Getting Organized

[dan.gagnon85]

Waiting on my empennage kit to ship and looking at the mess of tools that have arrived, I decided to start organizing things a little bit.

I came up with this for my dimple dies and counter sinks, but how does everyone keep drill bits sorted? Some of these sizes are nearly impossible to separate.

[wirejock]

That's perfect. You really need a full bit set. Even the Harbor Fright. Get a full fractional, wire and alpha set. The box is worth it for organizing. Reason for the extra is drilling pilot holes. I often grab one of the lesser used bits and leave the wire sizes for finish work.

[swift12]

Originally Posted by dan.gagnon85

Waiting on my empennage kit to ship and looking at the mess of tools that have arrived, I decided to start organizing things a little bit.

I came up with this for my dimple dies and counter sinks, but how does everyone keep drill bits sorted? Some of these sizes are nearly impossible to separate.

Looks nice hope they are cleaveland dimple dies….simply the best.

I keep my drills in a Milwaukee pack out case….and label the boxes….new ones, current ones….use only for non important job ones. I buy number 42 drills as they are the same as prepunched holes so good for match drilling new holes….and number 40 reamers for all match drilling. Measure the drills and you get to know the size quite quickly. One thing I might suggest is the drill stops….I like them. Also measure a drill before you use it! Unless you have laser vision and can see the writing on the side of the drill easily…it’s easy enough to pick up the wrong drill. Wirejock suggests a good number drill set….great idea…..you also could make up a block to hold your drills but I like the “current” use idea as you know when that drill is getting past it….it goes in the “use if you don’t care about the quality bin” and the new drills get broken into when Needed and go into the current bin. Sounds a bit OTT however you will get lazy and mix the little buggers up….BTW….if you have a compressed air drill do not remove the drill or reamer with the air connected…..I lost the chuck key not long ago across the floor after it broke a new reamer….

[wirejock]

Ok. Now someome has brought it up.
Buy reamers. Common sizes.
#40, #30, #29, #19, #12, 3/16", 1/4", .311, 5/16". Always final drill holes with a reamer. Perfectly round holes.
On fiberglass, I usually final drill one size smaller. Makes for a slightly tighter hole for the rivet.

[rocketman1988]

…and yet there are thousands of aircraft out there flying with holes drilled by a standard drill bit…

Just sayin’…

[dan.gagnon85]

Thank you for the feedback, I picked up Cleaveland tool kit for the RV14, it included the reamers, and various size bits.

I have tons of fractional bit sets and having them in a case has always been the best way to organize, but could not find the same for # and letter bit sizes locally.

I like the idea of a packout box, and separating by usage, I tend to put used bits back upside down to separate against new. Just wondering, do bits dull quickly? I assume most of the drilling will be through aluminum, which is very soft compared to the bits, I thought they would last about as long as it takes me to break / lose them.

The Dies seem great, but since my experience using this stuff includes only the stuff I bought from Cleaveland, I don't have a great base to compare against.

[Traash]

I organized a bit differently. I have slide drawers labeled by fastener size. #3 & #4 rivets, #6 & #8 screws, #3 & #4 bolts. This covers the majority of fasteners used in an RV.

Within the drawer is everything you need for that size fastener: drill bit, reamer, dimple dies, rivet sets.

Working on a skin with all #3 rivets? Get out the #3 rivet drawer and everything is there. No need to look three differsnt places for the right tool.

I've found this method greatly speeds up the task of finding the right tool for the job at hand.

[Antonitis]

Hi Dan.

Your organizer looks really cool. Looks like you cut it on a CNC mill/router. Would you be willing to share the DXF file?

Thanks,
Jason

[nohoflyer]

You will thank your effort later as you progress. Nice. You’ll probably be making more as you collect more tools. As far as bits go I’d make one of those blocks for the different bits and have one bit of each size in it. Then keep the extras in a tool box somewhere and replace as necessary.

This is mine which is not nearly as nice as yours but you get the point.

[dan.gagnon85]

Originally Posted by Antonitis

Hi Dan.

Your organizer looks really cool. Looks like you cut it on a CNC mill/router. Would you be willing to share the DXF file?

Thanks,
Jason

I laser cut it on some scrap 'hardboard' I had laying around, I can't attach the DXF, but if you send me an e-mail I can shoot it over.