Bob S Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 I was reading on another forum the possibility of using a left handed drill as an aid in removing a broken or stuck screw. This is fine and may even work but you don't have to go out and buy a special left handed drill bit. Just sharpen an ordinary right hand drill of the appropriate size left handed. That;s right. Sharpen an ordinary right hand drill left handed. Take a look at a drill point. It works, I and many others have done it. The only thing a right handed drill which has been sharpened 'left' won't do is eject chips since the flutes are going the wrong way. So take little bites, back out, use a shot of air to remove chips, and nibble nibble nibble. As always wear eye protection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yahoo2 Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 left hand bits have been a standard tool for repetition engineering for years, it saves the time of reversing the rotation of a chuck. They are still widely available and about the same price as a RH one. I have used them to remove the broken off studs in the alloy block on a outboard motor. It saved a lot of time, half the studs come out with the drill bit, before I threatened them with the screw extractor. :) Strange feeling the first time you sharpen one, very awkward. Even for a lefty like me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob S Posted July 11, 2013 Author Share Posted July 11, 2013 left hand bits have been a standard tool for repetition engineering for years, it saves the time of reversing the rotation of a chuck. They are still widely available and about the same price as a RH one. I have used them to remove the broken off studs in the alloy block on a outboard motor. It saved a lot of time, half the studs come out with the drill bit, before I threatened them with the screw extractor. :) Strange feeling the first time you sharpen one, very awkward. Even for a lefty like me. My point was that ordinary right hand drills can be easily sharpened to drill left hand. Of course the spindle has to be run in reverse also. I have worked in screw machine shops ( repetition engineering!!!) and used left hand drills routinely as you pointed out. But if you don't have one you can make one out of an ordinary right hand drill. Just don't go too deep cuz the chips won't eject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yahoo2 Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 Yep, point taken. Do you grind the land/margin off the front edge of the flute to stop it binding in the hole when its spinning backwards? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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