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Deburring Question

J

justplanecrazy

Member
Hi all, Just recieved my tools from Avery (great set of tools), toolbox kit and emmpenage kit on Thursday afternoon 5pm just in time for a Friday long weekend. Thank god for that!!

Andyhow, I have a question re duburring. All of the puched pieces seem to have a little nib every now and then which I guess is from the dies on the punch. Playing around with the tool box kit and the scotchbrite wheel on a die grinder smoothes the sharp edge off the punched edge however these nibs still remain. They are nice and smooth to run your finger over (i.e. no cuts) however you can still feel the ridges.

Should I persist to remove these and if so, what is the best method you have all found or should I simply scotchbrite them and carry on??

Thanks for your thoughts ad experience.

Rob
 
deburring

There is a fine line between de-burring and countersinking. Deburring should remove the little its of jagged metal left over after drilling. The punching process may have raised a little edge all the way around the hole. To get a baseline idea of what a deburred hole should look like take a 1/2" drill bit and twist it with your fingers one or two revolutions to de-burr a 1/8 or 3/16 hole. When I use the de-burring tool that came with the Avery kit, I find that usually one revolution with light pressure gets the job done. I sometime use that de-burring tool to make freehoand countersinks in the metal for screws or rivets so be careful with how agressive you are with it. Some production shops just sand the whole line of rivet holes rather than deburring each one. Even if you slightly oversize the hole, the rivet will expand when set and fill that discrepancy. If you send me a ticket to Australia I would be happy to come and show you first hand :D
 
Hi Rob,

I think you might have been asking about the edges, and not holes.

The bumps are a result of punching.

On the thin aluminum, the mini scotchbrite wheel on a die grinder will generally remove the bumps or smooth them down to the point where they won't cause any problems.

If you're talking about thicker aluminum, the game is a little different. On the thick stuff, I pull a flat smooth file across the edges. The technique is called draw filing. That very quickly knocks the bumps off and then you're home free to debur without worry.

The file that comes with the Avery kit is aggressive and will remove a whole bunch of material. So I rarely use it. Except where I have a whole lot of work to do. After using it, I come back with my regular smooth file just to smooth it out a bit more, before going on deburring.

I got my file at the "Aviation Dept" :) in Lowes. Don't get a cross-cut file they can leave some nasty marks in their wake.

On the topic of draw filing, checkout this video. This guy uses the technique.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dec78RQsokw

Also, I put Boelube (or some other cutting oil) on my file before I use it. The guy in the video uses chalk. But if you use a cutting oil, the cuts will be cleaner/smoother and you'll be surprised at how easy it is to clean the file. It just takes a rag to wipe away the Aluminum.

Hope that helps,
Phil
 
Last edited:
Phil said:
If you're talking about thicker aluminum, the game is a little different. On the thick stuff, I pull a flat smooth file across the edges. The technique is called draw filing. That very quickly knocks the bumps off and then you're home free to deburr without worry.
On the topic of draw filing, checkout this video. This guy uses the technique.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dec78RQsokw
Click to expand...
An important thing that the guy on the video mentions but doesn't elaborate on is holding the handle in his left hand. If you have the handle in your right hand you will be pulling "with" the file teeth. This is a no-no. You NEVER pull the file backwards across the material.
 
I agree with Andrew 100%. Just want to add that some alloys are softer than 2024-T3 and any pressure at all will leave a burr where the deburring bit stopped cutting. So light pressure and just 1 or 2 revolutions will do the job 90% of the time.
 
I clamped the aluminum to a flat table and used a file to lightly(!) take off these marks. Follow that up with a run of the deburring tool and a scotchbrite and you're on to the next piece. This is one of those tasks you'll develop a feel for with some experience...but you will be happier if you remove these machine punch marks. Last tip is, use chalk on your file to reduce loading of the aluminum...it'll make it easier to clean with the file card too.
 
Mel said:
... If you have the handle in your right hand you will be pulling "with" the file teeth. This is a no-no. You NEVER pull the file backwards across the material.
Click to expand...

What happens if you pull the file backwards across the material?
 
RVNineA said:
What happens if you pull the file backwards across the material?
Click to expand...

If you go backwards across the material, the teeth won't cut into the material correctly. It actually leaves deep gouges/grooves where each tooth traveled across the material but didn't remove it correctly.

You can feel it when you've got it working correctly. In no time, you'll get in the habit of using your Left hand when you're pulling the file toward you. Right hand when your pushing it away from you.
 
Get a file card (stubby wire brush) to clean the files. They'll cut cleaner and last longer if you brush out the aluminum regularly.

Jim Sharkey
RV6 Tip-up - finishing up
 
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