Putting Weldless Fitting on HELP!

Alright, I've been wanting to put some weldless fittings from bargainfittings.com (http://www.greatbargain.net/order/shop1.html) on my keggle for a while, but I'm too cheap to buy a step bit (they're $30+ at Lowes/Hd.) I see it says start with 13/16 and work your way to 7/8 to make best fit. I've done some research and most people say that you should use a step bit. Can I use a standard drill bit or will those make leaks? should I not even attempt to do this until I get a step bit?

Any recomendations/personal experiences are greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
J

it's best to use carbide in a twist drill or hole saw .875 (7/8"). measure where to put it acurately. mine could have been another .1" higher so the locknut would clear the bottom weld. pre drill with say 1/8". then go for it. use a lot of cutting oil and medium pressure when machining stainless. debur hole each side, put together in fill with water atleast halfway to check for leaks. i had no leaks until i filled it with ~7 gallons...

Harbor Freight has less expensive step bits that work just fine...

Here... And they are usually on sale every other week or so...

Good luck!

I used a step bit on my 15G aluminum kettle and I have no leaks. I personally felt that I had a better shot at a good install with a step bit.

Any buddies of yours that can loan you a bit for the job?

mine because of the nut just not clearing the weld, the o-ring wasn't crushed enough. but better dribble water than beer.

I used a 7/8" hole bit on my aluminium kettle. Few seconds with a file afterwords to clean the hole up and it was good to go.

Rather than cutting oil, use the garden hose.

The killer of bits and work hardener of stainless is heat.

Have your garden hose set up so that the cutting area is receiving constant water and the cutting area will remain cool. Set your drill to low - maintain firm and constant pressure. Drill 1/8 or so pilot hole, then use the step bit.

If you have an appropriately sized standard bit you should be fine as long as it's suited to cutting stainless. Just use plenty of bits to step up the size of the hole.

Cheap harbor freight step bit went through 2 kegs like they were butter with this method.

+2 on the Harbor Freight bits. I purchased a set of 3 for ~$10 on sale if I recall. I've made 3-4 holes in kegs with them so far and they're still going strong.

mvdilts said:

+2 on the Harbor Freight bits. I purchased a set of 3 for ~$10 on sale if I recall. I've made 3-4 holes in kegs with them so far and they're still going strong.

Click to expand...

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=91616
Is that the set you bought?
Are those big enough to put on a weldless fitting from bargain fittings?

jkarp said:

I used a 7/8" hole bit on my aluminium kettle. Few seconds with a file afterwords to clean the hole up and it was good to go.

Click to expand...

When you say hole bit, are you talking about one of these?
http://doitbest.com/Drill+Bits-Irwin-model-373078BX-doitbest-sku-345954.dib

I think you will need the two piece set they sell that drills 13/16- 7/8" holes. 3/4" won't get it done.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=96275

samc said:

I think you will need the two piece set they sell that drills 13/16- 7/8" holes. 3/4" won't get it done.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=96275

Click to expand...

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking.
It's really not a bad deal considering I'm sure I'll use them for other things. YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY TOOLS!

HalfPint said:

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking.
It's really not a bad deal considering I'm sure I'll use them for other things. YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY TOOLS!

Click to expand...

That is the bit set I use.

Use a center punch or a nail once you get your center mark to drill.
Use a 1/8" metal drill bit to start the hole and then use your step bit to finish it.

BargainFittings said:

That is the bit set I use.

Use a center punch or a nail once you get your center mark to drill.
Use a 1/8" metal drill bit to start the hole and then use your step bit to finish it.

Click to expand...

Well as soon as I get the right tools, expect an order from me.

Thanks,
J

Where i live, the city library also runs a small Tool Lending Library that's free to use and they lend all sorts of tools. i didn't have the money to make my keggle until i found out about them and borrowed a good drill, unibit, and angle grinder. Only ended up spending $15 for the weldless fittings. Good luck on your project

bass-a-roo said:

Where i live, the city library also runs a small Tool Lending Library that's free to use and they lend all sorts of tools. i didn't have the money to make my keggle until i found out about them and borrowed a good drill, unibit, and angle grinder. Only ended up spending $15 for the weldless fittings. Good luck on your project

Click to expand...

Yeah, I just searched for one here in Houston and I don't think we have anything like that. I wish though.

HalfPint, that is indeed the set I purchased. In hindsight I probably should have purchased http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=96275 since it goes a little bigger and would be more useful for other projects (e.g. cleaning up the knock-outs in electrical boxes).

you could also use http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053 I used one for ~2 holes before I snapped the bit in the center which is when I purchased the step bits from Harbor Freight.

mvdilts said:

HalfPint, that is indeed the set I purchased. In hindsight I probably should have purchased http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=96275 since it goes a little bigger and would be more useful for other projects (e.g. cleaning up the knock-outs in electrical boxes).

you could also use http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053 I used one for ~2 holes before I snapped the bit in the center which is when I purchased the step bits from Harbor Freight.

Click to expand...

Do you think the hole saw would work good?

I'm thinking about making a sculpture soon, so I'm going to be putting sight glasses, thermometers, and bulkheads on two keggles, so I think that it would probably be best to go with the step bit.

I would definitely go with the step bit, spend the $20 for the larger set. I drilled a 3/4" hole and used a grinding stone with my dremmel to clean up the hole and the 7/8" weldless fitting. With the step bit you can drill holes of different sizes (since I believe the sight glass requires a smaller hole) without buying a number of bi-metal hole saws. Based only on my experience I would not recommend the hole saw.

When choosing the placement of the hole for the fitting, especially if you plan to add a sight glass later on, make sure you offset the holes for the valve and the sightglass away from the hole in the keg's skirt. The heat from your burners will come through those holes, and valves and SGs don't like a lot of heat.

Cheers

mvdilts said:

(since I believe the sight glass requires a smaller hole)

Click to expand...

From bargain fittings, the sight glass and ball valve require identical holes. 13/16 is idea, then use a deburring tool or similar to clean the opening. It is a tight fit for the nipple, but far, far better than drilling a hole too large.

I just used a hole saw (3/4") for mine....it worked super. Of course, the hole was too small, but I opened it up a bit with a dremel, and got a nice tight fit.