Continuing my adventures in 1/700 scale ship modeling - what size drill bit should you use to bore out the portholes to make them appear even semi-realistic? I bought a drill bit set at the local hobby shop. It does not list the sizes of the bits, but the smallest one is too big for these tiny portholes. I tried a straight pin (not smart … bent the pin and popped out a chunk of resin) and am now at a standstill.
I understand that these tiny drill bits come with a number instead of an inch size, so which one should I try and use? #80, maybe?
i have the tamiya hand drill…i used the # 80 for my 1/720 graf zeppelin port holes…it came out perfectly…if you have alot of different size bits, than i would try to match it up to your port hole size…like i said, the # 80 was fine for my 1/720 scale ship
In 1/700 scale, a 12 inch porthole would be .017, or take a about a # 77 drill.
A 16 inch portohole would be about a number 74.
You can get these sizes at hobby shops or most hardward stores, as they are standard wire guage bits. You might find that a common set of # 61 to # 80 comes in pretty handy, at at $ 20 or so, might be worthwhile.
Unfortunately the drill set I got at the hobby shop did not list the sizes on them, but I need an even smaller one. Where would you get bits smaller than #80?
I have the impression that the #80 bit is the smallest commonly available. Years and years ago I did find a set of smaller bits at a jewelry supply company. They had fat shanks; the drilling part was only about 1/8" long. For model building, frankly, they were virtually useless: they were made of high-carbon steel, and snapped under the slightest side pressure. They also, simply because they were so small, got dull quickly - and were, if I remember correctly, quite expensive.
I’m sure modern industry produces bits smaller than #80, but I question how practical they’d be for model building - in terms of handling, breakability, and money.
I wonder if, in fact, the unmarked set mfsob bought actually goes all the way down to #80. A #80 bit is mighty small. In 49 years of model building I can’t think of an occasion when I’ve really needed anything smaller. A #80 bit certainly would be small enough for 1/700 portholes; in fact it might be a little too small for that purpose. A hole drilled in plastic with a #80 bit can, if you’re careless, be filled up accidentally with paint.
Thanks for all the input. It is a Loose Cannon resin Victory ship, and the smallest drill that came with the set from the hobby shop was too big to deepen the portholes, so I’m guessing it wasn’t a #80. But I did do a little looking, and they do apparently make drill bits that are much smaller, all the way into the #90s.
They make them smaller than #80 all right; I’ve heard stories of high-tech industrial drill bits that can only be seen under major magnification. I remember when I was working at a hobby shop in Columbus, Ohio, a customer came in one day with a #80 bit that he’d turned into a tube. He worked for - as it was called in those days - North American Rockwell Aviation, and had gotten a technician to hollow out that drill bit as a gag. But I question how useful such tools would be for model building - and I suspect I wouldn’t be able to afford them.
My suggestion is for any serious modeler to pick up a good set of bits ranging from #60 to #80, stored in an index that identifies them individually. That range will cover just about anything that comes up in ship modeling.
I did get a set from MicroMark, one each from 61-80, so I see what you mean about the #80 being really, really small! The smallest in the unlabeled set from the jobby shop appears to be at least a 60, possibly a 58, so now I know why it was way too big to bore out the portholes in my 1/700 model/ Onward through the fog!
Try Model Expo, that’s where I bought mine. They have small sets to large sets, but more importantly, 10 packs of each individual size. Hope this helps
I have not dealt with them, but the prices are what I have seen before for these sizes - the smaller you go, the more expensive, with # 97 going for # 12.90 each. Hate to break those! Even scratchbuilding a lot, I have yet to see a need for a drill much smaller than .0010.
And speaking of scale … what is the formula for figuring scale? I’m trying to get some things down to 1/700 size. I know I saw that formula in here somewhere, but now, naturally, can’t find it!