Why does nobody talk about using a piece of copper pipe to set a drift?

I mean, I was trying to drift a hole in a hammer head last week and my steel drift kept getting stuck, like, every single time. I was getting so mad, I almost threw the thing. Then I remembered my grandpa saying something about copper being softer, so I cut a short piece of half-inch copper pipe and hammered it in first. It actually worked, the steel drift went right through after that. Has anyone else tried this trick, or am I just lucky?

3 comments

3 Comments

zarat3814d ago

My old shop teacher showed me that trick years ago. We used a bit of copper pipe to start the hole for a punch on a tractor part... worked like a charm.

reesej2714d ago

Wait, copper pipe? That's wild, @zarat38, I've never heard of using that before. Wouldn't it just smash flat and not make a clean start? Your shop teacher must have been some kind of genius to figure that one out lol.

faith_hart2013d ago

Yeah, those old-school shop tricks are always the best. Sounds like a solid teacher.