Hey guys,
So the last of my brewing equipment arrived today, so right after work I was eager to start building!
After opening everything and getting it laid out, I opened my new pack of 216 drill bits (titanium coated-mastercraft) and my 18V cordless drill. I grabbed my 3 in 1 and layed down my first SS pot.
I started with a 3/16" drill bit for the pilot hole, and i didn't bother using a nail punch to avoid walking. I went straight to it, threw some 3 in 1 on my drill bit and on my "x" and at a low speed I started drilling. After a few seconds I could see curls of steel coming off the drill bit. Soon enough the drill bit passed through, and I moved on to 1/4" bit (my unibit starts at 1/4" so I figured I would widen the hole first). The last step took a long time (I found out that when re coating my bit, i switched it to reverse which made the cutting slow- duhhh!), but finally it passed through. Unfortunately, my unibit only goes up to 3/4" so my 1/2" NPT fitting doesn't pass through yet, and I don't have any files good enough to widden the hole. I guess I'll just borrow a 7/8" bit from work tomorrow, so I can wait for that.
My REAL problem occured on my second pot (this is my HLT, so I'm adding a spigot, a sight glass, and a thermometer-making it the WORST pot to drill poorly). I started off with the 3/16" bit, and I decided I would use the nail punch to get everything started. The steel curl didn't come, even after 5-10 mins of drilling. Almost no cutting was visible at ALL. So, instead of spinning the bit faster (heat-nooo!) I applied more pressure. SNAP. broke a drill bit. I kept drilling, and breaking more bits. I stepped down to a 1/8" bit and snapped those too, nothing was working. I then strapped on my unibit... although it didn't snap, it wasn't working either. It seems like the bits just roll on this medal, and don't cut it. This 'SS' pot is very shiny, and looks like this would happen anyways. I'll post some pics, but if you look on the inside, you can actually see that the wall has bent inwards, revealing that this is very weak SS, and it deforms easily (I suppose making it difficult to cut).
What are your suggestions to cut this? Should I get a bit that specifically starts pilot holes? Should I try and get one REALLY sharp bit that will get the hole started, and from there I can bore it? I'm extremely frustrated and would appreciate any advice you can give me.
First pic: the first pot which drilled beatifully
second and third pic: the hole from the outside, where I am drilling from
fourth and fifth pic: The dent being made on the inside of the pot
So the last of my brewing equipment arrived today, so right after work I was eager to start building!
After opening everything and getting it laid out, I opened my new pack of 216 drill bits (titanium coated-mastercraft) and my 18V cordless drill. I grabbed my 3 in 1 and layed down my first SS pot.
I started with a 3/16" drill bit for the pilot hole, and i didn't bother using a nail punch to avoid walking. I went straight to it, threw some 3 in 1 on my drill bit and on my "x" and at a low speed I started drilling. After a few seconds I could see curls of steel coming off the drill bit. Soon enough the drill bit passed through, and I moved on to 1/4" bit (my unibit starts at 1/4" so I figured I would widen the hole first). The last step took a long time (I found out that when re coating my bit, i switched it to reverse which made the cutting slow- duhhh!), but finally it passed through. Unfortunately, my unibit only goes up to 3/4" so my 1/2" NPT fitting doesn't pass through yet, and I don't have any files good enough to widden the hole. I guess I'll just borrow a 7/8" bit from work tomorrow, so I can wait for that.
My REAL problem occured on my second pot (this is my HLT, so I'm adding a spigot, a sight glass, and a thermometer-making it the WORST pot to drill poorly). I started off with the 3/16" bit, and I decided I would use the nail punch to get everything started. The steel curl didn't come, even after 5-10 mins of drilling. Almost no cutting was visible at ALL. So, instead of spinning the bit faster (heat-nooo!) I applied more pressure. SNAP. broke a drill bit. I kept drilling, and breaking more bits. I stepped down to a 1/8" bit and snapped those too, nothing was working. I then strapped on my unibit... although it didn't snap, it wasn't working either. It seems like the bits just roll on this medal, and don't cut it. This 'SS' pot is very shiny, and looks like this would happen anyways. I'll post some pics, but if you look on the inside, you can actually see that the wall has bent inwards, revealing that this is very weak SS, and it deforms easily (I suppose making it difficult to cut).
What are your suggestions to cut this? Should I get a bit that specifically starts pilot holes? Should I try and get one REALLY sharp bit that will get the hole started, and from there I can bore it? I'm extremely frustrated and would appreciate any advice you can give me.
First pic: the first pot which drilled beatifully
second and third pic: the hole from the outside, where I am drilling from
fourth and fifth pic: The dent being made on the inside of the pot