How To Drill Holes In Steel - The Ultimate Guide!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
- In this video Ill show you how easy it is to drill holes in steel! People seemed mystified by the many ways to punch holes in steel, I promise its not that hard! If you are watching this video you likely have the tools needed to add holes to metal projects and make adjustments on the fly if needed.
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Ryobi One+ HP Drill Driver Kit
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Inexpensive Wen Drillpress:
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Evolution Mag Drill (Cheaper option, works great)
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Tapmagic Drilling and Tapping Oil:
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Silver and Demming Drill Bit Set (1/2” - 1” drills)
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Milwaukee Hole Saws
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Check out the Lincoln Electric Power Mig 140MP, great for the home shop, Mig, TIG, and Stick in 1 machine!
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For the magnet mounted drills, if you use a sheet of thin paper under it and fold it up the front next to the drill bit, you can remove the drill without all the metal chips sticking to it.
When you turn the magnet off the chips no longer stick they fall off. No need for paper
Recently picked me up that same Milwaukee mag drill and I couldn’t agree with you more. It’s an absolute joy to use. I love how fast and easy it is. Just to clarify for anyone comparing different mag drills in the market, 18:40 Milwaukee claims that the max magnetic force is 2,000 lbs.
It’s so great! I honestly didn’t know it had that much grab power thats fantastic!
i enjoyed your video. i have a car collection and do all the restoration and repair work myself and have worked on cars for over 50 years. i like you, have drilled a lot of metal. i would only offer you two points to include in all your videos and both are very important. 1. at the very beginning of talking about drilling metal, i would emphasize the necessity of wearing safety glasses. metal chards and shavings are so sharp, ragged, and small that ANY piece of metal that flies into a person's eye WILL likely be SERIOUS up to the point of actually losing the eye. as you know, metal shavings go all over the place when drilling and this precaution is extremely important if a person is close to the metal being drilled. protection of one's eyes when drilling metal should be THE FIRST thing a person attends to because the very FIRST accident could change a person's life forever. 2. i would suggest that you wear gloves in all your drilling videos OR tell people to NEVER try to brush metal shavings away with an "unprotected" finger if they are not wearing gloves. i know it can sometime be just a reflex action where you want to drill something fast and you grab a drill and just start drilling then when done, you quickly brush away the shavings with your hand or finger. HOWEVER, it doesn't take too many times of watching blood drip out of your hand or finger or having to stop the project to go get a pair of tweezers to dig a metal shaving out of one's hand or finger to GET THE MESSAGE NOT to brush razor sharp metal drill shavings away with one's hand or finger. all in all, you had a great video.
This press has worked like a charm for my projects th-cam.com/users/postUgkxajoEbapTfqWaadnqb04h6U576yxXp-FE . I didn't even secure it to my table top, mainly due to the fact that I was using a 15 lbs drill vise. It's not flimsy at all as to what others have claimed it to be. Make sure the locking nuts and levers are secured and there won't be any issues with light pressure and patience. I was able to drill through aluminum, plastic, and steel (steel took a while) with no problems at all. Yeah it took a little longer than a regular drill press, but I don't have the space OR the money for one.The instruction manual was worthless, but luckily assembling the press was intuitive. However, the manual would be good for ordering replacement parts if needed. There is a nice breakdown of the parts that are included in the kit. Before ordering, make sure it is compatible with your unit, it is clearly stated what models the press is compatible with.This was an excellent purchase for $40!!
Bravo! This has been by far the BEST and most informative video on the different ways and different tool options for making holes in metal. Thank you!
Thank you!! I’m glad you found it useful!
Thank you!!! I just wanted a simple, concise tutorial for a beginner, everything I found was so convoluted and then practically skipped over the drilling part, this was so helpful
When I'm center punching a hole for accuracy I use 2 punches, one pointy center punch to get some penetration and then a wider angle punch to match the drill bit angle and help it not wander. Checking the tip of the bit before use is a good habit to get into. Oh yeah and if your drill bit catches before it exits the material, you can run it in reverse to help punch through. Thanks for the video, I'm sure it'll help push people pass their hesitations with drilling into metal. I was a little hesitant as well before I started my die maker apprenticeship, so I can relate.
Hello Kriss ! I found your knowledge very helpful ! Thank you ! I would like to share this with you ! Someone told me that when you use a keyed drill chuck it is important to use at least 2 holes in order to lock drill bit in chuck , not just one hole ,for bit will slip while drilling and drill shaft will wrip ! To tighten all 3 is even better !
GREAT content and explanation clear as crystal.
Man, this is a fantastic instructional video! You are VERY knowledgeable and you speak quickly without a lot of wasted words. I have no intention of buying a magnetic drill, but I watched the whole thing anyway - and learned a lot! A TON of information in less than 40 minutes. Thanks! -- liked and subscribed --
Absolutely great, sequential, full tutorial on drilling metals, with the focus on steel. I couldn’t fault it. Very useful for newbies and great reminders for old veterans like myself. Thank you sir!
how to order
Chris, You did an excellent job covering the basics of drilling holes. And it was entertaining!
Thank you for your help. I stood like an ass and I didn't know about bits and metal drilling. Awesome I will save in my phone and watch it at least 3 more time's.
To extend the life of a drill bit you need to keep it cool. In my line of work I’ve drilled hundreds of thousands of holes, and what I use is water with dish detergent. Take a bottle of water, poke a pinhole in the cap, squirt a little Dawn dish detergent in and you’re good to go . The water cools the bit , the detergent adds lubricant and you’re not left with an oily mess when you’re finished.
I also use dish soap when drilling any type of metal.
My main reason is that l paint or anodize all my parts and don't need to worry about excessive oil in my parts.
This was an amazing tutorial. I learned a ton. Thank you !!
Wow. I got so fascinated with the video I didn't even realize it was 38 minutes long. Excellent suplemental material for noobs like me. Thanks!
I've always known to use slower speeds on the drill press, but I never knew the exact number someone with lots of experience uses. Thanks for that tip!
Cobalt drills are HSS. There are a number of types of HSS. I have these DeWalt bits too, and the problem with them is that while they’re pretty good for a mid priced product, they’re impossible for most people to resharpen, if that’s something you want to do. Use a spring center punch to make an accurately placed dimple, then use a hammered punch to make the hole larger. Other than annular cutters, which must be used in a drill press of some kind, those general purpose holes saws don’t make accurate holes, no matter who makes them. Often they’re not clean. Step drills make much more accurate holes.
this was phenomenal, really appreciate you going into such detail, such great info for a newbie like myself!
Thank you for watching!!
Thanks for sharing how to drill holes thru steel, you are a good teacher
At my shop we use cobalt bits for high production when making base plates etc they really pay for themselves u get like triple the amount of holes per sharpen against a regular HSS bit
They absolutely make a difference! I get thousands of holes out of a good cobalt bit!
Good job my friend! An old Indian trick when drilling with a hole saw (when you don't want the pilot hole to show) is to use a a scrap of material (predrilled) as a guide !
"how to drill holes in steel" now we saw a good video how drill a hole in iron, very educating, thank you. Many boat owners would like see a video how to drill a hole in round stainles steel rails with a hand drill, thank you. Br. Esko
I have been around all of this for years, but after hurting my back and being unable to work, I became, let's say "CHEAP". So I aften look for used bed frames. Great for simple welding projects, but drilling holes in them is ROUGH!!! I am all ears for suggestions on drilling hardened and/or hot rolled steel.
Chris, I missed in your story about, drilling in hardened steel. And therefore I'give you a tip about how I do this. I use a drillbit that is made for drilling in stone or concrete. You know the point of these bits have a braised in material (I forgot the name, because English is not my native language), that is also used with cutters for a lathe. With thes cutters on a lathe, you can easely cut hardened steel.
The only thing you need to do is regrind these drillbits the same as your mild steel bits are. Be sure when you do this, that you lower your drilling speed and use a fair amount of cooling. It is braised in remember. These modified drills cut through hardened steel as a warm knife through butter.
I always assumed the bit in the middle of hole saws, were for helping to grip and pull the saw ring down as it went. I knew it was there for keeping in place, but I also thought it was for the other reason too. But I guess, the saw ring probably wouldn't be digging a fast as the bit anyway, which would leave you with it just spinning in the middle anyway. Or maybe not, I don't know... LOL
1 thing I do know is, if your bit is smoking, it's probably because you are going too fast, and even if you do use cutting oil, it will just burn the oil if you go too fast. As you shouldn't have a really smooth hole at the end of your tip, where it's just polishing the metal. LOL
The larger the metal coiling out, or even just coming out of the hole, the better.
Fantastic video man!!!
