What's new
What's new

How to drill a large hole in steel without a mill

TTalma

Aluminum
Joined
Aug 12, 2008
Location
FairPort, NY
I need to drill 14, 1-1/4" holes in 1/4" steel. I do primarily wood working and only have access to wood working tools.

I do have a good drill press. The minimum speed is 540 rpm (according to the tag). This seems to fast for a hole saw on steel. I'm thinking I would overheat whatever I was using.

Is there a bit or hole saw I can buy that would do the job. I doubt I will ever do this again so I don't want to break the bank doing this either!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
 
Does your drill press have the HP to push a hole saw through steel?
A local machine shop should be able to knock those out for you at little cost if your drill press can't do it.
540 rpm is a bit much, I'd go 1/2 that speed or less, but that's not an option.
If you had a carbide tipped hole saw then the speed should be ok,using plenty of coolant or WD-40 whatever you have on hand.
 
I need to drill 14, 1-1/4" holes in 1/4" steel. I do primarily wood working and only have access to wood working tools.

I do have a good drill press. The minimum speed is 540 rpm (according to the tag). This seems to fast for a hole saw on steel. I'm thinking I would overheat whatever I was using.

Is there a bit or hole saw I can buy that would do the job. I doubt I will ever do this again so I don't want to break the bank doing this either!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!


540rmps is high for any bit that size, but you can make do. It's not ideal but I did a lot as a kid in the farm shop with a drill press and hole saws. Most importantly to keep it cool you need to use cutting oil. The stuff at the hardware store for pipe threading is fine. One hole saw should last you 14 holes if you keep it lubed.
 
The RPM is pretty high, but manageable; worst case a hand drill in low will work with what I'm linking to.

Check these out McMaster-Carr, I've had great luck with them...you'll also need the correct arbor.
 
I need to drill 14, 1-1/4" holes in 1/4" steel. I do primarily wood working and only have access to wood working tools.

I do have a good drill press. The minimum speed is 540 rpm (according to the tag). This seems to fast for a hole saw on steel. I'm thinking I would overheat whatever I was using.

Is there a bit or hole saw I can buy that would do the job. I doubt I will ever do this again so I don't want to break the bank doing this either!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Gonna need some more information on this job.
 
1 1/4 is not that big... hole saws are dirt cheap and pretty good for doing just what you are looking at. Keep dumping coolant or at least soapy water at those rpm - still not outrages for that size - and you will be fine. having an extra saw or two is cheap insurance. Home depot even stocks them without the holder. Just replace the blade part.
hougan/roto broach would be slightly better option, for the number of holes the cost is not justified.
 
it is to fast (rpm=4 x CS / dia) but you might get away with it with a HSS cutter. Exceeding the ideal cutting speed shortens tool life but they'll still work (to a point). It would bit a bit gnarly trying to do 14

You could buy a carbide annular cutter....maybe worth it for 14 over burning a bunch of hole saws. (which are great for wood, generally a misery in steel imo) if your drill press is solid enough for it that should work, but I'm thinking don't try it in a light duty machine

Easiest might be to drop by a fab shop....they'll probably use a mag drill with an annular cutter. easy peasy
 
I too have done this in a farm type shop in my early days. What I did was build a dam out of modeling clay about 1/2" high around where you are cutting and fill it with cutting oil (I used kerosene because it was what we had around the shop). That should keep the hole saw cool enough to keep from burning up at that speed. Go slow on the feed. I mean real slow. Find a comfortable chair and really take your time and I think you can get this done with what you have.
 
I drilled 200- 2" holes in 3/16 steel using my old drill press on slow and Hougen cutters, a bit of oil and never had a problem and used only one cutter.
 
For that qty of holes, use your drill press with the part clamped well to the table(with sacrificial wood underneath)
Name brand hole saw with pilot (buy a few)
Plenty of oil
With moderate pressure on the handle, jog your drill press at the lowest speed so that it doesn't reach the full 540 rpm
It will take some time but you'll get it done.

Or take it to a local shop that has the proper tooling
 
come down to the shop and I'll punch those in about 10 min....LOL

10 times better than a hole saw:willy_nilly:

Free.......

Seriously, hole saws do not cut nice holes, find a machine/fab shop with an ironworker, clean holes on size.
 
I need to drill 14, 1-1/4" holes in 1/4" steel. I do primarily wood working and only have access to wood working tools.

I do have a good drill press. The minimum speed is 540 rpm (according to the tag). This seems to fast for a hole saw on steel. I'm thinking I would overheat whatever I was using.

Is there a bit or hole saw I can buy that would do the job. I doubt I will ever do this again so I don't want to break the bank doing this either!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Hole saw or mag drill

Sent from my SM-A515U using Tapatalk
 
The hole saws I've used would stop cutting once the teeth are buried and the chips can't clear. Pre-drilling a smaller hole (1/4" min) inside and tangent to the large hole helps clear the chips and keeps the hole saw cutting.
 
I see some guys doing 1 1/2 to 2" holes in 1/4 plate nearly every day using a cheap oriental pillar drill and cheapest hole saws off the net......IMHO ,a much better option would be a RotaBroach mag base drill.....but ,no these guys are happy working in third world conditions.
 
One time job and 14 holes in 1/4" steel.

I am thinking a bit outside of the box. I like the step or multi-size bits that are great for sheet and thin metal. It may be a bit of a stretch, but you might want to try one of these step drills.

Black Oxide Step Drill Bit Set, 2 Pc.

Now, I know it will not do the whole 1/4" thickness, but if you have access to the back side you can go 1/8" from each side and have a real nice hole. And the 1 3/8" final step will do a great job of de-burring the edges if you just kiss the edge with it. Just set the depth stop on your drill press on the first hole and you are good to go.

As far as the 540 RPM speed, it will be a great match for the smaller steps and on the last two or three the step bit will not be removing that much so the going will be easy. Do use some cutting oil - well almost any oil will do. And a block of wood under the steel on your drill press table will allow the smaller steps to not hit that table.

PS: I have several of these bits from HF and they are every bit as good as the US, name brand ones that I also have. You do not have to pay McMaster prices or even those at your local hardware store.



I need to drill 14, 1-1/4" holes in 1/4" steel. I do primarily wood working and only have access to wood working tools.

I do have a good drill press. The minimum speed is 540 rpm (according to the tag). This seems to fast for a hole saw on steel. I'm thinking I would overheat whatever I was using.

Is there a bit or hole saw I can buy that would do the job. I doubt I will ever do this again so I don't want to break the bank doing this either!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
 








 
Back
Top