Thickness of pot for Kettle mount elements?

[bruin_ale]

and I know I mentioned this earlier, but you must use cutting oil or some type of lubricant. I was just drilling pilot holes with no oil on my steel stand and the bit basically heat up and did nothing. Applied a bit of cutting oil to a new bit and it went through like butter.. Keeps the bit cool, keeps the stainless cooler, keeps your bit sharp.

 

[bruin_ale]

Oh, and might want to check out this thread if you're not in a hurry.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f170/greenlee-knockout-punch-lend-1-1-4-a-211010/

 

[CidahMastah]

Awesome - thanks for that thread. - good to restate the oil bit - I was aware of this and have done lots of metal cuts with lube. However - never cut 1 1/4 hole in stainless

Jumped on the lend list, will see if I am patient enought to wait!

 

[Bobby_M]

More notes on step bits.... Drill a 1/4" pilot hole with a regular spiral bit. Then switch to the step. I usually cut the bottom 2" off a water bottle and fill it with some generic motor oil. Dip the bit, cut the first two steps. Dip it in the oil an swish it around a bit (cooling). Drill the next two steps, repeat.

Hole saws work really quickly but they do wander a small amount making a rough hole about 1/16" larger than the bit is rated at. I still use an undersized one to make the first pass of a much larger hole and I'll go to the step bit for the last step or so.

I've also successfully jammed a piece of scrap 4x4 wood inside the kettle under where I'm cutting, using wedge shims to lock it in, and the hole saw's pilot just keeps having something to hold it centered.

 

[CidahMastah]

Great tips Bobby - much appreciated!

1/16 isn't bad..., unless you are a perfectionist like me
Looks like a two pronged approach might be in order.

 

[JPicasso]

My friend of a friend is not actually able to get my pot done, and the cost of a shop doing it is more than I paid for a pot. So DIY here I go.

I'm ordering this 1 inch tap from amazon and am going to try and thread this myself. Worse comes to worst, I drill out the hole and use the soldered locknut idea.

So if I'm attempting to thread at 1 inch (11- 1/2) NPS, what size hole do I need? 7/8 inch? 15/16 inch? Something like that? I need to pick up a step bit or hole saw also, not sure what size I'd need. I would think the step bit opackaging would tell me, but I might just order these at the same time.

Thanks

 

[CidahMastah]

My friend of a friend is not actually able to get my pot done, and the cost of a shop doing it is more than I paid for a pot. So DIY here I go.

I'm ordering this 1 inch tap from amazon and am going to try and thread this myself. Worse comes to worst, I drill out the hole and use the soldered locknut idea.

So if I'm attempting to thread at 1 inch (11- 1/2) NPS, what size hole do I need? 7/8 inch? 15/16 inch? Something like that? I need to pick up a step bit or hole saw also, not sure what size I'd need. I would think the step bit opackaging would tell me, but I might just order these at the same time.

Thanks

Is your pot aluminum?

Honestly I don't think you will be able to get enough thread out of the thickness in your pot to make it worth it. I know with my pot there was definitely not enough side wall thickness to thread it (if you want to tighten the thread to any degree).

I think you should skip that tap and just go with your hole and soldering idea.

I would do it the same for any tap - you cut the hole 1/8-1/16 smaller than your desired hole. So start with a 7/8 or 15/16 sized hole (go with the smaller hole first).

 

[JPicasso]

Yes, AL, 6mm (...)

I think I'm going to go ahead and try to thread it. NPS threads seem pretty coarse, so I think 7/8 is what I want then. Thanks for the info on that, last time I used a tap was in High School(!!)

My neighbor is a contractor and has a press, he said he'd help if I picked up the parts and ruined my own bits.

 

[CidahMastah]

Yes, AL, 6mm (...)

I think I'm going to go ahead and try to thread it. NPS threads seem pretty coarse, so I think 7/8 is what I want then. Thanks for the info on that, last time I used a tap was in High School(!!)

My neighbor is a contractor and has a press, he said he'd help if I picked up the parts and ruined my own bits.

Aluminum is soft - I think you shouldn't have a problem threading it. Just get a long handled ratchet or similar and go slow steady and keep your die true at 90 degrees to the pot.

The drilling should be pretty easy - just do the dip in oil thing as per Bobby's comment above. It worked really well for me.

Also - since you only get one shot at this - you can try drilling a hole through scrap wood or sheet metal first - to check the fit of the die before you do your pot. Since you are getting a step drill, you should be able to jsut check as you go. Just make your you leave it undersized enough and you have the right threading for your element.

Good luck!