But the flat drill possesses several disadvantages: thus, referring to [figure], it must be enough smaller at a than at b to permit the cuttings to find egress, and this taper causes the diameter of the drill to be reduced at each drill grinding. The end b may, it is true, be made parallel for a short distance, but in this case the cuttings will be apt to clog in the hole unless the drill be frequently removed from deep holes to clear the cuttings. For these reasons the fluted drill or the twist drill is preferable, especially as their diameters are maintained without forging. For deep holes, as, say, those having a depth equal to more than twice the diameter, the flat drill, if of small diameter, as, say, an inch or less, is unsuitable because of the frequency with which it must be removed from the hole to clear it of cuttings.
For fluted or twist drills the lathe may run quicker than for a flat drill, which is again an advantage. It sometimes becomes convenient in the exigencies which occur in the work of a general machine shop to hold a drill in a dog or clamp and feed it into the work with the lathe dead centre. In this case the drill should be held very firmly against the dead centre, or otherwise the drill may, when emerging through the back of the hole, feed itself forward, slipping off the dead centre, and causing the drill to catch and break, or moving the work in the chuck, to avoid which the drill should have a deep and well countersunk centre.
Fig. 1074.
A very effective drill for holes that are above two inches in diameter and require enlarging is shown in [Fig. 1074]. It consists of a piece of flat steel a, with the pieces of wood b fastened on the flat faces, the wood serving to steady the drill and prevent it from running to one side in the work. This drill is sometimes used to finish holes to standard size, in which case the hole to be bored or drilled should be trued out a close fit to the drill for a distance equal to about the diameter of the drill, and the face at the entrance of the hole should be true up. This is necessary to enable the drill to start true, which is indispensable to the proper operation of the drill.
Fig. 1075.
This drill is made by being turned up in the lathe, and should have at the stock end a deep and somewhat large centre, so that when in use it may not be liable to slip off the dead centre of the lathe. The drill is held at the stock end by being placed in the lathe dead centre and is steadied, close to the entrance of the hole in the work, by means of a hook which at one end embraces the drill, as shown in [Fig. 1075], in which a represents the hook and b the drill.