Where to find drill bit?

[tnhomestead]

Need to drill some 1 inch holes, cant afford an annular cutter, will be drilling thru 1 inch steel. Any suggestions on bits? Only need a couple dozen holes over time. Thnx

[tresi]

Mc Master-Carr, Msc, Enco, Lowes, Home depot, or any good hardware store.

[DSW]

Slow rpms, and preferably done in a drill press or with a mag drill. You need to keep an even pressure on the bit to keep it cutting. Hand held drills can take you for a ride and be quite dangerous if the bit grabs as it breaks thru.

[tnhomestead]

Think I misstated, was wondering what type(and where) of drill bit ie will a hole saw work, or do I need to buy a 1 in bit? But the ideas on where to look for them is a help, I live in nowheresville! Will be using my big drill press as slow as I can get it, need to drill some 1 in steel for a log splitter> THnx~!!!

[DSW]

I've used both hole saws and standard bits. I'd use a standard drill bit given a choice. They seem to hold up better than holesaws in the long run.

[bartels_metal_works]

Originally Posted by DSW

I've used both hole saws and standard bits. I'd use a standard drill bit given a choice. They seem to hold up better than holesaws in the long run.

Plus a 1 inch drill bit is easy to sharpen on a bench grinder when need be.

[DougAustinTX]

LOTS of cutting oil added at regular intervals using regular pointed drill bits. Drill small pilot holes and then graduate upward with larger and larger bits until the largest hole is achieved. Drill slowly with considerable force.

[DesertRider33]

With regular drill bits, I would drill that in at least 4 graduating steps. As much money as you'll spend on drill bits and drilling time, it may be more economical to go ahead and buy the annular cutter instead.

[Bikespot]

How thick of steel is it your drill through. If its not that thick you can go with a hole saw.

Type of bit depends on your drilling device? What are you going to use a hand drill? Drill press? Mag base? Theres too many variables.

[TSOR]

I've cut hundreds of 1" holes through 3/4 steel using hole saws. Quick and easy. Usually get 30-40 holes cut before the saw needs replacement.

[rlitman]

A regular 1" twist drill should work fine. Bi-metal hole saw would be my second choice.
With a twist drill, don't try to do this in several steps. Just two steps is ideal.
First, drill a hole the size of the web of the larger bit (with a 1" bit, that's in the neighborhood of 5/16"). Then drill it full size. If you drill much larger than the web, the large bit will chatter and wobble,

[dougspair]

....I second the motion of the post before mine....I've drilled thousands of holes in plate up to 4" thick...with 1" or larger drill bits...
Holesaws...30-40 holes per saw....kinda' pricey when you pay $15-20+ for one holesaw (that you can't even sharpen)....buy a good drill bit with 1/2" shank...I like Precision Twist Drill...they are available from machinery tool stores...around $30-35 for a 1" unit....then drill the smaller pilot...run the bigger drill couple hundred rpm....keep it oiled...the plain black oxide drills last quite well...
I've gotten 50-100 or more holes out of a drill like this before needing the sharpening....drilled a whole lot of plate and wide flange I beams like this....
If you don't have big enough drill press...you can probably rent a mag base unit...really saves the time and energy....and with the mag-base you can use the annular type cutter, but they're pretty expensive...very fast though, as you're only removing a small percentage of the material from the plate...compared to a drilling operation.

[pinjas]

Originally Posted by DougAustinTX

LOTS of cutting oil added at regular intervals using regular pointed drill bits. Drill small pilot holes and then graduate upward with larger and larger bits until the largest hole is achieved. Drill slowly with considerable force.

I second this. Very important, it wouldn't take more than a moment to destroy a drill bit if used incorrectly upon metal, this might be slightly different if your drill bit was made of some kind of tungsten carbide, but it would certainly dull without a double. Slow and lots of oil.

[tnhomestead]

Cool, thanks all for the info, been years since I did this stuff(30plus)! Will look for the 1 inch bit and use lots of oil! Will do the 2 step routine too!!! Thnx for starting me the right way!

[denrep]

Originally Posted by tnhomestead

. . .Will look for the 1 inch bit and use lots of oil!. . .

Better yet - Some oil, and lots of water.

[knob rabbit]

Drill chatter will be your biggest enemy and drill grabbing your work piece a close second if you don' clamp your work down tight. Pilot holes and slow speed with steady pressure as others have suggested should get er done.

[farmersamm]

Step drilling works fine with old style drill bits with more than 2 flutes. Yeah, you used to be able to buy these.

Step drill with a 2 flute bit, and the torque at the end of the drilling cycle(hole punch thru) will tear the bit out of the chuck, or tear the electric drill out of yur hands. Or tear up the ends of the bit.

Pilot hole the size of the "dead" portion of the bit, and press hard, and be patient.

Step drilling can be very grabby.

[hvw]

I didn't know what an annular cutter was and was curious so I looked on Ebay. Seems to be pretty reasonably priced when compared to regular drill bits that size. If they'll fit your drill press that is.

_

[hvw]

I didn't know what an annular cutter was and was curious so I looked on Ebay. Seems pretty reasonable when compared to regular drill bits that size. If it will fit your drill press that is.

http://cgi.ebay.com/CYCLONE-PREMIUM-...item5636a64cd7

[farmersamm]

Annular cutters be the bomb. Fairly reasonable from some sellers on Ebay,, but bear in mind that you also have to buy a holder for the cutter that will fit your drill press (Morse taper), or your mill(R8). good one can cost almost 80 dollars

[farmersamm]

Denrep brought up a very good point, in his short hand sorta way

Water can be a very good coolant, and a lubricant to some degree. Only trouble with water is the rust factor. Not a problem in hand held tools, but a problem in mills, and presses.

If you see steam coming off of the water/oil (well, smoke if it's oil), your coolant is doing what it is supposed to do. Dissipate heat. Heat is the enemy of your cutting surface.

[tnhomestead]

Wonder if I can get an adapter to run those in a regular drillpress,have a mt3 spindle I believe(can handle a 5/8 shaft), prices are a lot better than other ones I saw! THanks for that info!

[Sandy]

Originally Posted by tnhomestead

Wonder if I can get an adapter to run those in a regular drillpress,have a mt3 spindle I believe(can handle a 5/8 shaft), prices are a lot better than other ones I saw! THanks for that info!

See if this includes your taper. This is just an example of what's available. The annulars of the 1" hole size variety are generally a 3/4" shank.



http://www.jancy.com/index.cfm?fusea...t&productid=59

[Brad Blazer]

www.travers.com
Product Description Price Each
26-035-555 10816 #3MT X 2-3/8 HOLE W/O COOL'T INDCR HOUGEN 88.60 EA

26-035-551 10806 #3MT X 2-3/8 HOLE W/ COOL'T INDUCER HOUGEN 166.87

Pricey, especially with the coolant adapter. The 2-3/8" dimension is the maximum recommended hole diameter.

[farmersamm]

Forget all the fancy crap. You don't need special coolant thingys.

Use flood coolant, and take the dam thing outta the hole once in a while to let the coolant cool the teeth, and fill the hole bore

Called the pecking method. Drill, pull it out, let it cool off with the coolant washing over it, the reinsert in the hole bore. Do this in short cycles, and the tool will last for a very long time