How do you drill through stainless steel at home?

[Danny D.]

What's the trick to drilling a hole through 1/2" thick stainless steel?

From my guardrail experience, I had bought titanium coated drill bits.

So I thought it would be easy to drill a hole in a stainless steel can
opener (for hanging on a loop outside by the BBQ cooler).

Nope!

I can't make a dent!
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/12362068/img/12362068.jpg

What's the trick to drilling through stainless steel?

 

[Stephen H]

On 07/03/2013 21:46, Danny D. wrote:

What's the trick to drilling a hole through 1/2" thick stainless steel?

From my guardrail experience, I had bought titanium coated drill bits.

So I thought it would be easy to drill a hole in a stainless steel can
opener (for hanging on a loop outside by the BBQ cooler).

Nope!

I can't make a dent!
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/12362068/img/12362068.jpg

What's the trick to drilling through stainless steel?

This is a piece of Pee.....

I was drilling stainless steel today. 20 holes exactly in 3mm think 304
Stainless steel.

You need cobalt drills. Screwfix do a set for 35 quid upwards

You *MUST* use a slow speed

You *MUST* use a cutting fluid

If you don't drill slow and use cutting fluid, the drill bit glows red
hot at the tip and the stianless steel literally hardens under the drill
bit.

 

[Stephen H]

On 06/03/2013 21:07, Stephen H wrote:

On 07/03/2013 21:46, Danny D. wrote:
What's the trick to drilling a hole through 1/2" thick stainless steel?

From my guardrail experience, I had bought titanium coated drill bits.

So I thought it would be easy to drill a hole in a stainless steel can
opener (for hanging on a loop outside by the BBQ cooler).

Nope!

I can't make a dent!
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/12362068/img/12362068.jpg

What's the trick to drilling through stainless steel?


This is a piece of Pee.....

I was drilling stainless steel today. 20 holes exactly in 3mm think 304
Stainless steel.

You need cobalt drills. Screwfix do a set for 35 quid upwards

You *MUST* use a slow speed

You *MUST* use a cutting fluid

If you don't drill slow and use cutting fluid, the drill bit glows red
hot at the tip and the stianless steel literally hardens under the drill
bit.

and the drill bit will go blunt when trying to drill through the work
hardened stainless steel.....

 

[chaniarts]

On 3/7/2013 2:46 PM, Danny D. wrote:

What's the trick to drilling a hole through 1/2" thick stainless steel?

From my guardrail experience, I had bought titanium coated drill bits.

So I thought it would be easy to drill a hole in a stainless steel can
opener (for hanging on a loop outside by the BBQ cooler).

Nope!

I can't make a dent!
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/12362068/img/12362068.jpg

What's the trick to drilling through stainless steel?

1st, you don't have a Ti drill bit. you may have a TiN coated drill bit.
the TiN isn't to make it stronger or sharper, it's to make it look
better, for the most part.

you probably want a cobalt drill bit.

2nd, you probably want to google this question. there are plenty of
resources on the net on how to do this.

 

[Rich Webb]

On Thu, 7 Mar 2013 21:46:00 +0000 (UTC), "Danny D."
<danny@pleasedontemail.com> wrote:

What's the trick to drilling a hole through 1/2" thick stainless steel?

From my guardrail experience, I had bought titanium coated drill bits.

So I thought it would be easy to drill a hole in a stainless steel can
opener (for hanging on a loop outside by the BBQ cooler).

Nope!

I can't make a dent!
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/12362068/img/12362068.jpg

What's the trick to drilling through stainless steel?

Ding it with a punch to get started, else you'll just skip around on
that convex surface. Use the right cutting fluid and a slow-ish drill
speed.

 

[Stormin Mormon]

I'm certainly not an expert. Looks like you're using a drill press, and
small vise, which is good. I wonder, if you rough up the area with a corner
of a bench grinder wheel, that might help. Might not.

You might have better luck with a clamp, or some heat shrink tubing to
attach the loop.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

"Danny D." <danny@pleasedontemail.com> wrote in message
news:khb1qo$tao$4@news.albasani.net...
What's the trick to drilling a hole through 1/2" thick stainless steel?

From my guardrail experience, I had bought titanium coated drill bits.

So I thought it would be easy to drill a hole in a stainless steel can
opener (for hanging on a loop outside by the BBQ cooler).

Nope!

I can't make a dent!
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/12362068/img/12362068.jpg

What's the trick to drilling through stainless steel?

