The chip box is installed with the starter bushing in place, and the starter bushing is very carefully flushed
up against the barrel blank.
Connect all the shields; don't forget about the one on the end of the lathe that will return the oil when you
go through the barrel with the drill. Bolt the drill driver holder, centering it with the center of the tail stock.
It would be more accurate if it would be done with a shaft chucked in the head stock, through the
opening that holds the drill driver.
Set the deep hole drill in the drill driver on the carriage; connect the hydraulic hose to the fitting. Now
very carefully start the drill tip into the starter bushing. Before you turn on the oil to test it out,
double-check the setscrews that hold the drill in. If you turn on the oil and turn up the pressure, you will
blow out the drill and possible chip the tip, and get an oil bath.
Turn on the oil, but before you do make sure that the valve is open all the way, so there is no pressure in
the line. If everything is OK you are pumping the oil back to the tank, with very little oil going through the
drill. Now close the valve slowly, watching the pressure on the gauge, when it gets up to 600 to 700 lbs.,
which is about the right pressure for 30 caliber barrels.
Let it run for a minute or so to check for leaks. Look and see how much oil is coming out of the tip. There
should be quite a bit. This is important, as when you are drilling this is one way that you watch to see if
your drill is plugged up. Any time the flow slows down, or stops, or pressure goes up, shut down the feed
fast, or you will ruin the drill. I will assume that you have already changed the quick-change gears so you
can get a slower feed. A good starting point would be .0008 feed per revolution.
Now if you are ready, have all the shields up, no leaks, turn on the lathe. Before you do this, make sure
that the drill tip is not touching the barrel. The lathe should be running about 4000 rpm, but you can run it
at its regular speed. It will take longer to drill the barrel, and the drill might tend to wander a little on the
slower RPM. Now with the oil on, feed the drill into the barrel blank very slowly by hand. The drill and
tubing will probably chatter. Unless the drill tube starts to buckle, keep feeding it in and after it goes in
1/8 in or so it will stop chattering.
Once it stops chattering, engage the feed. It should start drilling with no chatter. I would recommend that
you keep your hand on the drill tubing for two reasons. (1) - If your hand is on the tubing, you will be able
to fill what is going on in the barrel. There is a certain fill to the tubing when the drill is cutting right. (2)
Your hand will act as a vibration damper for the drill.
Remember to keep your hand on the drill all the time to feel the vibrations on the drill. After a short while
you will be able to tell exactly how the drill is doing. After a few barrels, you will be able to tell when the
drill is dull, or it is chipped. Under normal conditions, the drill should be sharpened about every two
barrels.
To sharpen it is only necessary to just touch the cutting surface with the silicon carbide (green wheel), or
diamond wheel, rather than grinding all the surfaces.