste and can't be just thrown away like a broken hack saw blade. In one of the clinics at the NMRA show put on by a mmr, she mentioned that when she first went into the drug store to buy her first syringe, she took a kit in and offered to pay for the syringe and show the pharmacist what she wanted to do with it with the proviso that he could dispose of the syringe after she used it if, and keep the money if he wasn't comfortable selling it to her. When he saw what she did with it, he became a "friend for life." She didn't know before she went in that he was a model ship builder and was looking for something to make small holes in ships hulls to mount the rigging to! She pointed out that if you "recycle" the various parts of the syringe inot other scratch building and kit bashing modeling projects, the only thing that will go into the sharps box will be the very tip of the needle. She uses the needle except for the tip in the bottom of tree trunks to mount the trees on her layout. The various other bits and pieces of the syringe are used for vents, pipes, culverts, and whatever else she thinks of that the pieces can be made to look like. The barrel of the syringe works as a natural pin vice as well. You hold the outer barrel with the handle at the joint where your thumb and fore finger attach to your hand, then swivel the inner barrel between the thumb and forefinger to drill.

I don't know why it doesn't parse the url.

Actually, if you tell the pharmacist you are diabetic, he has to sell the needle and syringe. He has no legal authority to assume you are guilty of a criminal act, but is he is dedicated hard-***, go see your local vet. I give my animals their shots all the time, and I get the needles and syringes from my vet. I don't drill with them; I use them for gluing...after I give the creatures their shots. Why should they have all the fun while I do all the work?

Television shows are not good sources of information.

[BR60103]

The mm bits will not be an exact match for the numbered bits -- that was the whole purpose of the metric system.
There is probably a conversion table available -- the NMRA may have a table showing all the bits - fractional, numbered and mm -- in order.

[Russ Bellinis]

The mm bits will not be an exact match for the numbered bits -- that was the whole purpose of the metric system.
There is probably a conversion table available -- the NMRA may have a table showing all the bits - fractional, numbered and mm -- in order.

If the metric bits are exact metric sizes, there is a conversion table in one of the links I put in my last post.

[TrainNut]

Thanks guys for all the useful information and links. I got some bits and a pin vice and am now able to figure out what size they are in relation to the directions of the kit. Now, let's see how long it takes me to break one!

[iis612]

Try here...
http://modelexpo-online.com/product.asp?ITEMNO=MX193M This set with a metal box is $9.99 USD

Great price. They also sell individual bits. I would recomend having more than one of the higher numbered bits... They break. They break VERY easily.
I beleive that their individual bits are sold in 5 bit sets for around $3.

Matt

[Steamtrains]

One of the "secrets" to keep teeny bits from breaking so often, is to chuck the bit in as far as possible into the pin vice, leaving just enough of the bit exposed to do the job, and taking it easy....High speeds and "woobly" bits are the major causes of breakage...

[MasonJar]

#61 to #80 available here...

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=41754&cat=1,180,42240">http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx ... ,180,42240</a><!-- m -->

Andrew

[MountainMan]

Sears carries a good set, so does Hobby Lobby if you have one of those. Both places sell theirs with a pin vise for about $9. Sears also sells a separate pin vise with a ball head for about $9.

Local Hobby Lobby on Saturday: that set sells for $30.00.

[jbaakko]

I asked for Micromark's finger drills last year for Christmas, and got them. They're great, and eliminate the need to change bits in the pin vise.