Has anyone tried taking a #80 drill bit through copper before? I just can't imagine it going well, and before I try with mine, I'd love to hear from some experience.
No experience with an 80 in copper, but I used my bit in a Kato E8 frame and it took a few minutes to get to the point I wanted but it worked.
Not in copper, but aluminum. Chuck the bit in as far as possible (leave only as much length exposed as needed to fully penetrate the depth of the material being drilled). Lube the bit with beeswax. Go slow, back the bit out to clean out shavings. Go slow. Make ABSOLUTELY sure you drill straight. If you start at an angle, retaint hat angle for the entire hole. Any flexing WILL snap the bit faster than you imagine. Oh, did I mention, go slow?
Pure copper is a very soft metal, so if you follow Hemi's advice you should have no problem. However if your copper is an alloy, then you should proceed VERY SLOWLY because some copper alloys can be hard, or even worse...brittle.
Also adding to the above posts I have had no issues drilling through brass car sides for grabs, etc. Takes patience, an even hand, and not trying to force the bit. The #80 bit is also available as a diamond dust coated bit.
I purchased some of mine as a set from a tool dealer at a show a long while back. They came in a set from #61 to #80 and are in a blue box with a clear plastic sliding cover that dispenses your choice of size when the cover is postioned over the slot. Looking at two of those danged boxes there is not one bit of writing on them to give me a clue as to origin. I seem to think that I may have gotten them from a NY based dealer that is on the Greenberg's shows circuit. As far as bulk I used to buy individual drill sizes that I needed from my now defunct LHS, but any full stocked train shop should have a selection. I'll dig a little more on this end. I did see the same box assortment, only in red color. from Micro-Mark but they wern't listed as diamond coated. Ahh a quit add to the post. Knew they were out there. Check this link and also try checking with some of the Trainboard retailers. http://www.ehobbytools.com/contents/en-us/p224.html
