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Identify these drill bits

PaulvS

Well Known Member
Many years ago my father bought these six inch drill bits at a flea market in Seattle, so possibly they are Boeing surplus. The tips are stepped, I've never seen anything similar in RV tool catalogues, just curious as to their specific application.
 

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Magnavon

Magnavon is the trade name of the QC (Quick Change) drill chuck that accommodate this type of drill bit - all of which shown, except one, are a "pilot" type.



HFS
 
It's almost a certainty they are Boeing Surplus. They use those quick release bits almost exclusively. And those particular ones have built-in pilot bits, hence the step. I bought many of those directly from the Boeing Surplus Store down in Kent, WA in the 90's. One thing to keep in mind is that if Boeing throws out an air tool or cutting tool, including drill bits, it must be practically used up. Aside from building aircraft, Boeing is the largest cutting tool user, and largest cutting tool refurbisher in the world. When bits and cutters get dull they are thrown into a bin and taken down to the Boeing cutting tool division in Auburn who runs them through the re-sharpening or remanufacturing lines. It's quite an impressive facility. Many times what you find at Boeing Surplus are those items that have been deemed to be beyond usably re-sharpened and so were shipped up to the Kent surplus store.
 
@jliltd I think part of the criteria for going to the surplus store is "sharpened beyond a certain length" as well... They use 6" bits for a reason, if they get sharpened down to 5.5" they may not be long enough anymore. I've got a selection of 12", 6", and 3" bits that i've picked up over the years from Boeing Surplus and the various vendors at the Arlington fly-in that sold them as well. All were sharpened when I got them and all have worked amazingly well... They're easily the best drill bits I own.
 
The specific application is to drill holes and I like them the best of all the bits I have.
Just wish Boing Surplus was still there and open.
Art
 
Faber Surplus - eBay Store

Do a google search for the above and you'll find who sells them now - already re-sharpened and ready to go.

If you don't find what you want on the eBay site, contact Faber directly and he can probably help you.

Very reasonable and Boeing quality.

YMMV

HFS
 
Typical QC Drill System

Here is a typical layout of the QC Drill System:QC Drill System .jpg
 
Thx for replies

Thanks all for the replies and info, very interesting! The bits that I inherited appear sharp(ened). I imagine there is specialized equipment required to sharpen the pilot tip.

As an aside, the foreman in the machine shop where I had a summer job in my youth could sharpen a drill bit by eye and also adjust the hole size within a few thou by how he did the grind.
 
Double Margin

These type of bits are called a "double margin", in which the first part is really just a drill bit and the second part is a reamer. Somewhat close tolerance good when drilling a lot of holes quickly like when building something at Boeing.
I got a ton of them from Boeing Surplus when they were open and they are great for our needs!
 
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