[ahecht]

Our cobalt bit just kept spinning in place, so we went with a carbide bit. This went through the gear like butter, and we managed to finally drill through both gears, but we broke three of the $8 bits in the process. Those things are quite hard, but that means they also are quite brittle. The trick, we found, is to drill in short pulses, as constant pressure on the drill can actually harden the metal directly under the bit.

Oh, and thanks mnkysp for the offer. I am always impressed with the level on generosity that the other FIRST teams have shown us.