drilling thru leaf spring

[diesel028]

i need to redrill the pin hole on a couple of leafs out of another pack to make up a new pack for my front end after dropping my hangars and moving diff forwards............wtf are you supposed to use to actually drill thru these things?? I tried going to a metal shop and he just flat out refused to even try, then on going to another shop they said to just keep sharpening ur drill bit and use plenty of lubrication.

Now theres two leafs im trying to drill thru from boths packs......so far using a cobalt drill bit ($19.95ea) ive managed to get thru one leaf from one pack.....the drill bit is now cactus and i still have 3 more leafs to go....

any suggestions or ideas

Thanks

Craig

[spazbot]

ive been told the best way is lotsa lube lotsa coolent and SLOW rpm
might try doing some at 60rpm at work and see what happens

[humphey]

mate i do this shit every day for a livin , set the drill to slow and DONT PUT GREAT LOADS OF PRESURE on the drill but keep the presure constant let it work at its own pace . the hotter u get the steel the harder it get's ,we use normal drill bits and they work fine and we don't use any cuttin lube .

[POS]

mate i do this shit every day for a livin , set the drill to slow and DONT PUT GREAT LOADS OF PRESURE on the drill but keep the presure constant let it work at its own pace . the hotter u get the steel the harder it get's ,we use normal drill bits and they work fine and we don't use any cuttin lube .

Arrrrggghhh what would you know!!!!!









































By the way, that was a joke! TREVOR!

[humphey]

mate i do this shit every day for a livin , set the drill to slow and DONT PUT GREAT LOADS OF PRESURE on the drill but keep the presure constant let it work at its own pace . the hotter u get the steel the harder it get's ,we use normal drill bits and they work fine and we don't use any cuttin lube .

Arrrrggghhh what would you know!!!!!









































By the way, that was a joke! TREVOR!

[diesel028]

so patience is the key also?

I just tried the drill at a very slow rate with no lube and it did seem to help.

Thanks guys

[redzook]

i have heard of people using a masonary drill bit to drill through springs neva tried it my self though

u do it an tell us how it goes

[humphey]

i have heard of people using a masonary drill bit to drill through springs neva tried it my self though

u do it an tell us how it goes

they work too but don't last long

[Shadow]

i have heard of people using a masonary drill bit to drill through springs neva tried it my self though

u do it an tell us how it goes

youd probably wanna shape the tungsten tip to at least resemble a cutting tip though :S

[4sum4]

Just keep pumping the coolant on to it ,don`t let it heat up

[80 nsw]

Good luck mate, your drilling spring steel you'll be there forever

[Yeah mate]

Start with pilot drill bit say 1/16”, you will find go through piece of pi$$, and go up in sizes till you get the desired size. Be gentle and in this case slow is fast (take your time)

[bazzle]

Slow works but at a 4WD show a few years back a guy was selling drills that cut thru files for $50/ I bought a set and have used them to drill thru stuff just like that. I use a battery drill so I dont go to fast. and to reduce heat.

They have a tip similar to masonary drills.

Bazzle

[Slayer]

if your just expanding the size of holes already in th leafs ive been there, drilled for half an hour and got no where, used a rats tale file and filed the hole out big enough in 5 minutes, it was a bit out of round but all i was looking to do was get the centre pin thru it so i didnt care much..

[ozhumvee]

Spot heat it with the oxy, which softens it and then drill through with sharp bits taking it easy as has been stated.

[diesel028]

Spot heat it with the oxy, which softens it and then drill through with sharp bits taking it easy as has been stated.

Did exactly that this morning, took it somewhere to use a drill press also as the slower speeds helped. now i have springs under my rig

holes a little bit messy but the centre pin went thru so im happy

Thanks for all your help and suggestions

[Slayer]

why u buildin new springs anyways?? takin away the load leafs?? more flex? was it to high once u put that dropped xmember in??? and did u get the steerin sorted with the adj. draglink?

[diesel028]

why u buildin new springs anyways?? takin away the load leafs?? more flex? was it to high once u put that dropped xmember in??? and did u get the steerin sorted with the adj. draglink?

needed a 2" longer spring in the front after dropping hangars and moving them forwards 2". the pin to front measurement stayed the same as before but i needed an extra 2" at the shackle end so i could push my diff forward and out of the wheelarch. just got my old rear leafs and used the main one (one with the spring eye) in the new pack as it was 2" longer than my old fronts. then added 4 of my original front leafs to that and it was perfect. just had to redrill the centre pin hole a little further back on that one main leaf so the diff didnt move any further forward.

i put the draglink in, but havnt really tried it all yet......Carlton is coming round 2moro morning to weld the x-member and shock hoops on. so ill take it for a spin once that is done.

[RUFF]

How far back on the leaf did you re-drill the holes?

[diesel028]

40mm behind the original holes

[RUFF]

40mm behind the original holes

There is a fairly good chance those Main leafs will snap at the original holes. Its better to re-drill the spring perches on the diff. From memory you can go to about 35-37?mm on these and there is much less chance of breaking a spring this way.

And if you are not going to run the clamps on the springs there is even more chance of the leaves breaking.

[diesel028]

clamps are still there