Almost lost a mud flap...

Horsedoc wrote:
cool your jets scooby. No one was trying to insult you. Never heard of such however.

I'm not mad. But reading;
"What? Synthetic rubber hard enough to heat and ruin a drill bit? Really?"
I assumed I was not believed. That is fine, I don't believe a lot of what I read on the 'net. I have no education but try to explain what I have seen. I ruined a few bits before I branded myself with one.

willald wrote:

Wow, never would've thought that rubber from mud flaps could heat a drill bit up like this!

Thanks for the heads up, JRScooby. Your solution there seems a bit extreme, seems like you'd have to get that piece of all-thread awfully hot to be able to shove it through and cut the hole in the rubber! Not sure I'm going to try that. I think instead, I'll just find an old drill bit I'm not too worried about losing, and use that. I have tons of old drill bits laying around.

Will

Cherry red, do 2 holes, and heat it again. LOL
Yes, most OTR trucks never need new flaps unless driver backs up on a curb. But say your hauling rock for a new sewer line, they combine the beans, and we are packing a jag across the field. That is why I put 2 rows of holes across the bottom, and one row below the originals when mounting new flaps. (Also cut air hose to slide over bolts, keep threads clean. With a air ratchet, driver could but flap back on in minutes. One old Pete I mounted the flaps on a shaft, used air cylinder to rotate shaft to get the flaps up and back when in reverse.
Bits less than 1/4 inch where "throw away" but I always wanted to sharpen above 3/8. But a bit that has drilled rubber, you can sharpen easy, but it is dull before you can drill a hole.
No point in drilling a small hole to start, rubber drills easy, and you just get 2 bits hot.