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Re: Hex Broaching?
In my experience Enco has the best prices on broaches. McMaster-Carr the worst. Check Ebay as well. I have gotten some really outstanding deals on broaches on there but it is hit or miss as with anything on Ebay. Watch out for dull chipped teeth on EBay broaches.
You can buy import quality broaches or first class USA made ones. I have some of both. The imports are cheaper and from my experience work reasonable well in aluminum but I don’t think they will last as long as a good American broach like a Dumont. I have never even tried an import broach on anything other than aluminum and only keyway broaches at that. I have seen import hex and square broaches but don’t own any so I can’t speak to them. Maybe someone here can better speak to the durability of the imports. I would probably just recommend spending the extra money and getting USA made broaches like Dumont if at all possible.
I never really like using a hydraulic press when broaching because I can’t “feel” the broach as it goes through the material as well. I much prefer a manual arbor press of appropriate size. When deciding on an arbor press not only keep in mind the ton rating but also the physical size and weight of the press. A typical 3 ton arbor press is about as small as you can get and still fit a ½” hex broach under and still have any working room for your material being broached. IIRC the length of a ½” hex broach is around a foot long. Make sure you have plenty of clearance in any arbor press you are considering for the size(s) of broaches you are going to need and of course the material you are going to be broaching. I would also recommend a ratcheting arbor press over a non-ratcheting type. It is just more comfortable to use to me. Don’t underestimate the shear size and weight of an arbor press. It just isn’t something you are going to want to move around any more than you have to. I have seen teams with big 3 and even 5 ton arbor presses in their pits and I have always wondered why? Then I feel sorry for the poor freshmen that they made bring that thing in. Maybe it’s just me but I figure if you think you need a giant arbor press in your pits maybe you should have thought about a different design back during build season or at least made some spare parts or something.
Whatever you do NEVER EVER even think about smacking an expensive broach through your part with a hammer. You are just asking to snap your expensive broach in half or ruin your part or both.
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