Cutting patches on drill press

[45ACPete]

I made a patch cutter for my .50 GPR out of an inch and 3/8 bi-metal hole cutting blade. Quite time consuming getting the teeth ground off and then grinding the outside to a sharp edge. The metal in a bi-metal blade is hard! Once it's sharp though it cuts nice clean patches on the drill press with ease, but I need to find a materiel to use under the pillow ticking other than the scrap lumber I've been using--with soft wood the blade cuts into the backing 1/8 in. or so and the friction quickly heats the blade. I have to stop every five or six patches and wrap a wet cloth around the blade to cool it. Dunno if hard wood would work better--expensive. Any ideas, anyone?

 

[stinkyfeet]

I used to work at a die making company and have a die made that can cut 50 patches (by layering material to be cut) and pressing it down with a harbor press. Oh and the bottom instead of wood I layer cardboard it keeps you from adding to much pressure and rolling the shard edges. While its not how the die was intended to cut the material its close to how the companies used our dies to cut there materials. Maybe this will give ya a better idear. I cut pillow ticking into premade patches in no time.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Fron what you describe, this does not sound like a good way to do it at all.
You waste material by cutting round and ther could be a danger factor.
But, this is an each to his own game.
Personally, my cleaning patches are cut with a large antique pair of tailors shears. My shooting patches are cut at the muzzle from strips I tear off of pre-lubed ticking.

 

[Squeeze]

if your using a drill press, just clamp the block in one spot, after you get the groove already started, set the depth a bit less, (just under the surface, but not bottomed in the circle groove) then it shouldnt have anything but the material to bind and heat, ...should work

 

[ZUG]

I made a patch cutter for my .50 GPR out of an inch and 3/8 bi-metal hole cutting blade. Quite time consuming getting the teeth ground off and then grinding the outside to a sharp edge. The metal in a bi-metal blade is hard! Once it's sharp though it cuts nice clean patches on the drill press with ease, but I need to find a materiel to use under the pillow ticking other than the scrap lumber I've been using--with soft wood the blade cuts into the backing 1/8 in. or so and the friction quickly heats the blade. I have to stop every five or six patches and wrap a wet cloth around the blade to cool it. Dunno if hard wood would work better--expensive. Any ideas, anyone?

You might be running that drill press too fast - are you cutting un-lubed material, that will also add to the friction. Your cutting edge on the hole saw might be too small of an angle and is having a hard time cutting. I lube my material with a beeswax/lard/olive oil mixture then stack the material 4 or 5 layers and keep cutting until my cutter is full (about 25 patches). I have also cut un-lubed material with no problem as long as my cutting edge is sharp. I also use a pine board as a backer. Cutters were made by me out of O-1 tool steel - harden & tempered.

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[FishDFly]

I gotta go with Rifleman1776;

From what was described, this does not sound like a good way to do it at all. I know lots of folks do it, I just am not in a rush.

Sounds to me like a good way to get hurt. I cut all my patches (cleaning and shooting) one at a time by hand during the winter when the weather is nasty. I build a nice fire in the fire place and sit and cut.

There was a song that fits, "put another log on the fire and bring me another bowl of butter beans".

 

[smo]

I have to agree this very well could cause a serious injury. All it take is for the patch material to become tangled in the cutter and you CAN NOT get the drill cut off before you are tied in a knot or worse. I have worked in the construction industry for over 30 years and have seen several injuries caused by drill presses as well as hand held drill motors. :shake:

To each his own ,,,just some food for thought. :wink:

 

[dikman]

I have come across this method many times, on various forums, and it obviously works, but I decided against it for the reason(s) mentioned - safety. Rotating machinery is particularly dangerous when using loose material near it. I just use a wad punch and a big hammer ( :wink: ). I cut the material into little squares, slightly larger than the diameter of the punch, and stack about 20 or so together, place them on a block of hardwood on one of my anvils (with several layers of newspaper between the material and the wood, seems to help with the cutting) and then several strong whacks with the hammer and bingo! instant round patches.

You could probably weld a suitable handle onto your cutter and do the same thing. (Hitting things with a big hammer is also very therapeutic!!).

 

It's just my opinion, but I think that is way too much work. And then there is the already mentioned safety factor.
I belong to the “cut at the muzzle” school; a debate all on its own. If you prefer pre-cut patches, buy or make a punch of appropriate size and make them with a mallet and the end grain of a log. Safer, and probably a lot faster then using a drill press.
For cleaning patches I use Rifleman’s method. For cleaning, square works fine.
And now for a mostly unrelated old timer moment.
Talking of square cleaning patches reminds me of the good old days when you could buy 1000 GI surplus patches at Friendship for $2.00. There were smaller quantities, 25 or 50 in brown paper packets, and they sold bags of the packets totaling 1000 patches. This wasn’t a one time deal with one dealer. It was several vendors, and it lasted for several years.

 

[LRB]

Material is wasted any way you go. If you cut at the muzzle, you must waste enough to hold on to while cutting. If you cut square patches the ears of the square are useless to the loaded ball. I would guess at more waste cutting at the muzzle than with round or square pre-cut patching. I see no great danger in using the drill press, and have for many years. Less danger than when drilling large holes in thin metal. It is wise and almost necessary to have a board over the material with a minimal blade clearance hole in it while cutting to hold the material from shifting. I get no less than 8 patches per stroke, and the board over the material allows minimal spacing between holes. My blade is a cheapo Chinese hole saw blade and keeps a sharp enough edge on it to do over 500 patches per run with no re-sharpening. I use common pine scrap wood over and under. No heat problems at all.

 

[ohio ramrod]

I have made many patch cutting dies that are used with out the drill press rotating and find that a piece of light cardboard and some duralaun or plexiglass under the cloth really helps. The cardboard prevents the cloth from "stretching " and the plexiglass keeps the punch from embedding into your wood.I fold my material so that I cut twenty patches at a time. :hmm:

 

[Rifleman1776]

Talking of square cleaning patches reminds me of the good old days when you could buy 1000 GI surplus patches at Friendship for $2.00. There were smaller quantities, 25 or 50 in brown paper packets, and they sold bags of the packets totaling 1000 patches.

I don't miss those GI patches at all. Their advantage was cheap and pre-cut. But they didn't absorb water, it just sat on the patch and ran off. :cursing:
Gimme the baby blanket flannel any time.

 

[majg1234]

I use the same method and have for years...no problems!! I use the slowest speed, cut through a hole I cut in a pine board before the teeth were ground off.Cut them with a pine board backing and the whole shebang clamped together and then clamped to the drill press.Sounds a bit complicated but I can cut several hundred patches in just a few minutes. they are then lubed individually with beeswax and olive oil melted over a small hot plate.BTW I now only cut 3 sizes,32cal through 45 get one size,50 through 56 get the next size up and 58,62 through 715 get the largest :hatsoff: