Drilling Holes In Sheet Metal

Simply sandwich the sheet metal between two pieces of wood and clamp everything down on a table or workbench.

Drilling holes in sheet metal.

For holes up to 19mmø i would suggest starting with a piece approximately 100mm 4. To drill a round hole in thin sheet metal take a piece of cloth for example an corner of an old tea towel cut into squares an old flannel or anything you don t mind cutting into squares and throwing in the bin once you have your nice round hole. For clean precise holes in thin sheet metal make a wood sandwich. Since this is a small hole a normal drill bit will work well in the sheet metal without extra precautions.

Drilling a hole in sheet metal with a twist drill is a rather straightforward operation. You set the drill bit in place push the button and press the bit into the material you re drilling. For the cleanest hole clamp a second piece on top of the metal making a sacrificial sandwich. This can cause corrosion rust to form in and around the hole.

Sheet metal drills a pdf test drill a hole. You start off by drilling a small diameter pilot hole and then drill gradually larger holes until you get. The center is about half way through the 050 thickness with the point already through the material. The right shows the finished hole.

Piercing cutting and drilling sheet metal is an integral part of metalsmithing. Place the drill bit in your drill and tighten it so it s held firmly in your drill. Than drill a smaller hole to guide the final drill bit. The diameter of this pilot hole should be slightly larger than the chisel length picture below of the final bit.

But once you get to know the tools whatever your budget and how to use them you can start creating holes in sheet metal quickly and accurately. The smaller drill bit puts less pressure on the metal and allows you to drill larger holes easier later on. At the lower right. After you drill the hole it is possible to provide adequate corrosion protection for the drilled.

The material your drill bit is made of. It may seem daunting at first something as simple as learning how to cut a hole in sheet metal can seem like a tall order. When drilling thin sheet metal clamp the metal over a piece of sacrificial plywood or other flat sheet good like mdf or particleboard to help prevent the bit from tearing up the hole. The wooden bread layers of the sandwich keep the sheet metal flat and prevent the drill bit from wandering as it bores through the sheet metal.

For example if you want the hole to be 1 2 inch 1 3 cm at the end start by drilling a hole that s 1 4 inch 0 64 cm. At the left is the hole just started and starting to drill some of the diameter.