Step Drills make drilling thru sheet metal and other materials like plastics a breeze... Brands like Unibit have been around for years and work fantastic!
Ambient sounds are great. Lots of tools make loud noises. Unless maybe it distorts the microphone. If possible, I would lower the drill press into the hole, to help center it, before drilling.
Scout crafter the Klein unibit came out in the early 60’s,as a master electrician & a certified electronic technician I performed a lot of panel layout and wiring,I could drill holes all day long and not change to any other size drill bits. A great time saver.
I kept waiting for you to chamfer the edges! Heard you just start on the next size up, after you have your hole, and just tap the material. Makes a nice smooth!
I use the uni-bits all the time when mounting security devices. Lately I have been using carbide hole cutters in anywhere from 3/4 to 1 1/4 sizes instead, since I do a lot of 3/4 and 1" door contacts. I had a customer who was told that enlarging a 3/4" hole to 1" in a metal door to install a new peephole, was not possible, and a new door was needed. Took me a few seconds with a large uni-bit to prove them wrong, and save the old lady from getting ripped off. Uni-bits that go to 1" are quite pricy, unless you go buy the Harbor Freight brands, then it's no big deal. Only drawback I have found is after heavy use, they are very difficult to sharpen. At least I haven't found any information online about how to do it.
Well done! I had to laugh though: I was was watching with my wife and at the beginning I said out loud “Oh no! You need to clamp down that sheet of tin!!!” Lol
Yes, I was waiting with baited breath for him to drill that thin piece of metal. It is RU-vid, you know. And then he says no of course he won't do that...lol. Great joke.
wow thanks for the callout and the video! you had me worried at the beginning! those bits also work great on plywood too, thanks again, great solid advice, could have used that a few years ago, i have a thick scar on one knuckle due to not having this advice, nasty wound it was
Hey Jusb! LOL When I had that sheet metal ready to slice my hand I bet you didn't blink! We all know from experience how dangerous that is! Thanks for the idea for this video!
I have 2 - 3 sets of step bits that I keep forgetting to use , because I have all sizes of drill bits x 2 or 3 & every time I think of using a step bit . I can't find any of them LOL.... Not one set . I cured that problem this spring though . I organized all my drill bits in one place in the basement . I now have one full set of drill bits for use in the garage only too LOL . Now if I can only remember where I put one of my 10 tape measures LOL .
LOL Dave! That's funny! Years back I went to a woodworking show and the guy gave a tip- he said "instead of looking for that one pencil around the shop he put about six cans of pencils all over the shop" I did the same thing and never "lost" another pencil! But there are some things I always misplace! Nothing worse then having to buy something you know you own already but can't find! 😃👍
I just started using some Step Bits to drill component mounting holes into a plastic electronics project box. Came here to get some tips before I try drilling into the sides of the plastic enclosure box. I need to get my techniques perfected as I plan to build more Arduino & Raspberry Pi projects in the future and I'll need to enclose them for everyday, heavy duty use.
@@ScoutCrafter UPDATE: They worked great drilling holes in a plastic enclosure box from 7/8" to 1-1/8" in diameter. I slowed down my drill press to its lowest setting, and the step bits smoothly cut their way through with no issues. Note that I clamped a piece of pre-drilled sacrificial wood behind each hole location to provide support from where the edge of the hole would emerge and along the rest of the side of the project box so that it wouldn't deform under the pressure of the drill press. (The plastic box is made of a hard plastic that feels like it would crack easily if deformed during drilling.) Now all my components are mounted in the box and I can proceed to wiring them together. Thanks for your instructive video!
Scoutcrafter, at the start of the video when you held the sheet metal with your fingers I was screaming at the screen "NOOOO" but you then told everyone the right way of doing things and I am sure you could hear the sigh of relief all the way across the pond. I have the step drills and for anyone in the UK, ALDI sell them for around £5.99 and they are really useful as you so ably showed. Great video as always. Let me say Hi to jusb1066, I am in the Thames Valley where are you located ?.
with the plastic, you are obviously limited to the size based on the thickness, unless you use a smaller bit. Acrylic can be drilled with conventional bits, but work best with a different angle (not 60, maybe 90, or by grinding the tip a bit)
Hi Greg, Yes you're right! I think about 5/16" is how thick you can go but you have to drill from each end. This is the best bit I ever used on plastic! Works great!!!!!
Queens guy here.I realize I'm pretty late to the party here, but thouht I would try you anyway. I want to change the arbor size on a 4 inch diamond saw blade from 1/2" to 5/8". I had a machine with a half inch arbor, so I'm trying to be able to use these pretty expensive blades on my new machine with the 5/8" arbor.. Do you think the step drill would be accurate enough to give me a balanced saw blade? Also, how do you know exactly where to stop, is it easy to tell, or should you 'tape mark' the bit or?? Thanks for any help, I appreciate it.
Great video. Very helpful! I need to drill 1/4" holes into 20 gauge sheet copper. This seems to be the solution. What I read is that the speed of the drill press matters. I don't believe you mentioned your speed. What do you recommend for 20 gauge copper? Or is that not really a factor? Also, do you recommend any oil or lubricant of any kind with 20 gauge copper? Thank you again.
for you who have the habit of drilling MDF or who need perfection in the holes, whether with a chain saw or other holes, always make a sandwich with the piece and then make the hole.
Anytime you drill Sheet metal it has the ability to catch and spin on you. Regular bits are the worst for such an operation, step drills will always do a better job but every spinning cutting tools has the ability to spin the metal... Better safe then sorry...
In my experience they are not as good as almost any other sort of drill. Even beyond the fact that they can't handle anything thicker than a single "step" they cause more splintering than other drill types. They might work on the very thinnest woods, though.
Hello Owen- They sell these in sets now but if you are in between sizes you can sometimes drill a little and flip it... They really are great bits!!!!!!
Hollowing out a log is much harder then it looks! I know I did one and it took forever! Not to mention the logs tend to rot out! If I had to do it all over again I would glue bark on a planter! LOL If you do attempt hollowing out a log be very careful. Tractor supply has awesome planters that look exactly like tree stumps!
