PDA

View Full Version : Drill Bits For Ss?



PAPAFIXIT
07-06-2008, 10:51 AM
What kind of bit do y'all use for SS?

Stratous
07-06-2008, 10:58 AM
What kind of bit do y'all use for SS?

I use a drill press and titanium or cobalt drill bits. When I first started, I used an 18 volts cordless drill. I went through about 4 titanium drill bits with each set of plates. I then got smart and purchased a drill press. Since then I have been using the same drill bit which is a dewalt 1/4" cobalt bit. The drill press is set to the slowest speed which I believe is 320rpm. I also use cutting oil to keep the temperature down. The key to drilling metal is as follows. Slow your bit speed down, use as much pressure as you can and keep the bit square with the metal. The slower your bit speed the longer it will last.

Stratous
07-06-2008, 11:01 AM
This is what my drill press looks like. It cost $129 from www.grainger.com

PAPAFIXIT
07-06-2008, 11:06 AM
Thanks guys, I'm gettin' all fired up now, time to play inventor.

dennis13030
07-06-2008, 11:49 AM
This is what my drill press looks like. It cost $129 from www.grainger.com

Wow! It looks like a nice DP of $129.

rmptr
07-06-2008, 01:28 PM
If you wish to outsource, HarborFreight has a small drill press for $65.

5 speed, 2" stroke. Should work for these applications.

At their homepage, enter item search for 38119-9vga

They ship promptly when I call in a phone order to Marisol.

Best

Dean88
07-06-2008, 07:35 PM
After burning up every 3/8 bit I had (all cheapo's) I finally bit the bullet and bought a 13 dollar cobalt bit and after drilling 21 3/16'' plates it is still sharp as new.

Phantom240
07-06-2008, 10:05 PM
If you wish to outsource, HarborFreight has a small drill press for $65.

5 speed, 2" stroke. Should work for these applications.

At their homepage, enter item search for 38119-9vga

They ship promptly when I call in a phone order to Marisol.

Best

Mmm good ole' Harbor Freight... Can't beat piece of crap equipment for a piece of crap price!

In all honesty though, for light duty, most of their stuff is great for the money.

Smith03Jetta
07-08-2008, 05:10 PM
Guys, stainless steel should be drilled at 120 rpm. No more than 200 rpm. Most of the cheaper desktop drill presses will not run that slow. They will quickly burn up the drill bits and mess up your metal if it's very thick. If you get stainless too hot while working it, it will become brittle and will conduct magnetism at that spot.

If stainless becomes blue where you are drilling, then it's getting too hot. Also use cutting oil if you plan to drill more than one quick hole.

Bwanar
07-08-2008, 05:39 PM
A couple of other things I do. First not so hard on the pressure. Pressure causes heat, which you want to avoid. Cobalt bits do work better, but Titanium will also do. It's best if either are split point. Finally if you are going to be doing much drilling, you should get yourself a good bit sharpener. They are pretty cheap now (I like Drill DR's.) and they will save you a fortune in bits. The better ones will even let you make split points out of standard bits. They cut a lot better/faster.

PAPAFIXIT
07-08-2008, 05:42 PM
Thanks Mr Smith, I needed that info, as I planned on useing that exact type of equipment.

Omega
07-08-2008, 09:32 PM
Titanium drill bits don't exist, really. What they really are is a medium quality drill bit with a flash coating of titanium that does almost nothing to help the drilling process. After they have been used for a short time, the thin titanium coating is gone. But they are pretty.

American made bits are better than Chinese bits. Check eBay for Milwaukee bits or other American made bits. Sometimes you can get a killer deal. They are worth the extra $.

Smith03Jetta
07-10-2008, 03:44 PM
FYI, almost nothing that says "Titanium" including Drill Bits and High Priced Golf Clubs have a measurable amount of Titanium in them. There are really no govt regulations that prohibit a manufacturer from making a claim about the alloy of metals used in non-structural consumables.

The only thing that I know beyond the shadow of a doubt is made of Titanium is the landing gear on US made Fighter Jets. The reason why I know this is when they recently quit flying F-14 jets, the US Military contracted a company to build a giant robot that crunches the planes into metal cubes no larger than 1 cubic foot. This is to keep spare parts from going to countries like Iran who still have F-14s in their air fleet. The only problem with the giant cruncher robots is that they can't crunch through the seemingly spindly legs of the landing gear. They have to be disassembled by hand. The strong jaws on the cruncher claws can't crunch through the Titanium landing gear legs. The landing gear parts have to be melted down instead of crunched into oblivion.

Regardless of that, I do have a real Titanium plate in my jaw from years ago when I got into a fight. They used Stainless Screws to secure it to my jaw bone though. I decided to learn how to fight after that. I now have a second degree Black Belt in Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu.

rmptr
07-11-2008, 12:13 AM
Gosh Smith!

Do you have a black cloud that follows you around?

Peroxide fly in ear, plate in jaw???

Are you the terminator?

Sry, just joking... :D

I really appreciate your presentation here on HHO Forums.

Best