A magnet placed inside an envelope of cerealbox cardboard will pick up the swarf and other tiny bits of steel. Just move slowly over the work and let it attract the chips. Then take it over to the trashcan and remove the magnet -- the chips fall into the can.
This worked well. I about gave up trying to do my project. But thought I would try to go on to youtube and do a search for something as silly as drilling a hole into metal. I thought being a girl, maybe I just didn't have the strength to push on the drill as needed. Not the case at all. Glad to see there are some guys here that were willing to dialogue with you. The comments people posted, and your responses, in addition to the video were extremely helpful. I am living proof that anyone can do this. My situation required a hand drill, to drill a hole in place as opposed to the ideal machine shop setup. The piece I was drilling into was firmly anchored, so I wasn't too concerned about breaking it (more concerned about breaking the bit in the hole.) I went real slow, like you mentioned, I used wd-30, and quite often I had to back the bit back out slowly. It took me about 5 minutes and a lot of nervous energy given that I am a beginner at power tools. Thank you so much!!!! That one hole was the difference of having to rip out tile and fixing something really stupid. This saved me $$$.
Hey, glad to hear that this video helped. That is my goal with all of my videos, that it helps somebody out there. Don't worry about being female, that has nothing to do with what you can or can't do. Let me know if you would like to see a video on any other process or tool, and I'd be happy to film it. Work hard and stay humble, RWM
I so miss the old RU-vid. Sure, I know how to do his very well, but it was nice to watch a video that didn't fall in line with the current YT standard.
Just wanted to return here to thank you, as I've managed to drill steel reinforced concrete walls to mount a cooker hood/extractor in my kitchen, using a cheap £20 B&Q drill, and a can of WD40. This man is a true professional, and a gent for sharing his knowledge. Cheers.
I used to hate steel drilling when I first had to start doing it at my job but once you learn the proper technique and learn to feel the drill there's something very relaxing about it haha
if you want your hole pattern to be accurate use transfer punches, squirting or brushing oil onto the drill bit will feed the cutting area while you drill, you can buy dark cutting oil at lowes in a quart bottle really works good on thick drilling projects you might want to peck drill to clear chips and cool drill bit
Yes, it is very much possible. Clamp your piece in a bench vise instead of a small drill press vise, check to make sure your angle on your drill is good, and put a decent amount of pressure on it. If it doesn't cut into the steel, it could be hardened steel or the drill bits could be dull. Titanium coated bits, the golden ones, are the ones I've had the best experience with. Black oxide bits can be cheap.
Now I know why I had a hard time drilling a thin piece of steel. Hand Drill + High speed + no oil. The Drill will have to be the same, but I'll use less speed and some oil. Great video.
Very helpful video, well shot (which is important to me, I hate watching videos that jerk all over the place, or crop out the most important part of what's supposed to be being shown), thorough and detailed, with just one exception... you neglected to mention what type of drill bit you were using! That was the one detail that I was waiting for. I even watched the video twice, just to make sure I hadn't missed it. I have tried many different bits and just haven't found one that works great, or that even works at all, or that last for more than one hole! I did find my answer in your Q&A below though, so thanks. Now I am off to my workshop with renewed hope :-) Thx again! Amy
DeWalt Titanium oxide coated bits. They will look goldish/dark-goldish when you go looking in your local hardware store. Thanks for the comment, and I apologize for the delay. Black oxide bits work as well, it's just that modern metallurgy can sometimes be superior, not to mention a lot of older bits are dull from use, which is why they tend not to work as well as the new, titanium coated bits.
I was trying to drill holes in a steal belt clip for mounting & couldn't drill very far till the bit broke. Do I have to use a special metal drill bit to get threw? AKA, harder drill bit? What metal type of drill are you using?
Try using a center drill to start the hole and if you peck drill it will break the chip and you won't get long stringy chips. I liked the use of the template to mark the holes. I use peg board to do the same thing. Also I use pipe thread cutting oil for drilling steel, stinks but works good and is cheap.
