Drilling thru stainles steel? a cool tip.

[gofshn]

I used to have to do a lot of stainless steel work, polishing, drilling, shearing, and riveting as well as rivet polishing. i use to have a problem burning up bits. that was until an old timer showed me a trick. this will work with any bit. before this, i burnt them all up, nitride coated, high speed steel, tungsten tipped, mac, snap-on, you name it.


get some paraffin wax, run your drill bit in the block of wax (available from a candle, or at the grocery where the canning supplies are. now, take your stainless and mark where you need to drill, if it is a rounded surface, center punch your mark, if it is flat, you probably can get away without center-punching it. do not start off just running your bit full speed, instead you need to go full trigger on your drill but in 1- 1.5 second bursts. put a large amount of pressure on the drill downward as this is where it really matters. do these bursts about one to two seconds apart and watch it fly thru the metal. be sure to keep heavy pressure downward or it will never work.

[gofshn]

By the way, things have settled down for me, i am feeling good, and ready to kill fish. it is glad to be back.

[rarhomes]

Thanks,

Sounds like a great tip. I have always had trouble drilling stainless.

[WAHOONBOX]

GLAD TO SEE YOU BACK HERE SHARING THE GOSPEL.....GREAT TIP!

[Banshee]

cobalt drill bits eat right thru stainless with no problem, but that tip is a good one.
JW

[gofshn]

with this trick, you will extend the life of your bits ten fold. try a cobalt for a run of twenty or thirty holes thru 1/4 " stainless. i haven't had good luck with any bit unless i used this method as far as longevity goes.

[makomyday]

Keep your tool cool ,stainless work hardens quickly . Use cutting oil low rpms and steady tool pressure . jose

[Matuka Fly]

Keep your tool cool ,stainless work hardens quickly . Use cutting oil low rpms and steady tool pressure . jose

Makomyday has it correct. Also lift out the drill bit every 1 to 2 seconds and add more oil. Also using a cobalt 1/8" bit for a pilot hole then the 1/4" to 3/8" bit will go right through even high speed drill bits, again do not for get to use cutting oil frequently.