Shop Tips #1

By Dick Raczuk

In the following pages of our website, I have decided to pass on some of the knowledge I have accumulated over the years by working with some of the "masters of the trade". I was involved in design and manufacturing of parts for Honda, Kawasaki, G.M., Toyota and McCulloch as owner of KERKER exhausts. This led to a lot of relationships with some very talented people. The knowledge acquired from these observations and studies is what I hope to pass on. I do not claim to be an of expert by any means . My goal is to give to some of the new guys to the trade a "jump start".

Some of the tips will be very elementary, but we all have to start somewhere. If someone else would like to "chip in", please feel free to contact me with your ideas. This will not be about "how to build a hammer, etc., etc." but how to support the equipment used to do the building. So why keep it to yourself, "pass it on".

If you have the opportunity to be around or work with some of the talented people mentioned above, do yourself a favor and follow these three rules;

• OBSERVE
  
  Watch what's going on (how he holds, strokes, positions Etc. his hands, feet, body or whatever to achieve his goal).
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• ANALYZE
  
  Now figure out why he is using this process. Don't be afraid to ask. When you can figure it out on your own, you have a better chance of remembering it.
• 
  
  
• STORE
  
  Now you have to store this in your memory. All the observing and analyzing won't do you any good unless you can recall from memory when needed.
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1. If the chips are turning blue, slow down the spindle.
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3. Keep the lube between the cutter and the work piece.
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5. On aluminum, I use a tapping fluid formulated specifically for Alum. A little goes a long way here. I have found a bottle designed for gluing plastics to be very handy. All you need to do is give it a drop every 3 to 5 seconds. I never tap, drill, or cut without lubrication.
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7. I use POR products MARINE CLEAN to wash up my parts during and after machining This stuff really works.
   
   
8. On steel, use a good sulferized cutting oil like Mobil etc. When you have a critical tapping or finish you would like to achieve, go to a tapping fluid formulated for steel. (TAPMATIC)
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10. Big drills like to go slow, and little drills like to go fast. If you remove your drill from the work piece and it's blue or changing colors, slow it down.
    
    
11. Sharpening drills by hand is not that difficult. If you have the eyes of a artist and hands of a surgeon, go for it. Otherwise, go down to Home Depot and get a Drill Doctor. I've used them, and they're a snap. Good investment.
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13. On plastics, use a 60 degree tip angle. 0 degree rake. If anybody is interested, I can supply you with some drawings.
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15. When drilling deep holes, withdraw the drill frequently to remove the chips. Drills don't like being crowded in deep holes. Crowded holes usually end up bigger than drill size.
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17. If you want a drilled hole to "on size", drill a pilot hole first. A pilot hole is a smaller hole than the finished hole. Example; If you want a .500 dia. Hole, drill a .250 dia. hole first. Finish with the .500 drill. The reason for this is the .500 drill will not always have its center ground in the middle. With the pilot hole, it doesn't care.
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19. If you really need a .500 dia. Hole, use a reamer. Oh by the way, never turn a reamer backwards. It will dull it.
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Happy Drilling

Dick Raczuk