drilling through stainless steel

[ferkh10]

im trying to drill through 3mm of stainless steel with a hand drill. Ive tried a HSS drill bit and a titanium coated drill bit without luck; it drills about halfway through but wont go any more regardless of how hard i try.

any tips for drilling holes?

 

[xr4x4]

slow and hard..!!

 

[ferkh10]

will give it a try! on hammer drill or not?

 

[Burnerman]

Use a quality HSS bit
Keep the drill speed slow (if you are using a mains pistol drill they go far too fast, so press the trigger in bursts)
Use a coolant (WD40)
Keep pressure on the drill bit, and definitely not hammer.
John

 

[ferkh10]

cheers john. think my drill bits wouldnt be described as "quality"! this is most likley the problem. ill drop by B&Q tomorrow and purchase some quality bits. cheers for the advice all.

 

[Stivino]

http://tinyurl.com/yfwpbe4

 

[dave.m]

What size hole are you drilling?

get some decent drill bits and try a pilot hole first.

 

[gregers]

think you need either cobalt or a decent titanium bit.

 

[Richard C]

A decent & correctly sharpened HSS bit should do it; try spraying with WD40 as you drill & use lots of pressure at a slower speed than normal; high speed on SS will cook the end of the bit & then it's firked.

 

[ColJack]

try a 3mm drill bit first as a pilot, keep the SS cool or it will harden.. then you're truly fraked..

 

[foxhole]

Hand drill ? do you mean cordless?

 

[Hitachimad]

And of course, if youv'e used a crap drill bit, and gone too fast with it, theres a fair chance youve hardened up the stainless, which will give you even more problems.

Slow speed, but plenty of pressure is the way for stainless.

 

[wotan]

Stainless steel will 'work harden' very easily, it is vital that you use a much drilling presure as possible, at a fairly slow speed, a sulpherised lubricant will help to...Rocol RDT fluid...don't breath the fumes..

Wotan

 

[jj4091]

If you have a lot of holes to drill & it is feasible, then it is well worth investing £30 in a pillar drill. I have just done a project that involved drilling 150 holes of various diameter (3mm- 12.5mm ) in 2.5mm wall s/s tube & it was a doddle, I just used hss bits & kept them sharp. I would not like to have done it with a hand drill.