Drilling Stainless Steel

[Guest jaybeee]

Can anyone tell me the best type of drill bit to use on stainless steel as I remember sometime ago some posting on this discussion forum?

 

Many thanks Jason

[Grizzly]

Good quality ones. Drill very slow speed with very firm pressure. Don't slip.

[Guest Dan_Beeston]

A decent set of Cobalt drills are a worthwhile investment. I've got a set from Machine MArt that lasted throughout the build and beyond (except the <3mm ones, which I keep snapping by being clumsy! )

[Guest scottie686]

I bought some Colbolt and they weren't bad but then tried some 'Doorma' drills bits and compared to the Colbolt was like drilling through cheese!! Highly recommended!!

 

Scott.

[Dave R]

farnell do some stubby hi nox drills cheap and cut stainless like butter

[Guest salty_monk]

Something specialist is better, it work hardens so easily a regular drill bit can be really difficult.

 

Dan

[miikae]

The older the Stainless the worse it is to drill as it age hardens as i found out many years ago when working in the food industry on old installations , new stuff not too bad , use paste or coolant and dont stop , just do it , i always tried to use Dormer A108 HSS Quick Spiral Jobber Drill for Stainless Steel if i was out buying them , but bosses didnt and bought any old crap well cheaper HSS , not the A108's or better , they are not cheap though and its worth looking around for good prices .

 

Mike

[Guest chris brown]

I bought some Colbolt and they weren't bad but then tried some 'Doorma' drills bits and compared to the Colbolt was like drilling through cheese!! Highly recommended!!

 

Scott.

I'm with Scott. Forget the fancy cobalt and buy the best Jobber drills you can I would recommend Dormer every time. Drill slowly with plenty of pressure to keep it cutting because if the drill stops cutting and just spins stainless will work harden very quickly

[Guest Paulxe20]

At work we use drill bits from RS which are designed for stainless steel. They have a quick spiral with a different cutting profile, but there not cheap.

 

8.5 mm (part no - 792-787) are £ 4.15 each

3 mm (part no - 792-670) are £ 1.20 each

 

But they will go through S/S all day.

[Guest robinhoodlandrover]

When I was building my hood, I just used normal jobber drill bits. Plenty of pressure and pulse the drill continually (power on and push, power off and relax). Should take no more than a couple of seconds to get through. If the drill just spins, you risk work hardening the steel and blunting the drill bits. Remember though that drill bits can be sharpened on a normal bench grinder. Some of my drill bits are now only about an inch long but work perfectly with minumal deflection so you can really put some pressure on them without worrying about them snapping.

Edited April 25, 2008 by robinhoodlandrover