Does anyone know how to get a steel drill bit out of a sterling silver
hole that it’s stuck in? Someone told me to boil it in water and alum but
either it doesn’t really work or I’m not doing it right. Thanks again.
Wendy
Drop it into the pickle( sparex) for a few hours. this will weaken or
possibly help to dissolve the bit.
Have you tried taking a pair of plies to the drill bit, and gently
rotating it to release it. Be gentle, and reverse the direction of the
threads. Good luck. Alma
Wendy, If your piece is flat or you have access to the back of the hole
just set it on a wood block and tap the spot with a punch. Usually, you
can then get ahold of it with pliers and twist it out. - Deb
Hi wendy: put it in hot pickle for a couple days but the fast method is
tp drip some hydrochloric acid on it…will break down the bit in a couple
hours… Try that… God Bless John Henry .aka Ringman
Wendy, the alum/water method really does work, but it takes a while. I
generally leave it on a gentle boil all night under my vent and it’s out
the next day. It’s the cleanest method I’ve found so far. Good luck,
Mike.
Just put in some rather strong but new sparex type pickle. New so it
doesn’t plate copper over your piece. The steel will start to corrode and
the drill can eventualy be pushed out or will fall out. You can then just
go ahead and continue using the pickle. Jesse
Wendy the alum works great. Put the silver with the drill in it into a
baby food jar with saturate solution of water and alum, heat it a little,
preferably in the ultrasonic and let it work for several hours. I think
that should take care of it.
Good Luck,
Etienne Perret
Wendy, is the drillbit still in the chuck of your drill? What thickness
of silver is it stuck in? If it is still in the drill, tighten the chuck
as tight as you can get it, add several drops of 3 in 1 oil to the hole and
try to get the drill to turn. Clamp the silver material in such a way that
it won’t move when you do this. It just might come loose! Kelly
G’day again! Yes; put the whole job in warm or even hot sparex and leave
but give it a stir up now and them. Might take several hours, and might
even need changing the sparex, but it won’t eat away the sterling, and it
will eat away the steel drill.
Remedy? when using fine drills, have only just a little over the thickness
of the drill poking out of the chuck, don’t press too hard, try not to
drill too fast - and use a sharp drill! Cheers, – John Burgess
Does anyone know how to get a steel drill bit out of a sterling silver
hole that it’s stuck in?
Wendy, Sparex will remove a steel drill bit. Hot Sparex works better. I use
a microwave for jusst this purpose. Something that works even faster is
hydrochloric or muriatic acid. Once again hot works best. The problem with
hydrochloric acid is fuming. It requires good ventilation. Although I have
heard of using alum a number of times, I have no personal experience with
it. Bruce
wendy - i think that alum trick was for unsticking a zipper on a tight
dress. for the stuck steel bit/burr in the silver have you tried this:
spritz a tiny bit of WD40 where the bit shaft comes out of the hole, stick
the bigger part of the bit into icy water for about 2 mins, pull out &
twist gently with vicegrips. when i get a bit/burr that ‘binds’ in metal
like yours did, i get a good purchase on the piece & turn on the flexshaft
on low rpms a couple of times. has worked every time - it usually happens
when the burr is a little loose, heats up & sticks in the heated metal.
good luck - ive
Here’s a tip I came across: BROKEN-OFF DRILL BIT One of the most frustrating
jobs comes when drilling a hole in a piece of metal and the drill bit
breaks off, lodged in the metal. (It will only break off, of course, when
you HAVE to have a hole in that EXACT spot.) As hard as you try, the broken
section of the drill bit will not come out… Fear not! There is a simple
answer: Make a fresh batch of pickling solution slightly stronger than
recommended on the package directions. Heat it as normal and place the
jewelry with the broken drill bit into the solution. Let it soak until the
pickling solution has dissolved the drill bit. Check the piece every 10
minutes. Remove, rinse, and finish the drill hole.
Be sure to THROW OUT the pickling solution after this use, or anything
placed in it will turn a glorious shade of pink!
SCOTT STILES Manager, Tools and Findings. Fargotstein’s
This might work for you----Bob Staley
Why doesn’t the piece containing the stuck bit also ‘turn pink’ in the
pickle? Larry
Does anyone know how to get a steel drill bit out of a sterling silver
hole that it’s stuck in? Someone told me to boil it in water and alum but
either it doesn’t really work or I’m not doing it right. Thanks again.
Wendy
Pickle (sparex) will eat out the drill. A strong solution of alum will
also, if boiling, but it’s a lot slower. In the pickle, leave the item in
a half hour to an hour and the drill will be gone. Note that this works
with steel drills. If you’ve broken off a carbide drill, you’re out of
luck.
The key with the pickle is to remember that if your pickle has dissolved
copper oxides in it, and you then put in a piece of silver that has steel
in contact with it, the steel, as it dissolves, causes the copper to plate
out on the silver. So use freshly mixed pickle that does not have copper
already dissolved in it, and you won’t get copper plating. Note that once
the steel is dissolved, the dissolved iron in the solution will NOT cause
copper to plate out if you continue to use that pickle for normal purposes.
That copper plating effect requires that the iron be still metallic, and
dissolving in the pickle while in contact with the silver item (or gold or
other precious metal, etc) So if you wish, you can save this pickle just
for use in removing broken drill bits, or you can just add it to your
regular pickle if you wish. Won’t hurt it.
Peter Rowe
Why doesn't the piece containing the stuck bit also 'turn pink' in the pickle? Larry
I had a piece lying on my bench with a piece of drill stuck in it that I
was going to dig out when I had the patience. The pickle trick worked like
magic! It completely fell out sitting in warm Sparex for about 15
minutes. And it did turn the 14k piece slightly pink. But thanks to
everyone who suggested that. This list has proven itself invaluable once
again.
Jill
jill@jjewelry.com
Jill Alessandra Jewelry
http://www.jjewelry.com
Why doesn't the piece containing the stuck bit also 'turn pink' in the pickle? Larry
it will, if you use old pickle that already contains dissolved copper. if
you use pickle that’s mixed up fresh, then there’s no copper to plate out,
so nothing turns pink.
Peter Rowe
JIll, You can also let it sit in alum overnight if you have the time and
this will eat the steel out. Slightly warmed up is a helper.
Russ