Drilling Holes In Stainless Steel Sheet Metal

Steve parente shows how to easily drill large holes in stainless with a step bit.

Drilling holes in stainless steel sheet metal.

Stainless is actually a relatively soft metal at least in its initial state. If the metal to be drilled is less than 3mm thick it may be possible to use a single bit to achieve the desired size hole however if the metal is thicker it is recommended to start with a bit half the size of the desired hole diameter for an initial hole and then step up to the final size drill for a. Stainless steel also known as inox steel is an alloy of steel with a minimum of around 10 5 chromium based on its mass it is known for its corrosion resistance high heat resistance and high ductility. You start off by drilling a small diameter pilot hole and then drill gradually larger holes until you get.

After starting out with a bi metal bit and not having much success steve l. Here is the right way to drill stainless steel. Drilling through stainless steel is much like drilling through any other type of metal but with a few key differences. The least expensive twist bits are made of high speed steel hss and these basic bits are just fine for most metal drilling tasks.

Drilling a hole in sheet metal with a twist drill is a rather straightforward operation. When stainless steel work hardens it becomes very hard and extremely difficult to drill. These characteristics of stainless steel make it quite difficult to cut or drill. Using high speed drill bits or better is mandatory.

Because so many people ask how to drill through stainless steel we decided to dedicate a page to this topic. What stainless tends to do is work harden fairly quickly when heated and drilling at high speed creates a lot of heat. If you ll be drilling a lot of holes or need to drill through hard abrasive metals like stainless steel or cast iron spend a couple bucks more for black oxide or a cobalt steel drill bit for metal. There are also other steps to drilling this material that will make the process easier.