I just ordered a set of those 9/16" to 1" bits because of your vid, thank you for the info!
this old woodworker learned a lot about metal today............thank you
Metal be harder than wood.
Thanks for these great information. Slowly building metal workshop. Appreciate thetime putting this video together.
Really brillant video, useful advice, thank you very much from Italy.
What a fantastic video for a newbie like me. Thank you sir.
Great stuff, but I suggest some safety tips, especially when drilling big holes in thin stock.
From a machinist of 40 years, it amuses me how many you tubers run drills at speeds way too fast and don’t use a lubricant,
and then wonder why the drills lose the cutting edge or burn.
I'm the opposite. It pains me to see smoke so I often use too much oil. And yes, I got proper cutting oil.
I have always felt that cutting oil of whatever one uses is more of a coolant for the drill bit to extend cutting life rather than a lubricant.
The Milwaukee Mag drill is one of my dreams for some of the jobs I encounter. Maybe one day.
Very very informative, thank you so much.Be blessed 👍.Trinidad W I.
I'm a Journeyman Millwright Craftsman, and welder if you want to drill holes and they last invest in a good set and not from a big box store. But lubrication is the secret to bits lasting.
We had a job once where we had to put some decking on an I beam structure, we had 2 cobalt drillbits, in total we had to drill somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 holes. Everything was going well until the very last hole. We used one drillbit until then for every other hole. So we get to the last hole completely dull out our drillbit and at first, we thought that it just got dull from every other hole, so we switched it out to a brand new bit and continued drilling. Well yes, if only it were that simple... The cutting edge melted, at the end. It was a Sunday, at around noon, so there were no shops open and no way to sharpen drill bits... What to do? Well, the only thing to do was to cry; I'm kidding of course. We ended up using the friction from the bit to melt the last bit of the hole out. In total, it took around an hour to drill that one hole. It was going too well, and naturally, something had to screw us over :P
Tekscewas as drillbit,works every time
Tecsrew as a drill bit
Great tutorial. I like the small pick up magnet hack. I have the floor magnet but will get one of those too for sure.
The turbo max drill bit from Irwin I found to be the best. No punch mark needed . Drilled some 700 holes in sch 80 1" pipe with a 5/32 bit before it was to dull to use . it was with a drill press . The regular bits wandered
I just cant understand why ppl don’t use a magnet to clean up steel shards?
Doesnt work. Once it is heated and pealed off only being near someone who is an extremely closetedly gay, would it regain magnetic properties.
When using a hand drill, if it came with one, i highly recommend using a side handle.
I’m trying to drill a 21mm wide hole at 10pm with old dull dewalt drill bits and they aren’t big enough. So I cut teeth into a 3/8 socket with my grinder and welded it to a one of my drill bits. Success!!
He mentions "mild steel" a lot. Sometimes you have something harder. Like a saw blade. After you have exhausted the cheap solutions try "Chicago Latrobe Solid Carbide Spade Drill Bit" on Amazon and click on the title that matches this. There are a dozen size choices. You aren't supposed to use them any deeper than the width. Say 1/4" deep for a 1/4" drill. There are no flutes to remove waste. So pull out the drill and blow out the hole as best you can for deeper cuts. Using a drill press is quite desirable. I have come across hard steel that even these drills won't cut.
Such a good video. I learned a lot. Thanks a ton!
Great video,
Im new to rhis sort of stuff and took a lot of great information from this video. Thank you for your time.
I’m not a fan of cobalt drills in hand drills. You can do it, but cobalt makes the drill harder but also more brittle. Makes them easier to snap in general, but that comes out most when hand drilling, especially at awkward positions with smaller bits. Since most people don’t own a drill press, a quality set of HSS is the best place to start.
The general formula for determining approximate RPM for drilling is CSx4/Drill diameter. CS is cutting speed, which for mild steel using a High Speed Steel bit is 90 (in surface feet per minute), so 90x4 is 360. 360/.25 is 1440RPM. Running your drill slow actually wears them out faster becuse a bunch of heat is created and no work is done.
Thank you. Very very informative. Much appreciate your time.
Say you want to drill a 3/4" hole and you start with a 1/8" pilot hole.
Do you go straight to the 3/4" drill or do you work your way up with intermediate drills such as 1/4", 3/8", 5/8"?
