Drill bit extraction help!

[rockcrawlinredneck]

Ok I was drilling out my Toyota steering box for hydro assist. All of my drill bit's are dull as hell except for the 1/16" one. I chucked it deep so I only had 1/4" of bit sticking out to drill my pilot hole. Well it snapped off just under flush of the box. This is on the side that you drill into the small orfus (sp) hole. I need to get into the orfus but not through the other side, in the end I need a 7/16" hole for a 1/4" tap. Any one have a good way to get the broken bit out? At this point I am going to buy a drill sharpenner so I wont have this problem again. I am thinking of trying to drill through the broke bit and just keep sharpening the bit till I get through it. Any other ideas, or am I screwed?

Kevin

[adampfisters]

Put on your safety glasses and watch the hell out if you are trying to drill through it. Some places make carbide bits that actually grind the metal away instead of cut it. These will work in your situation but before trying it, make sure to change your drill speed. The carbide/diamond 'grinding' bits are made to turn fast. Someone on here was talking about them 6 or so months ago.

[EMG7895]

left hand rotation bit?

[PTSchram]

Chances are the bit you broke is gonna be too hard to drill through, not to mention it's a tiny little bit-you're not gonna be able to dril through the center of the broken bit, now are you?

I'd get in there with a sharp punch and try to drive it out counter-clockwise. WEar your safety glasses, I have a piece of a tap in my chest from trying to drive a broken one out.

[rockcrawlinredneck]

Well I was able to get it out. I used a larger bit and drilled down till I was bouncing off of the broken bit. From there I used two pick tool's one straight and one with a goofy curve on it. I was able to get the bit spinning in it's hole and eventually worked it up and out. I used a magnet on the pick tool to help get it out also. It took me about an hour but I got it. Hole's are drilled and tapped now. Thanks for the help and suggestions.

Kevin

[GQtim]

The method i know is to use a diamond carbide bur and bore a small dimple in the center much like you would use a center drill for then using a special carbide bit drilling the whole thing out, then use either a tap or a scribe and remove the rest of it