I use new old stock 80w-90 oil from the car. That way you don't buy extra oil. This transmission oil keeps the drill cool. You don't have any fumes. Sometimes I use molycote grease and has better results.
I need to drill 19 mm holes in 3 mm thick steel. I have a corded drill with variable speed mounted in a press. It'll be hard to control it at low speed. But I just bought a HSS drill bit off Ebay. How can I tell if it really is HSS?
+73dawnk / Dawn Keller: Try using a center punch to put a hole where you want to drill. That will help the bit to catch. You may also want to try titanium coated bits. Another thing that could help is annealing the steel, by heating it up to red hot with a propane torch, and then letting it air cool slowly. Let me know if you make any progress!
This is good, but before doing any drilling, you should always line up your bit to your hole and then secure the clamp that holds the piece to the drill press table.
Hey buddy, can you tell me what HP should I have to use on metal - as a minimum? I'll be drilling holes through Aluminium and Mild Steele RHS, sheet and SHS sections. Thicknesses will range from 1mm up to about 10mm. Thanks in advance
I am trying to drill stainless steel flatware to make jewelry. I have a table top drill press, 5 speed. Set on the lowest speed. I am sing 3 in one oil. and using 1/16th drill bit (which is the size of the hole I need) I am having so much trouble drilling holes. Even to the point of breaking drill bits, and starting holes that never seem to want to go through. Can you help me? Thank you Dawn
Thanks for the info. I knew there was a certain kind of oil you needed to apply for the drill bit. Seen others use WD - 40 but then again I was told that WD - 40 was a "Water Depressant" hence the acronym W.D. would rust the metal a lot quicker than usual. Not sure but that's something I picked up in Diesel Mechanics. Just thowing that out there.
Isn't oil better at dissipating heat? I've never heard anyone suggesting to use water as a lubricant. I figured it would probably destroy your bits faster. However if thats okay that would definitely save money and less worry of "wasting" oil.
Great for you to consider it. Water applied at a constant stream cuts faster because with oil you must lift your bit due to it's thicker viscosity. I also have proof of how it protects bit. I use Harbor Freight cheap drills and demonstrated that I can drill many, many holes on thick steel faster than seen on this video. Oil is preferred in rare cases where the metal is a hard structural steel, but not necessary.
A health concern is that oil droplets (most recommend the known toxic WD-40) can deposit deep into your lungs. This is a good point of profit for the medical establishment but not for you. Recommending water alternative will get a lot of hate mail pretty quick.
Oh okay, thanks for the info. Thats really good to know. I am a printmaker and I plan on also working with a lot more metal and I already use many toxic chemicals which are surely bound to give me cancer at some point in my life. I try to be as safe as possible. Thanks a lot for the extra info.
I think it is two things: You're not applying enough pressure or at an angle where you can apply enough pressure, and the steel is probably too hard. Try cutting oil, or just use WD-40 or 3-In-1 to help keep it running.
Hi. Thanks for the video. I have problems when drilling. My bits get burnt (turned black and melt at the tip) when I tried to drill a 10-15mm hole. I have a drill press for wood (I don't have a metal drill press). Please advise how best to accomplish what you have done in the video
If you can change the speed of your drill press, slower is better. Most times it will be a belt running at the top of the drill press. Make sure the bit you are using is sharp. Another thing to try would be to soften the piece of metal you are drilling into by heating it with a propane/oxi-acetylene torch up to orange and then backing off the heat slowly and letting it cool down at a very gradual rate. Let me know if you need any further help.
Thanks for the video. What I'm trying to ascertain is how long it took to actually drill the hole through? I've been with a fencing team drilling through 1/4 inch thick steel uprights for fencing, and it was taking about five minutes to get each hole drilled using new High Speed Steel drill bits. Way too long, in my view. What's a normal time to drill one hole? Thanks again. From Australia.
