anybody made 2 hole stoppers?

[Atticmonkey]

I recently bought a stainless thermowell from stirplates.com and had the intention of drilling out a couple of holes in a #6.5 stopper. One hole for the thermowell and the other for an airlock. After messing with it for a while I've pretty much decided im not going to get my nice clean hole in the stopper due to the properties of the rubber. Has anybody ever had any luck drilling stoppers and if so what is the trick? Ive heard that you can freeze them in liquid nitrogen and drill them that way but i checked the freezer and im fresh out.

Thanks in advance.

Jason

 

[shredderator]

a really sharp bit and go reaaally slow. Slow drill revs and a slow feed rate. I would be afraid to freeze it because it might make the rubber too brittle and cause it to shatter. You might be able to use a hot wire, too. Like how people cut foam board and styro.

 

[RogerMcAllen]

The drills they usually use for stoppers are hollow in the middle, more like a very small hole saw than a drill bit. You might be able to find one at a chemistry supply shop, not sure how much it would cost.

*Edit, a quick google search yields thishand held model:
http://www.hometrainingtools.com/product.asp?pn=CE-CORBORE&bhcd2=1246133863

 

[Atticmonkey]

The drills they usually use for stoppers are hollow in the middle, more like a very small hole saw than a drill bit. You might be able to find one at a chemistry supply shop, not sure how much it would cost.

*Edit, a quick google search yields thishand held model:
Cork Borer, 7mm - Home Science Tools

Awesome, looks like thats what i need. Im gonna pick up a 10 piece set off Ebay for $10 bucks. Probably wont use them much but that is what I need. Thanks for the help. And if anybody needs any specialty stoppers let me know.

 

[Yooper]

Would a carboy cap work for you? I use them for my Better Bottles.

CARBOY CAP, BEER, AIRLOCKS & STOPPERS at The Grape and Granary.

 

[gmarcek]

one thing i've seen for cutting balsa wood is to file the edges of a copper pipe really sharp, put it into a drill press and use high speed. might work for rubber too?

 

[Atticmonkey]

Would a carboy cap work for you? I use them for my Better Bottles.

CARBOY CAP, BEER, AIRLOCKS & STOPPERS at The Grape and Granary.

Yeah the carboy cap is one option. I wanted to get the stopper setup for use in my conical. Im not really sure if it is nessasary to use a thermowell in a metal fermentor or not? Seems like the metal should be the same temp as the beer but not sure if taping the temp probe to the side would be accurate or not. Anybody know about that?

 

[Wade E]

Ive done it with just freezing it in the freezer and Forstner bit.

 

[Hang Glider]

just an FYI - the rubber won't shatter if frozen - they freeze hockey pucks for 3 hours before play-

 

[BeerRunner]

Would a thin-wall brass tube work, if pushed through slowly, using a vise?

 

[flylock_jac]

Would a thin-wall brass tube work, if pushed through slowly, using a vise?

If you hold the tubing with vice grips or pliers and hit the tubing with a hand held propane torch you can push down gently and it will melt it's way through.

 

[nsheehan516]

one thing i've seen for cutting balsa wood is to file the edges of a copper pipe really sharp, put it into a drill press and use high speed. might work for rubber too?

+1 used this method to cut holes in two inch thick rubber for another project. Works really good!

 

[Chester]

Yeah, the scrap of copper tube in a drill press is the way to go. its hard to get it straight by hand. I have never tried the freezer trick, that might make it go even smoother.

 

[jbeerman]

I know this is a really old thread but.. I wanted to offer what I just did.

I used a can of compressed air upside down freezes the rubber instantly and then I drilled with a drill press and forestner bit. Nice clean hole.