 

[Stormin Mormon]

You might be able to make a loop shaped like a U. Make the long part of the
U, a couple inches long. Slip that over the shaft, and heat shrink tubing
over the U and the shaft. The Home Depot near me has heat shrink tubing in
the electrical section near wire nuts. Harbor Freight has it, in the box
parts section, along with screws, cotter pins, and such.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

"Danny D." <danny@pleasedontemail.com> wrote in message
news:khb41k$tap$1@news.albasani.net...
On Thu, 07 Mar 2013 17:16:32 -0500, Stormin Mormon wrote:

You might have better luck with a clamp, or some heat shrink
tubing to attach the loop.

Indeed. If there was some other way to hang it by the tail,
I would.

 

[Stormin Mormon]

Wonder if a welding shop can weld it? Probably for more than the item costs.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

"Danny D." <danny@pleasedontemail.com> wrote in message
news:khb41k$tap$1@news.albasani.net...
On Thu, 07 Mar 2013 17:16:32 -0500, Stormin Mormon wrote:

You might have better luck with a clamp, or some heat shrink
tubing to attach the loop.

Indeed. If there was some other way to hang it by the tail,
I would.

 

[Danny D.]

On Thu, 07 Mar 2013 16:58:09 -0500, Rich Webb wrote:

Ding it with a punch to get started, else you'll just skip around on
that convex surface.

I didn't get any further than the punch mark with the titanium
coated drill bit, even after 10 minutes of trying:
http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/12362162/img/12362162.jpg

 

[Danny D.]

On Thu, 07 Mar 2013 17:16:32 -0500, Stormin Mormon wrote:

You might have better luck with a clamp, or some heat shrink
tubing to attach the loop.

Indeed. If there was some other way to hang it by the tail,
I would.

 

[DerbyDad03]

On Mar 7, 4:46 pm, "Danny D." <da...@pleasedontemail.com> wrote:

What's the trick to drilling a hole through 1/2" thick stainless steel?

From my guardrail experience, I had bought titanium coated drill bits.

So I thought it would be easy to drill a hole in a stainless steel can
opener (for hanging on a loop outside by the BBQ cooler).

Nope!

I can't make a dent!
 http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/12362068/img/12362068.jpg

What's the trick to drilling through stainless steel?

Aren't you worried about voiding the warranty?

 

[Cydrome Leader]

In sci.electronics.repair Danny D. <danny@pleasedontemail.com> wrote:

On Thu, 07 Mar 2013 16:58:09 -0500, Rich Webb wrote:

Ding it with a punch to get started, else you'll just skip around on
that convex surface.

I didn't get any further than the punch mark with the titanium
coated drill bit, even after 10 minutes of trying:
http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/12362162/img/12362162.jpg

I'd love to see what's left of that drill bit.

 

[The Daring Dufas]

On 3/7/2013 3:46 PM, Danny D. wrote:

What's the trick to drilling a hole through 1/2" thick stainless steel?

From my guardrail experience, I had bought titanium coated drill bits.

So I thought it would be easy to drill a hole in a stainless steel can
opener (for hanging on a loop outside by the BBQ cooler).

Nope!

I can't make a dent!
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/12362068/img/12362068.jpg

What's the trick to drilling through stainless steel?

I had to drill some stainless steel so I purchased a small set of Cobalt
Silver & Deming Drill Bits and used Tap Magic cutting fluid.
I've had to drill all sorts of stainless steel when servicing restaurant
equipment. ^_^

http://www.amazon.com/Grip-Cobalt-Silver-Deming-Drill/dp/B000IEXA8W

http://www.tapmagic.com/

TDD

 

[Phil Allison]

"Danny D."

Ding it with a punch to get started, else you'll just skip around on
that convex surface.

I didn't get any further than the punch mark

** Using a punch work hardens the metal.

Maybe file a flat instead, then fit the drill bit way up in the chuck and
try again.

Slowly and with some oil.


.... Phil

 

[Baron]

Rich Webb Inscribed thus:

On Thu, 7 Mar 2013 21:46:00 +0000 (UTC), "Danny D."
danny@pleasedontemail.com> wrote:

What's the trick to drilling a hole through 1/2" thick stainless
steel?

From my guardrail experience, I had bought titanium coated drill bits.

So I thought it would be easy to drill a hole in a stainless steel can
opener (for hanging on a loop outside by the BBQ cooler).

Nope!

I can't make a dent!
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/12362068/img/12362068.jpg

What's the trick to drilling through stainless steel?

Ding it with a punch to get started, else you'll just skip around on
that convex surface. Use the right cutting fluid and a slow-ish drill
speed.

And a carbide drill ! You can buy ones specifically ground for
stainless and other hard to machine materials.

--
Best Regards:
Baron.

 

[Sjouke Burry]

"Danny D." <danny@pleasedontemail.com> wrote in news:khb1qo$tao$4
@news.albasani.net:

What's the trick to drilling a hole through 1/2" thick stainless steel?

From my guardrail experience, I had bought titanium coated drill bits.

