Drill bit big enough?

Hey all... Well I finally went to the salvage yard and bought a keg to make my first keggle!
My cousin hooked me up by cutting out the top (took about 5 minutes with a "roto zip" with the angle grinder attachment. approx 2 cutting disks were used.)

Now I'm going to drill the hole where I'll put the valve. I'm not sure what kind of bit to buy and I've read most of the step bit/hole saw debates.

Long story short.... I live in my Uncle's old house. Before he passed away he was a master welder and metal worker. Even with his credentials, he doesn't have either of the bits I need in the garage. He does however, have some heavy duty drill bits meant for steel.

The biggest bit he has is 9/16. Could I use this and then use my dremel to enlarge the hole? He also has a lot of bits that look like this.

I'm just trying to be cheap right now since we have a two-week old in the house and he needs diapers!

I appreciate the help!

Forget cheap!

Wrap that yungun in a dish towel.

I have done better with a hole saw and a dremel that I have with a step bit.

Burton, congrats on the two-week old! I'm in the same boat here, and picked up a used keg this last weekend. I've read some other posts, but I'd also like to hear the answer to this question. Thanks for posting it!

GilaMinumBeer said:

Forget cheap!

Wrap that yungun in a dish towel.

I have done better with a hole saw and a dremel that I have with a step bit.

Click to expand...

So I'm assuming you used a 7/8" hole saw? Or did you go smaller, say 3/4", and bore it out with your dremel?

TwoHeadsBrewing said:

So I'm assuming you used a 7/8" hole saw? Or did you go smaller, say 3/4", and bore it out with your dremel?

Click to expand...

Forgotten the actual diameters. I am guessing I started with a smaller hole and "fine tune" dremeled the hole to pass the fitting through.

At this point, I have so many holes I forget why they were made in the first place. I have had to patch some because I upgraded from shade tree engineerings to bought systems. Any more upgrades and I'd be better off getting a new keg to start fresh on.

Thanks... any other ideas specific to the 9/16" bit?

+ 1 ON THE HOLE SAW...i THINK I REMEMBER IT BEING 1/2 INCH

Hey Burton, if i was you, i would find a local welder to cut and weld a 1/2in collar on for you. It probably wouldn't be much more expensive than buying drill bits and weldless fittings, and it will be bulletproof. I took my two kegs to a local welder and he welded the fittings on for me lickity split. All he asked for in return was a case of budweiser!
Good luck with your project.

I did mine with a hole saw. I got it at lowes for like $6 and it went through stainless in a matter of seconds. A drill bit and burr would work, but it might not be as clean and easy.

alright... so impatience/curiosity got the better of me and I headed out to the garage. Everything worked out pretty decent... All-in-all everything took about 20 minutes (worth it if I don't have to spend an extra dime. Here were the steps:

1. Used a small metal bit to drill a guide hole so the bigger drill bit wouldn't slip. Used lubricant on this step.

2. Then I drilled a bigger hole with the biggest metal bit I could find in the garage which was 9/16". Again, lubricant was used.

3. Combined using my dremel and a metal burr bit to widen the hole to 3/4" (I'll wait to make it bigger if needed when I get my weldless setup).

Here is a pic... the hole turned out pretty darn even if you ask me.