Broaching or ?

[Dell]

Hi cropwell
I am going to try pressing it first as the company I purchased the broach from said that it is very feasible to press it into mild steel as long as the hole is the correct size IE for a 11mm hexagon hole the hole needs to be 11.2mm I have a 7/16 bit ( 11.1250mm) but I also have a 11.5mm bit just in case .
Going to do it next week with a 30 ton press.
Will post success or failure.
Dell

[mekanik]

Hi Dell
as i said earlier i wouldn't risk it, i have a hand pump hydraulic press and have used it for broaching 5mm key way but it doesn't like intermitent pressure, a press with rack and pinion will work as you can keep the pressure constant with no stopping. I used to work at VSEL in the super finishing department and we used hydraulic broaching machines and they do it in one pull.
Your decision but imho broaches are too much money to be destroying for no good reason, the idea from Mikes Workshop is very easy to implement.
Regards
Mike