Cleaning Debris From Drill Flutes Between Plunges

[J. Clarke]

You haven't said the depth or diameter or whether it's a through hole--if it's six inches across and a sixteenth of an inch deep the available options are different from if it's a sixteenth of an inch in diameter and six inches deep.

Have you determined the process that is resulting in the sticking (like is something melting and solidifying or is there a permanently tacky layer within the workpiece or is it all just naturally sticky--what works for one problem won't necessarily work for another).

[whit3rd]

Two solutions haven't been mentioned yet: you could use a nylon-bristle circular brush, driven at such speed that the drill leading edge won't catch it, at an angle so that it pushes the chips along the flutes. Even an idler brush, with a low-friction bearing, would do (the drill friction will start it up) if you don't mind extra wear.

And in addition to an air blast, you could put some mild abrasive into that air stream (like coarse sawdust or soap powder). That adds to the mess, of course, but it WILL scour without hurting the edge.