Drilling Stainless Steel Sheet Metal

The swarf should cleanly exit the hole and be helical in shape and short in length.

Drilling stainless steel sheet metal.

Or thicker use cutting fluid or a multipurpose oil like 3 in one. Using high speed drill bits or better is mandatory. When stainless steel work hardens it becomes very hard and extremely difficult to drill. Many people have drilled holes into plain old steel with satisfactory results.

It may also cause clogging of the hole that may eventually lead to drill breakage. In the set you will find bits in sizes ranging from 1 16 to 1 2 inch in 1 64 inch increments. There are also other steps to drilling this material that will make the process easier. These steel drill bits are ideal for drilling through tough metals including heavy duty abrasive alloy metal drilling on hardened metals and stainless steel.

When drilling stainless steel you may freely let the drilling chips get away from the hole that you are drilling. Stainless steel actually is designed to bend a little bit before it breaks. Drilling through stainless steel is much like drilling through any other type of metal but with a few key differences. Stainless steel is not the hardest of metals in its natural form however as pointed out by chip lawson in his piece know how.

Lubricating the bit reduces friction and heat buildup which makes drilling easier and your bits last longer. For drilling holes in steel that s 1 8 in. For easier to drill metals like aluminum brass or cast iron lubrication isn t usually necessary. The reason for this is that any buildup of chips within the hole can cause roughness along the wall of the hole.

When drilling stainless steel one of the best indicators of whether the speed pressure and feed rates are correct is to watch the swarf. Drilling stainless steel stainless steel will work harden fairly quickly when heated and one sure way to increase heat is to drill fast. Stainless swarf should resemble the original colour of the stock metal or have a yellow tinge to it. For maximum versatility the 3 8 inch point has a reduced length shank.

Step drill knoweasy 10 step sizes titanium step drill bit high speed steel 1 4 to 1 3 8 inches drill bits set for metal hole drilling 4 3 out of 5 stars 583 9 99 9. Stainless is actually a relatively soft metal at least in its initial state.