drifting holes in 5/16" rod

[territorialmillworks]

Not much luck sliting/drifting 5/16" holes in 5/16" rod. Smaller dia seems less forgiving, 10" lengths cool fast even when I 'warm' the anvil. Too many heats and rods are bent up. Need 30+ pieces (yesterday) so I need to to be efficient as there will be more orders. Thought about drilling 1/8" pilot hole and trying to drift without sliting.. Any ideas on holding jigs other than anvil dog? Should have mastered this before I agreed to do it. But that wouldn't be any fun....THX

[Rich Hale]

If I were to do them I would take a cold chisel and make a starter mark for the slitter, Then I would use wooden handles slitter and drift so I could get after it real fast, may take two heats but I would work towards one per home. And I would use a half rounds bottom fuller with a hole in it so I would not deform the stock more than necessary, And have fun
By the way you may be able to use a weighted chain for a hold down lift it and stick the stock under will take little time

[HWooldridge]

Put it in a V-block so you don't have to chase it. You also need a very thin chisel - I would guess about 1/16 at the widest cross section down to an edge. Use H13 for the stock. If you are doing a large number of pieces, think about a die set using a male chisel and female receiver with a stripper to pull the stock free on each stroke.

[CurlyGeorge]

Rich, thanks for the idea of using a half round bottom fuller with a hole in it. Never thought of that. But it would work on a couple of my projects, too.

[territorialmillworks]

Made a v-block with a vise-grip for a quick hold-down. Made my slitter thinner and added a handle. MUCH easier and I ordered H-13 stock (Needed to do this a year ago). Cold chiseling a mark helped a lot. Much better than a punch mark. Could you describe the die? Is it a spring set die? Is the slitter permanately attached? How does the stripper work? My mill & lathe are my other obsessions.. I definitly could not have grown in this craft without all the help. Thanks, Keith

[HWooldridge]

The die set is on guide pins and sprung for return - like a stamping die. The slitter could be permanently attached but I would prefer it inserted so you can remove and sharpen or replace. The stripper is simply a bar perpendicular to the work so the slitter pulls free from the hole - you don't have to fight it that way. If you get really ambitious, you can make a three plate die. The top plate carries the slitter, which penetrates thru the second plate when the die is struck (the third plate is the work rest). As the die returns, the work is automatically stripped by the slitter returning to battery.

You might want to read up on progressive open forging dies. That will show you basic design and construction.

[territorialmillworks]

Thanks to all the good advise, I'm 2 for 3. Now its practice makes perfect. My wife/best friend/partner said no to the die set until I'm finished. Focus, focus, focus LOL