Pen Kit requires 8mm . . . Can I use a "O" drill bit?

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
Weymouta

Weymouta

Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2021
Messages
6
Location
Rib Lake, WI
I have someone who would like me to make a "Faith Hope Love" pen (from Penn State Industries}. This requires the 8mm drill bit. I have a "O" drill bit. I have a Pen Reamer that says it fits 8mm and O . . . so does anyone have any experience using a O drill bit for a pen kit that says to use 8mm? I did print the wonderful conversion chart posted but curious if I need to do anything to make this work. I know the 8mm drill bit is only $6.95 but curious??? Thanks!
 
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
Yes, there's only about a thou difference between the two. If you want to verify, just drill a hole on a piece of scrap and slide the tube in.
 
According to the iEngineer app on my phone, an O bit is 0.001 inches larger than an 8mm bit.

The only thing you might want to worry about a little is whether the glue that you use to fix the tube in place is able to bridge the slightly larger gap. The normal choices of glues are CA (good), polyurethane (better) and epoxy (best) - since there is nothing better than epoxy for this application, I would probably take that option.
 
If the hole is slightly a larger than the tube and the tube has a sloppy fit, I would use gorilla glue to glue it in. The glue will expand, filling the gap and have the added benefit of centering the tube in the hole.
 
One of the handiest things I have over my workbench is a chart with fractional/decimal equivalents, thread sizes and appropriate drill sizes, drill sizes in metric and English dimensions, etc.
I used Gorilla glue on one pen blank. Never again. It does expand but makes a big mess on the ends of the blank. I'm saving it if I have to glue any gorillas back together.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom