Drilling Help Needed

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RonSchmitt

RonSchmitt

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Milwaukee, Wi, USA.
Hi All,
This is sooooo far off topic, but I need to pick your brains.
My son make necklaces and is always looking for new and different things to use as centerpieces.
At a civil war renactment today, he bought an actual bullet from a civil war battle, recovered from the battle of Chickamauga (sp).
What kind of bit would you use to drill lead?
I'm only gonna get 1 shot at this so I don't want to mess it up.
All ideas welcome and appreciated.
 
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Ron,
Just about any drill bit should drill through a lead bullet just fine.
Drill slow and don't let the bit get too hot or you may melt the lead.
Don't think I would like to have a hunk of lead hanging on my neck though. [:)]
Tom
 
Lead is sort of tricky because it is so soft and grabby. Additionally, you don't want to be breathing the lead dust. So first thing be sure to wear a mask or have strong ventilation. You will need a good way to hold the bullet firmly without damaging(distorting) it. The drill bit is going to want to grab and twist the bullet so this is very important.

I seem to remember a suggestion that a bit being used to drill lead should have the cutting edge blunted slightly i.e., don't use a new or freshly sharpened bit. I also suspect that there is a preferred angle and drilling speed for the drill bit; but don't have any idea what it should be. I'm a little fuzzy on this and suggest you send Bruce Boone or Paul(of pen vise fame)an email and see what he has to say. He will know the answer or point you to someone who does.

Interesting question....I'm going to nose around the Internet and see if I can find any more information.
 
You may only have 1 shot at it with the bullet, but lead is still lead.

If I wanted to get it done right I would find a way to practice my technique first. I would go to any sporting goods store where they sell fishing supplies(like say Walmart) and buy a small bag of 1oz lead weights. They come in all different shapes(not just bell). They have some that are round and flat like 2 nickels stacked on top each other or they have some that are egg shaped like those little chocolate eggs you see around Easter. I am pretty sure you can get a couple for under $2. Good luck[:D]
 
Lead is sort of tricky because it is so soft and grabby. Additionally, you don't want to be breathing the lead dust.


Excellent point, Randy. According to current research, the majority of the deaths in the Civil War were caused by lead poisoning.
 
I have drilled numerous pieces of lead when we were converting the F-86 aircraft to drones. NEVER did I encounter lead dust! We used normal drills , lubricated the drills with beeswax, even the you have to clean the lead from the drill flutes manually. If the flutes wer not clean the drill will grab usually breaking the drill. Of course the lead thickness was from 2" to 3' thick.
 
I have some friends that are Civil War buffs and one stopped to visit last night. We discussed this since he is also a metalworker. He says the biggest problem is that old lead like that was far from pure lead, it only had to hold together long enough to one of the other guys. Many of these bullets, expecially the Southen ones, will break down over time and become very crumbly. It may be when you go to drill this it just crumbles, this is not the same quality lead you would get from fishing lures today.

He looked at the above suggestions and agreed that they were all good but is worried about any log term effects of wearing old lead like that around his neck. He is not a doctor or professional metalurgists but did say if he ever gets eny sores on his skin or irritations from the bullet to take it off immediately. Lead poisoning is easier than many people think. His final thought was to tell him to not to do it, but it's up to you.
 
<<Lead poisoning is easier than many people think.>>
Hmmmm, never thought about that, maybe I'll just have him add it to his collectibles shelf.
 
Originally posted by RonSchmitt
<br />&lt;&lt;Lead poisoning is easier than many people think.&gt;&gt;
Hmmmm, never thought about that, maybe I'll just have him add it to his collectibles shelf.
Click to expand...

Maybe you could just drill a tiny hole in one end....for something like a screw eye.....and then coat the whole thing in a thin coating of resin to protect from lead poisoning??
 
I used to do a fair amount of bullet casting, and the research I did on lead poisoning at the time turned up some results contrary to the popular belief.

First of all, elemental lead is not particularly dangerous to handle. It is not absorbed through the skin, nor through the digestive tract, nor by the respiratory system. There are large numbers of people who were shot in war and still carry bits of lead without ill effect.

The primary hazard of working with molten lead is burns, not lead vapor. The vapors that rise off the top of a lead pot do not contain significant amounts of lead - it just isn't hot enough.

The two things that are hazardous are impurites and lead salts.

Lead recovered from lead-acid batteries is contaminated with cadmium (which is toxic) and sulfer compounds (which are just plain nasty) including lead sulfate. Leave battery recycling to the professionals. Some lead alloys may contain arsenic.

Lead salts, such as lead nitrate, lead sulfate, and lead acetate are absorbed by the digestive tract and cause lead poisoning. Small amounts are not usually problematic, but lead poisoning is cumulative, and especially harmful to young children. Lead based paint is tightly regulated because of the link between eating lead paint and mental retardation in children. Children like to eat the flakes of paint because the lead salts taste sweet.

The myth of ancient Rome being poisoned by their plumbing is just a myth. If anything, they were poisoned by their use of lead acetate (aka "sugar of lead") as a sweetner in their food.

A bullet from the civil war might contain impurities, but is probably as close to elemental lead as they could get. Firearm technology at the time used a soft (pure) lead ball rather than one from a harder alloy. The ball has probably oxidized over time - is it covered with a layer of whitish residue? If so, you don't want to ingest that. I'd wash my hands after handling it.

Why not cast it in clear resin, or coat it in some other durable sealant (such as polyurethane)? Not only would you feel safer, but you'd be much less likely to damage the surface while drilling.

Oh, and for drilling - if all you want is a small hole for an eyelet screw, you could probably do that by hand with a small bit in a pin chuck. Lead is very soft.

Regards,
Eric
 
Originally posted by wdcav1952
<br />Lead is sort of tricky because it is so soft and grabby. Additionally, you don't want to be breathing the lead dust.


Excellent point, Randy. According to current research, the majority of the deaths in the Civil War were caused by lead poisoning.
Click to expand...

On second thought, maybe I should have specified high velocity lead poisoning. [:0]
 
Lead is soft and easy to drill you could almost do it holding it in yur hand . I would put it in a vice real easy and use a brace and bit and hand drill it if you have one . but I am only guessing at this from a little experiance .
GOOD LUCK [:)]
 
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