They make impact driver rated step bit that totally remove that wrist breaking action.
i learned alot in this video , thank and keep your stick on the ice
Be aware that one of the main reasons that stainless steel and to some extent aluminum, are "work hardening" materials. If your tool is dull or you don't keep a constant pressure on the drill you may work harden the surface where you a trying to cut and you will have big problems. If at all possible use a drill press.
I do love my little drill press
Carbide Masonry bits work for drilling hardened steel but they have be spun at high rpm
That truly was the ultimate guide!
HOLY CRAP ...
LEARN SO MUCH..
THANK YOU , ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Awesome! That’s why I’m here!! Thanks for watching!
With a hole in a piece of metal and you don't have a large enough bit to make it larger, could you install two Hole saw bits in one drill? One the size of the original hole and one the size of the new hole you want to make. This would keep it from walking.
How about a mention of the 'sheet metal worker's' butterfly drill!
Some helpful tips here. But they are all for drilling holes on a flat vices surface. I would like some tips on drilling a fixed vertical surface. Actually it might have some movement as it is the garage door rail. Tips?
Excellent video. Learned a lot today. Thanks! Definitely subbed! 😊
Try drilling a small hole saw hole. Then, replace the outer cutting hole saw with a larger diameter hole saw then also screw back on the original smaller hole saw that made the first smaller hole you wish to enlarge.
The little first hole saw holds the second bigger hole saw steady in the hole. Thoughts? (Yes, these instructions are hard to follow )
Also with wood, I will take a piece of scrap wood 3/4 thick or so. Drill the bigger hole in it and center it over the first hole and tack in place to use as the guide
I really enjoyed this very informative video! Thanks for putting it together!
Great education, thanks!!!👌👍✌️😁
Really enjoyed the video and I subscribed to your channel for more informative videos. The only thing I would suggest is gloves especially when your wiping away metal shavings
Thanks learned new things.
Thanks for the great job very quick nice and clean appreciations for the good explanations 🙏👍🇩🇰things i should remenber is oil
Awesome. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Step drills are awesome, and very cheap.
exellent work.
i always been dealing with.. thank you very much.
Very good ,to the point
1/4” steel is what i am drilling thru mainly BBQ pits where i am unable use a drill press
Good video. But I really don't think coated bits are really that better. I noticed that after using them once, you can't see the coating anymore. So I would really like to know ARE COATED BITS BETTER THAN UNCOATED BITS. Thanks for sharing.🍁👍👍
Speed kills drills because of the increase in friction generates more heat. Use lower gear setting for more torque and less heat.
Many thanks for this video
Very helpful and informative video! Can you include a link to the higher quality cobalt drill bits you displayed at the beginning of the video? I couldn't find them. Thanks much!
Hi Chris, does the HP of the motor to a drill press affect the performance and speed of a Drill Press? Is changing the motor to one step higher recommended? EX. 1/2 HP to 1 HP? anyone? TIPS PLEASE....THANKS
Nice presentation. I've built a lot out of metal. Wow, this is the first time seeing a magnet drill. I could have used one of those many many times! I didn't see in your video of the issue I come across too often drilling into hot roll steel the steel from the metal warehouse. I've used all kinds of drill bits. Including the DeWalt Pilot bit you had in this video. One of the best I've tried. When I'm drilling some holes , some drill without any problems at all and some it's like part of the same metal is made of a stronger metal or hardened and I can't get through the hole without going through a number of drill bits or not at all and have to burn a hole with the welder. Seems like with the trouble hole I'm trying to drill when it starts to get polished smooth I can't get past it. Any videos on that scenario? The magnet drill might help but I've even put too much pressure snapping the drill bit.
I just ordered some cobalt drill bits. I don't think any of mine are made of cobalt. Worth a try. Thanks for the suggestions.
Newbie question: The drill bit always get stuck and starts to rotate inside the chuck when it passes through the metal piece I’m drilling. I have a Makita cordless hand drill and cobolt drill bits from Bosch. I use cutting oil and start with a pilot hole. I drill slowly and lean on the drill to make it cut better. The Makita has a quick change chuck, you can only tighten the drill bit in place by hand, not with a chuck key. I tighten it as hard as I can before drilling a 5 mm hole in nickel plated steel of 3 mm thickness, still I get this problem. What can I do to not get the drill bit stuck? Thank you for your video on drilling steel. I’m only used to working with wood, the odd time I need an extra hole in like a bracket I find it difficult. Happy New Year from Finland!
