Drill through steel lintel

[Paul17088071]

Hi

I’m attempting to put some recess blinds up, and have come across steel lintel.

Can anyone recommend how to drill through this please?

Thanks, Paul

 

[Deleted member 174758]

The steel is generally pretty hard these days so I'd suggest using a decent quality M42 HSS twist drill (also called HSS-G or Cobalt HSS). If you need to drill bigger than 6mm then pre-pilot with a 3 or 4mm first (and BTW deWalt have a parented two step drill.with a built in piloting tip). Don't make the mistake of running the drill too fast - 400 to 500rpm is more than enough - and a spot or two of light oil (e.g. 3-in-1) on the tip of the drill from time to time doesn't go amiss, either

 

[Paul17088071]

Thanks for the reply, appreciated.

I read elsewhere self tapping screws may do the job, what are your thoughts on that?

Thanks

 

[foxhole]

If recessed attach to window frame.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

I read elsewhere self tapping screws may do the job, what are your thoughts on that?

Depends on what the lintel is made out of. If it's a thin folded steel box (like a Catnic steel lintel) then self drilling screws (NOT self tapping which are designed to cut a thread in a pre-drilled hole - self drilling generally have two wings, one either side of the point, and a pointed drilling nose and actually DRILL the hole then tap it) then yes, self tappers will work providing you've already drilled pilot holes whilst self drilling fixings will.generally work without that. However, if you are trying to screw onto a UB (universal beam) made from thicker steel than a couple of mm, then a self tapper will get you nowhere and even a self driller may need a pilot hole to be drilled in order to work.

The difficulty is in knowing what it is you are drilling into without actually exposing it

 

[Nige F]

As per J+K - Tek screws

 

[Paul17088071]

Many thanks for your detailed responses, I’ll go and crack on with this following your advice.

 

[Paul17088071]

Thanks JobandKnock, the HSS drill worked just fine