So I thought it would be easy to drill a hole in a stainless steel can
opener (for hanging on a loop outside by the BBQ cooler).

Nope!

I can't make a dent!
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/12362068/img/12362068.jpg

What's the trick to drilling through stainless steel?

Industrial quality drill. The consumer ones are all a piece of sh*t.

 

[Rich Webb]

On Fri, 8 Mar 2013 11:14:23 +1100, "Phil Allison" <phil_a@tpg.com.au>
wrote:

"Danny D."

Ding it with a punch to get started, else you'll just skip around on
that convex surface.

I didn't get any further than the punch mark


** Using a punch work hardens the metal.

Maybe file a flat instead, then fit the drill bit way up in the chuck and
try again.

Good point there. I too often myself default to chucking the bit at
the end of the flutes rather than down towards the work.

Slowly and with some oil.

Machinery's Handbook recommends "Stainless Steel: ... Broaching,
threading, drilling, and reaming produce best results using a
sulfochlorinated mineral-fatty oil" which, unfortunately, exceeds my
knowledge of the subject.

 

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Thu, 7 Mar 2013 21:46:00 +0000 (UTC), "Danny D."
<danny@pleasedontemail.com> wrote:

What's the trick to drilling a hole through 1/2" thick stainless steel?
From my guardrail experience, I had bought titanium coated drill bits.

Titanium is nice, but it's the steel under it that makes the
difference. Use cheaper cobalt drill bits instead. Be prepared to
re-sharpen the drill quite often. You can also use a carbide tip bit,
which is even harder than cobalt steel. A concrete drill with carbide
inserts might work if you keep it cool. Unless you're really careful,
and have the parts bolted down very well, the slightest bit of side
play will break the carbide drill.

Feeds and speeds:
<http://www.carbidedepot.com/formulas-drills-speeds.htm>

So I thought it would be easy to drill a hole in a stainless steel can
opener (for hanging on a loop outside by the BBQ cooler).

It's probably work hardened stainless 300 series stainless. Find a
magnet and see if it's magnetic. If it's been work hardened, it will
be slightly magnetic. If not, it will be non-magnetic. If it's very
magnetic, it will be 400 series stainless (contains no nickel).

<http://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=1140>

The last time I had to drill through work hardened stainless, I
destroyed two small drills getting a start. So, I took a piece of
hard steel drill rod, with a squared off end, dumped some carborundum
abrasive compound into the hole, and intermittently ground my way
through the hardened stainless. You can go through glass with that
technique. I don't recommend doing this as it took forever and I had
to grind flat and reharden the drill rod every time it got hot, but
eventually, I had a hole.

I can't make a dent!
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/12362068/img/12362068.jpg
What's the trick to drilling through stainless steel?

Ummm... this doesn't really belong in sci.electronics.repair.

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

 

On Thu, 7 Mar 2013 21:46:00 +0000 (UTC), "Danny D."
<danny@pleasedontemail.com> wrote:

What's the trick to drilling a hole through 1/2" thick stainless steel?

From my guardrail experience, I had bought titanium coated drill bits.

So I thought it would be easy to drill a hole in a stainless steel can
opener (for hanging on a loop outside by the BBQ cooler).

Nope!

I can't make a dent!
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/12362068/img/12362068.jpg

What's the trick to drilling through stainless steel?
Greetings Danny,

For the best outcome you need to use the best drill bits available to
you, cutting oil, low RPM, and high pressure. If you can get cobalt
drills then get them. I noticed that my local hardware store is now
selling split point drills. If your store carries these then use one.
They also probably sell "Threading Oil". Get a small can of that. If
the store cuts to length and threads pipe then maybe you can talk them
out of a couple ounces of the oil they use in their threading machine.
Get the dark threading/cutting oil. It will have sulfur in it which is
a good high pressure additive. Don't make the mistake of using motor
oil. A good cutting speed for a 1/8 drill is about 700 RPM. Keep the
pressure on the drill so that it is constantly making a chip. If the
drill stops cutting the SS will work harden which just makes it that
much harder to drill. When you feel the drill start to break out of
the back side of the part ease up on the pressure so that the drill
bit doesn't break. It would be good if you can back up the part with a
piece of mild steel or aluminum. This will help by keeping the drill
bit from feeding too fast and breaking when it exits the back side of
the work.
Eric

 

[Michael A. Terrell]

"Danny D." wrote:

What's the trick to drilling a hole through 1/2" thick stainless steel?

From my guardrail experience, I had bought titanium coated drill bits.

So I thought it would be easy to drill a hole in a stainless steel can
opener (for hanging on a loop outside by the BBQ cooler).

Nope!

I can't make a dent!
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/12362068/img/12362068.jpg

What's the trick to drilling through stainless steel?

news:rec.crafts.metalworking would be a better place to ask. (Added)