Very informative. Thank you.
Great show
Great video. But what would you recommend I use for drilling through a heavy truck frame? I have a DIY project coming up where I will need to drill sixteen 1/2 inch holes through a truck frame. Hole location and straightness is critical. I will need some type of horizontal drill mount that is slightly adjustable up/down and left/right so I can locate each hole within a .001 inch of each other. Due to other attached (by rivet) brackets etc a mag-mount drill will not work for 8 of the holes. And just holding a hand-held drill, in my experience, will not guarantee a hole that does not angle slightly. As you can tell I'm concerned as I've never done this before. Thank you, and anyone else replying, for your help and advice.
Great info, many thanks!
I need to make one inch holes in steel. What should I buybfor this application?
Good job and great information!
Awesome episode 🤟 thank You
"How many drill presses do you need"?
- "Yes"
I have gas steel pipe that I had cemented upright into the ground. How do I drill a hole through it now that it's standing up? Would a regular drill with a regular bit and some WD-40 work? Is there a special bit to use?
Thanks I needed that!!!
How about truck chassis
It kills the HSS bits that are readily available hole size 5/8 and 3/4*
Went to a farm equipment show several years ago. Lots of booths with guys selling different things. There was one. Guy selling a particular type of drill bit. He was drilling 1" hole in 1/2" plate as a demonstration. What ever bit this was. It went through like butter. He said the only caveat. Was to give the bit a spritz of water every few seconds. He had a huge pile of chips. He said came from the same bit. Anyone know what this was? I haven't seen such since.
Great video. Useful tips. Mahalo for sharing!🙂🐒
For the easiest drill PUrchase buy a 135 degree set. anything else should have a pilot hole
I can't say I've seen anyone using aluminum on their table saw... now I want to see it
Its screaming loud & a heavy load on the saw. It works, but i avoid it whenevet possible.
For occasionally cutting aluminum or brass you can use a regular carbide blade meant for wood-the more teeth the better. But if you’re cutting metal often, it’s worth buying a dedicated metal-cutting blade. The carbide is tougher and less prone to chipping, and the rake on the teeth is either neutral or negative (for wood the rake is positive). Less rake makes the cut more controlled and less screaming loud. Some of these blades are even rated for steel, and work great for crosscutting square tube.
Lastly, if you’re cutting metal on the same table saw you use for wood, make sure to check under the saw for burning or smoldering sawdust. Those metal chips are HOT (especially cutting steel) and they can easily set sawdust on fire. Ask me how I know this…
@@timothy098-b4f thats good info. Thanks.
I've done it. But it is pretty nuts. I can see it not working out for some folks too. It's kind of sketchy. But if you do it right it's a nice cut. A lot still can go wrong. There's things you learn doing it. Like just how much heat chips take away from a cut. You'll feel every chip that lands on your skin.
@@timothy098-b4f I've never had aluminum chip a carbide tooth. Once I hit a thick steel bracket with a circular saw and that did a number on that blade. When the sparks started flying out of the kerf I just kept on going. I was like well it's wrecked now might as well at least finish. That steel was over 1/8" thick. I was trimming a bench and miscalculated a bit. It's right next to me now so I measured it. It's 0.1395" thick. So a bit better than 10 gauge. Whoops. I was using this really insane blade. Was some close out I got out of Harbor Freight years ago manufactured by Credo called Dynite or something. Claimed it was 10 times stronger than carbide. OK maybe not still did the job though. If I could get more of those blades today I would.
You should check out Blair Rotabroaches over using holesaws.
I need to drill a hole through a 50cal bullet but it’s coated in brass and the center is steel but im not having any luck
Drills requires a coolant, taps require a lubricant. The best coolant for drilling steel and aluminum is 2 parts hydrogen 1 part oxygen(plain water) no fumes from oil, just steam, safe for your lungs. Ps for drilling larger holes, use the clutch settings on your hand drill increasing diameter incrementally, no drill catching and breaking your wrists
Doesn't water soften the drill? I've read that water works a treat when drilling SS so perhaps you're right.
Great video thank you
Those 2x4's your using to hold up all that steel is kinda spooky !
Do you sharpen you drill bits when they get dull?
MAGNETED. Thats a new one on me.
There seems to be an attachment to that word...
Brilliant
I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. Drilling 11ga tubing with a brand new Milwaukee metal bit and it’s just not going through!