Broaching
Broaching is a technique for turning a round hole into a square hole or a hex hole or for adding a keyway into a hole. A broach is a toothed tool that looks a bit like a rack or coarse tooled file. However the teeth are different sizes as you go along the broach. The idea is that each tooth of the broach sticks out just a little bit more than the next and hence can shave a small amount off the corners until the last tooth is reached which is the desired size of the hole. Broaches are quite expensive to purchase and are easy to break. Here’s some tips on how to make them and a device that pulls rather than pushes the broach meaning that it’s less likely to bend.
Sherline tips
Brotching Procedure
Broaching Practice Book
Home made keyway broach made by grinding down old taps.
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Tags: broaching, square holes
Metal sculpture in brass, mounted on an 1800s French Coin
You should also consider rotary broaching.
http://www.rotarybroaching.com
That’s an interesting technique there. Probably a bit out of the range of the average model workshop but something that could be outsourced if you had a lot of holes to cut.
[…] alternative solution to producing a square hole is to use a broach which are good for though holes, keyways and even internal […]