Drilling Antler

[zonnkers]

Trying to make an Antler fly stand for use at the shows I attend but I am having trouble drilling the holes, a normal high speed drill seems to burn the hole rather than drill it , am I using the wrong type of drill bit?

Also what do you finish the stand with , on my wood stands I normally use 2 or 3 coats of Boiled Linseed Oil which leaves a nice matt finish. Can I use the oil on Antler?

[flyfishy61]

Originally Posted by zonnkers

Trying to make an Antler fly stand for use at the shows I attend but I am having trouble drilling the holes, a normal high speed drill seems to burn the hole rather than drill it , am I using the wrong type of drill bit?

Also what do you finish the stand with , on my wood stands I normally use 2 or 3 coats of Boiled Linseed Oil which leaves a nice matt finish. Can I use the oil on Antler?

hello i presume your using a high speed drill for steel, try to lower the speed and should not burn, have you an odd piece of antler you can test with linseed or a wood polish, maybe someone on here might know better but think will make a nice stand, do you show at the the c l a game fair?

[weight_forward]

Antler shouldn't be that hard!

Make sure your drill is sharp as well. It's burning because it's rubbing not cutting.

To drill efficiently you need to balance speed and feed rate. I would start slow and lean fairly heavily on the drill. Drill a little, then withdraw the drill to clear the hole and check that the drill isn't clogging, then drill a little bit more etc.

[Former member 6]

Don't know about leaning heavily on the drill. Never a good idea in my experience.

As opposed to hss drills try and get actual wood drill bits and use a medium speed. Too slow and it'll lock up, too fast it'll burn.

There was/is a guy on complete fisher forum

Complete Fisher Forum :: View topic - Salmon fly display stand.=

who specialises in this kind of thing. I'm sure he did a couple of step by steps, you'll need to search his posts though. I think he used to be called The Priestmaker on here but might be wrong.

[noeyedeer]

High Speed??

Way too fast - use a hand drill or brace & bit if you've got one!!

I've gone back to my Dad's old brace & bit for wood etc and it's much better.

Too much darn technology these days.

[mikgee]

Sharp bit, weight of drill alone, slow speed.

[roll cast]

What about a pilot hole first and then work up in size

[Shamus]

Odd name for a girl.

.

[zonnkers]

Thanks I will have another go at the rest of the holes tomorrow and try slowing the drill down , I am using an electric drill in a stand because I wanted all the fly clips upright but its not easy getting the drill to bite on the slopes of the Antler

If that fails I will have a fewand try again

[zonnkers]

Originally Posted by flyfishy61

hello i presume your using a high speed drill for steel, try to lower the speed and should not burn, have you an odd piece of antler you can test with linseed or a wood polish, maybe someone on here might know better but think will make a nice stand, do you show at the the c l a game fair?

Slowing the drill down worked fairly well but still had problems getting the drill bit to bite on the slopes.
Heres my first attempt but I still haven't managed to get the clips upright





I will have to get some more Antlers when I do the Edenbridge show in August and then have another go ( its a job to find Antlers in S/E London)