ASW, There is nothing wrong with high speed steel, fancy drills are fine for tough metals, mild steel is soft. I only use high speed steel drills and work mainly with stainless steel. Keep the drills sharp, correct speed and high feed rate. Th eop doesn't say what diameter holes he is drilling, if it's for the wire say 1/8" I would say just a few seconds, 3/8" a few seconds more with decent tools.
HSS works just fine I wouldn't even bother with more expensive bits. The key is mid speed and constant attention and pressure. I drill through thick stainless steel and even tough corroguard steel with cheap hss's every day at work.
I know it’s been 7 years but I just had to drill a ton of holes in 1/2” stainless. Used cobalt bits. Punched the holes, used a center drill to start, then drilled to size using water mist as coolant. Went extremely well.
Use a $13.00 Chinese pair of Veneer Calipers (6 inch.) to measure and a scratch awl to mark then center punch it, then use a Center Drill Set, cheap to buy a 5 piece set $13.00, then use the drill size, per drilling threading tapping chart, then tap thread per chart (choice of thread pitch you selected) Enjoy.
awesome, great to hear, because thats what I got. Ordered these drill bits (dewault ones) which are made in germany. They slized through half-inch plate like butter! I was afraid I wasn't supposed to use them for plate.
is it possible to replicate what you've just done with a cordless drill? or even a heavy duty corded drill? i've tried to make precise hole using precision drillbits, however cordless drills don't seem to pack enough torque, and corded drills are too violent. i don't have access to a pillar or a step drill. any tips?
hey guys im trying to drill a hole in the wall but the metal reinforcement is getting in the way i need to drill a 3-8 hole cuz im trying to install a pull up bar for me but i cant get pass the dang metal in the wall. any ideas? i need at least 3 inch deeap
Hi Masterrogue123, You can use a concrete drill bit with four blades, the one from Hilti works fine, PLz note that you may need 10 - 20 mins to do a hole in reinforcement concrete.
You don't have to clamp down everything? The bit wont grab the material and snap your wrist? Just speaking from experience with a few hand drills and thick wood.
i have high caliber drillbits, i've used a selection of drillbits such as the titanium coated bits and have even used tungsten carbide bits, it doen't seem to make much of a difference. even if i do make some damage, the drill bit gets stuck. my drill has no problems, it is a dewalt drill that has served me well for many years and is still in top form. anything else?
I was always told that WD40 is not a good cutting lubrication at all but it seems that a lot of people use it for just that. Think I'll test it out myself and see.
Those appear to be the last type of sleeves to wear while operating machinery. No jewelry, no sleeves best. Imagine that bit and chuck grabbing a sleeve, and how long it takes to get it stopped.
elan really drill bit size 7/32" or 5.56mm, it says 22lr there lol. i like using milwaukee thunderbolt black oxide drill bit, its cheap and stay sharp for long time
the oil only reduces friction and lets the chip move from the hole. hahah 3 in 1 thats a first .....probly woulda been better off with vegtable oil...............
Oh ok, I'll go get the 'right bit'.. that's not why I'm here or anything, I'm not looking for videos talking about the right bit or anything like that.
I am trying to drill stainless steel flatware to make jewelry. I have a table top drill press, 5 speed. Set on the lowest speed. I am sing 3 in one oil. and using 1/16th drill bit (which is the size of the hole I need) I am having so much trouble drilling holes. Even to the point of breaking drill bits, and starting holes that never seem to want to go through. Can you help me? Thank you Dawn
Dawn, Stainless steelis difficult or can be. If there is insufficient pressure on the drill it hardens the metal and it is then almost impossible to finish the hole. Being as your drills are small in diameter the pressure has to be proportional but if you don't see swarf coming off it's not drilling properly. I take it that your drills are sharp, and if they even lose a bit of their sharpness don't use it. The point about the speed Ryan mention sis valid although I would say 2000 is abit fast.
You might want to try a carbide bit. They are, I believe the hardest bits. They are expensive. Another bit that will work is a Mason bit. It has a carbide blade for a tip. I have used them to drill hardened steel when other bits had no effect. I hope your wearing eye protection. Add a face shield also. I have seen drills shatter.
