Drilling hole in steel sink for tap

[brightondiynotfan]

Need to make hole in steel sink for tap - not got a large enough drill bit, and would rather not buy one (would only use it once!), so does this sound like a sensible alternative:

- mark circle in pen on sink
- drill series of holes round circle with regular drill bit
- large circle of steel drops out, unattractive finish hidden underneath base of tap

Can anyone forsee any problems?!

 

[gcol]

That's called chain drilling. Sure it'll work, but when you have a series of holes, how do you plan to cut through the material inbetween the holes? One way is to drill small holes first, then drill through the holes with a larger drill bit to join up the holes.
You need to make sure your drill bit isn't too big or you'll get a very ragged hole.

 

[xerxes]

Of course the method will work but it's tedious and the result will be messy unless you work very carefully.

It would be far better to get a conical or a stepped drill bit for the job; this will drill a clean hole to the correct size. These bits are immensely useful and versatile, and you'll find plenty of other times when you need it in the future.

 

[pompeyal]

Hi, The way I would get a perfect cut through any thin metal is use a q-max cutter, all you need to do is set your centre and drill through the size up from the bolt issued with the cutter then fit the cutter and cut the hole....Al.