drilling problem

[matc]

So I was making holes in my keg today and I'm having problem with my last hole. I was trying to make a pilot hole as usual, with lots of oil, low rpm and tons of pressure but there are no shavings at all and I can't get through. I'm using standard drill bit so maybe it's dull now.

I'm afraid I hardened the steel now so is there a better bit I could use to get through it ?

 

[conneryis007]

Sounds like a dull bit to me! Get a carbide tip bit and you should be fine.

 

[Toymaker]

You probably didn't harden it very much if at all. What size drill are you using for a pilot? Did it get hot, did you create a bunch of smoke? You should use a small drill for pilot. Make sure it's a split point to start the hole. You don't need carbide for stainless just keep you bits sharp. It should look like this example of a split point bit

 

[azza]

This is normal. Its just a dull drill bit. Stainless is very hard as you know...Building my single tier stand I must have burned out at least 2 pilot bitts and 2 step bitts. I later found that the best thing out there for keggles is tungsten carbide bitts as keggs are thicker than most pots. but you can just persevere with normal bitts if you just want to get er done! Lastly don`t worry about the hardening effect you`l still get the hole eventually it just may be to the detriment of your drill bit collection. If your using normal bitts maybe invest in 1 high quality bit just to see the difference.

 

[azza]

toymaker is right you don`t need carbide but I bought one just for stainless pilots and its lasted alot longer than regular. Im too lazy to sharpen bitts but its much more economical.

 

[matc]

All right then ! I'll sharpen my bit or I might buy a new one. I'm using 1/8" bits for pilot holes. Been working fine but what do you guys use ?

 

[Toymaker]

At work we do a lot of stainless steel industrial enclosures. We use standard drill bit 1/8 is a good pilot size. we also use all Greenlee punches with hand hydraulic power unit to punch holes. Working on stainless is hard on tooling. If you can sharpen a bit you can save a lot of money

 

[acidrain]

You absolutely could have work hardened the stainless.... it doesn't take much. If so, (if you haven't drilled through yet), you may want to abandon that hole and make a new one next to it.
Also, carbide is not the drill material of choice... Cobalt is.

 

[azza]

Sorry for my careless mistake I meant to say cobalt. Hope you didn`t already buy tungsten bitts.