Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Square Holes Drilled With A Watts Drill Blows My Mind

Reuleaux or Watts Drill (Images courtesy The Home Shop Machinist & Machinist's Workshop BBS)
By Andrew Liszewski

Reuleaux or Watts Drill (Image courtesy Make) title=Make has a link to a pretty interesting discussion on the ‘The Home Shop Machinist & Machinist’s Workshop BBS’ about using a Watts or Reuleaux drill to make a square hole.

Now the idea of using a spinning drill bit to create a square hole is kind of counter-intuitive, but the animation on the right, while not exactly what a Watts drill looks like, helps you wrap your head around the concept.

And if you find yourself amazed at this new innovation in machining, you might also be surprised to learn that the idea isn’t a new one, and Harry J. Watts, for whom the drill is named after, actually received a patent (#1,241,176) for it on September 25, 1917.

[ The Home Shop Machinist & Machinist's Workshop BBS - How do I make a square hole ] VIA [ Make ]


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  • mcman
    Tell me something I don't know. I can remember Norm Abrams using this years ago. I'm not impressed. And by not impressed, I mean I'm very impressed....really.
  • slrman
    A video would have been nice with the animation.
  • kjuhygtrfdsw
    why would you want a square in metal .... can you say stess multiplier
  • Wow I want to see this in action! Bet Fredy would get a kick out of this lol
  • Looks like someone thought about the "square peg, round hole" problem in the most literal way... and solved it.... NICE!
  • Coincidentally that also is the shape of a rotary engines "cylinder" ... interesting. #geekiness
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