Drilling a keggle

I've drilled more holes in my Bayou Classic than I care to admit to. So I thought that I was a kettle drilling expert. I brought home a 1/2 barrel to make a keggle out of and so far I am getting no where fast. After 30 minutes I have a definite dimple created, but nothing even close to resembling a pilot hole. I have titanium bits, is there something else I should be using? And I tried to find cutting oil at all the local hardware stores and none of them carried any. Will any oil work? Also, how do you use the oil?

I drilled mine last night in about 5 minutes with a 1/8 bit , slow with a lot of pressure, no oil. that took about 20 seconds. The final hole 13/16 was done with a Unibit step bit and took about 4.5 minutes no oil and a rechargeable drill. Slow and pressure .

I've tried a few different things, and the only one that I found to work with consistant results was a high quality step bit. Don't buy the garbage at harbor freight, it won't do the trick. I had to buy a $50 bit, but it drilled 10 holes for me, so I'm happy.

A brand new drill bit should make quick work of it. If you can control the speed of the drill, let it run slow, so it doesn't heat up as much.

Yup, if you've done 30 minutes of drilling with no progress your bit is shot. The Titanium is also gone now too so there's no point in trying to sharpen it. Motor oil works too, a squirt or two every few minutes to replace the oil that gets wicked away, just keep the hole well lubricated. Just remember to use a very slow speed with -lots- of pressure.

What size drill bit are you starting with?
You need to drill a small pilot hole first, say 1/8" to start.

Some are going to tell you to use a step bit while others will say drill bits.
Either way will work. The most important thing is having a quality bit.

Use a medium amount of pressure, and a medium speed, along with a good cutting fluid.

I disagree about the Harbor Freight bits. I bought their two-pack and have drilled about 10 holes in two keggles and another stainless steel pot (along with a few plastic and aluminum project boxes - those dont count). They are starting to get a little dull, but I bet I can still get a few more 1/2 inch holes in there if need be. They only cost me 15 bucks for both too so I will go and buy 2 or three more before its more expensive than HD ones. Not going to get there.

BTW I used some regular oil that was sitting in my garage, I dont think it was cutting oil, for most (not all) of my cuts.

powerslave73 said:

i drilled mine last night in about 5 minutes with a 1/8 bit , slow with a lot of pressure, no oil. That took about 20 seconds. The final hole 13/16 was done with a unibit step bit and took about 4.5 minutes no oil and a rechargeable drill. Slow and pressure .

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+1

I agree with kpr. I drilled 8 holes with HF bits and they are still going strong. I sprayed water instead of oil for the last 6 holes because I was drilling in my basement and the oil smelled bad.

Drill faster... Slow means like 1000 rpm, not 50... Also, take breaks to let the metal cool. You have probably work hardened the steel. I have use WD40 as cutting oil... I have also used a cool washcloth to cool the steel during breaks

I have done about 14 holes all made with a Dewalt 1/8 pilot followed by a harbor freight step bit. it will work. Press really hard and run about 1000 rpm. If the kettle is not on the ground and you are not putting your full body weight into it, then you need to press harder.
I was a sweaty mess when I was done, but all 14 holes only took about an hour+.

I know everybody is telling you something different, but I think you should try a pilot hole. It moves faster once you get a hole going. Use any oil, and I've found that medium pressure works best. Also I use a Harbor Freight bit, and it works fine for me.

One thing I have been told before is if you hear the drill bit squeal, you most like have work harden the stainless and just made the job 100X harder. Slow and pressure as the others have said, if it is only a very small dent maybe try another spot.

OK, I guess I over looked the obvious. I changed bits and was done in just a few seconds. It was a new set of bits that haven't had much use so I ASSUMED that it was sharp. Sorry guys, thanks for coming in to the rescue though.

konrad said:

I agree with kpr. I drilled 8 holes with HF bits and they are still going strong. I sprayed water instead of oil for the last 6 holes because I was drilling in my basement and the oil smelled bad.

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kpr121 said:

I disagree about the Harbor Freight bits. I bought their two-pack and have drilled about 10 holes in two keggles and another stainless steel pot (along with a few plastic and aluminum project boxes - those dont count). They are starting to get a little dull, but I bet I can still get a few more 1/2 inch holes in there if need be. They only cost me 15 bucks for both too so I will go and buy 2 or three more before its more expensive than HD ones. Not going to get there.

BTW I used some regular oil that was sitting in my garage, I dont think it was cutting oil, for most (not all) of my cuts.

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I thought the same thing when I bought my HF set. I bought the same 2 pack that everyone buys. The small bit works great, but when I got to the big bit, it drilled one hole before the 3rd blade from the bottom got dull. Now it's useless. I didn't want to spend $50 on one, but after trying a lot of different bits, I said screw it and bought one. I bet I could drill 50 kegs with this thing...

Harbor Freight steps work great for me as well after drilling a bit of a pilot hole.

I also use a little plumbers putty, rolled into a small snake, then into a ring pressed onto the location of the steel you are drilling- kind of makes a little ditch to hold your oil in-

3 in 1 oil works great, if you see smoke, oil more!

Drilled many a 1/2 inch holes with the harbor freights this way.

I used this after burning up a cheapo step bit. It cost $27 at Lowes and was in the electrical dept. I didn't have to use any cutting oil and it only took about 5 minutes including cleaing up the edges of the hole. Just use pliers to pick up the plug, that little sucker gets hot.

http://www.toolup.com/popup.aspx?src=images/Product/large/Ideal-36-303.jpg

lol, looks like you have a number of things to try is you just go down the list.

I used the HF step bits, i started with the smaller one, a little veggie oil will do you just fine and i'm sure you have that in the house. I tried with my cordless it would do the job but my corded drill has a lot more torque and worked so much better. like everyone says drill a pilot hole 1/8" pack of 10 or 12 double sided were a few bucks at HF and I have only used one so far. then put the step bit to work, slow speed with mild pressue, you don't need to get crazy on it, and about each step or so put a little vegitable oil on your bit and do another step or two.
I have drilled seven or eight holes like this and my bits are still sharp enough to cut your finger without much of a try.