How to drill Stainless Steel (thick or thin) with PICS

[setmash]

Several people have contacted me asking for a guide on how to drill holes in stainless steel after seeing my brewery build pics. I made a right mess of it to start with but after some advice from Scotia I was drilling with ease.

You will need:

Battery drill
Good Cobalt drill bits 3.2mm http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190517612236? ... 1439.l2649 These are great - you wont need 10 but its good to have some backups and they are cheap.
Step bits http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/400624040210? ... 1439.l2649
Cutting oil/wax (some people use WD40)
Blue masking tape - much better than the cheap paper white stuff
Pin punch and hammer
Finger metal file
Psychologist to answer 'why did i used to find this so damn hard to do'

I will drill two holes - one 32mm and one 14mm.

You will need to apply a fair bit of pressure (guide - half body weight) on to the drill so place your vessle on the ground. Turn it on its side and wedge so it cant move too much (good idea to put some cardboard down to protect it). Apply the tape and mark a center line.



Mark the two hole positions



Using a pin punch make a SINGLE hard strike to each hole position center




Set your drill to slow speed MAX torque



Dip drill bit in cutting oil. Position drill at center of hole apply half body weight and depress trigger - speed is the tricky bit, dont go too fast but also not too slow either or it wont cut. My best result is with my drill on its slowerst setting but full speed at that setting (bit less with step bits)



You can see we are starting to cut (little twirls of metal appearing, some nice hot metal noises). No rush, take a rest - apply some more oil. Continue



Just about to go through



Once through you can widen with more drill bits if you have them or move straight to a step bit



Put cutting oil on the step bit. Insert in the hole and off we go again. The step bit may jerk the drill, dont be scared but dont force it either. Bit of an action shot this so its blurred (heavy SLR in one hand drilling with the other !)



Every time the step bit drops up a step then stop drilling. Add more oil. Start drilling again.



Awwww we are nearly done, and i was enjoying it so much...



Peel the tape off and clean up. Need to remove all the burring or the seals will leak. Get a small file and file down on the inside AND out. Make sure your holes are lovely and smooth...only takes a minute.



And there we have it, two gorgeous holes drilled in to a 1.8mm thick stainless keg



Remember: Cutting oil. Not too fast and not too slow. Dont be a whoosy, put some pressure on or you will work harden the steel making the job a lot harder.

[Frothy]

Great guide - is there a reason for the tape?

[joe1002]

Great guide setmash

Great guide - is there a reason for the tape?

To mark the line and stop the drill bits slipping at first I suspect.

[setmash]

Thanks. Yes the tape is dual purpose, marking the hole positions and to prevent the bits from slithering all over the place when you first start the drilling.

[Rick_UK]

Really useful post Setmash. One I wish was there when I drilled my thermopot!

The hard bit for me was getting the initial pilot hole drilled, having snapped 2 x 2mm titanium bits which didn't even make a scratch, I ended up making a hole with a hammer and nail then in with a cheapo 4mm bit and the step bit to 22mm. Once the initial hole was there and the bit had something to bite into the rest was plain sailing. I think the more polished SS has a harder coating which is harder to drill through.

I made the mistake of buying a q-max cutter then realised it was no use with double skinned pots so had to also buy a step bit. Don't think I'll ever use the q-max if anyone on here is interested?

Lovely looking keg btw!