Best Drill Bit for 1" Diameter Hole in 6x6 Angle - 3/4 Thick

[Lis2323]

How many holes?

Find someone with a 65 ton or bigger ironworker and they will make easy work of that. My 65 ton will just handle it. 1 1/16 in 3/4, but my 90 ton will do 1 1/4 in 1"

If not, a mag drill is the way to go.

this is gonna sound bizarre but i actually "forget" about this (iron worker) option.

and not as if the IW is tucked away in the bottom drawer

too many years of automatically using the drill press

[Shootr]

Good news, a buddy at a machine shop will do it for $25/hole. 2 hour drive but worth it.

[VaughnT]

I'm with Baron here. Just man up and drill the holes. If you can't hold onto a puny lil' drill, showing it who the boss really is, well....


Of course, the other part of me is saying this is a grand opportunity to "justify" buying a mag drill.

Annular cutters are awesome and you should have a huge collection of them just to stare at when you're smoking a stogey on the back porch. Justification to buy a new tool.... especially one that has a big ol' magnet.... well, how can you say no to that? it's a mag drill!!

Evolution just came out with a tiny little mag drill that's just so cute. Abom79 showed it on his channel not too long back and it looks great for your kind of operation. Don't know if it's big enough to drill that size hole, but even if it isn't.... that's just "justification" for buying an even bigger mag drill.

Sounds like a win-win-win situation to me.

Always glad to spend someone else's money!!

[whtbaron]

Good news, a buddy at a machine shop will do it for $25/hole. 2 hour drive but worth it.

How many holes?

[M J D]

Annular cutters take quite a bit less power to run than the same size twist drill. Also they can be run at a higher speed than the same size twist drill. Main thing is keep it cool and a fairly rigid setup is a must.

[whtbaron]

Thats just an early version of the B&D 1/2" rebranded for Sears. My big (Newer) B&D 1/2" is branded Craftsman. Main reason for buying it was the AC/DC rating. Got an old Souix brand 3/8" single speed from a garage sale for the same reason. No more SA200's so AC/DC is not an issue anymore.
Oh, dont let your guys plug a battery charger or an expensive A/C vacuum pump into an SA either... Grrr.

This one specifically says AC only... never even noticed that in the fine print before. It is geared down to 575 rpm with 4.8 amp draw. One of the main reasons for using it was that it was slower turning than most of my other corded drills...

[Lis2323]

Good news, a buddy at a machine shop will do it for $25/hole. 2 hour drive but worth it.

How many holes?

yes. that is a critical question

a two hour drive isn't something i would do willingly.

no one nearby with a msg drill?

[Woznme]

Tungsten carbide hole saw will do it easy with your drill. I have a set and they're very handy for odd jobs. Best in a drill press. For multiple holes I get out the mag drill and annular cutters.
I have drilled 1" with twist drills long ago which made me sad.

[TJS]

25 bux a hole. Let's say it takes him a minute to drill one hole. I know all about set up but on a mill it is easy. So give him 1.5 per hole. That is a pretty good hourly rate. Send that job my way. 2 hour ride though ?

[djd775]

I agree that it depends on how many holes. For a handful of holes or less, I wouldn’t be shy to do it with a bi-metal hole saw. Low speed, lots of pressure, lots of oil. Remove the pilot bit and replace it with a 1/4” drill blank or hardened pin to keep the hole from wandering. Just pre-drill 1/4” pilot hole and then take your time with the hole saw. A bit of compressed air will cool and evacuate chips as you drill.

If it’s a lot of holes, take the $25/hole and buy a mag drill.


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[whtbaron]

If he's gonna drive anyway, I'll do it with the Sears for $24/hole... I assume it's the guy buying the angle that's footing the bill...

[smithdoor]

Some one good with torch will holes done . A little paint and washer it will look great.

Dave

If he's gonna drive anyway, I'll do it with the Sears for $24/hole... I assume it's the guy buying the angle that's footing the bill...

[Sberry]

I do this all the time. I did 4 of these in inch total, about 5 minutes drill with a hole saw per hole with a few drops of water as coolant. 4 hole including a coffee about 30 minutes. n The 1 1/8 in the second pic very similar, 3 drops of rapid tap per 1/8 inch and as fast as 40 seconds to go thru the 3/8. Lots of ways to do this, none safer or easier. NONE, fuksticking with those big bits and heavy drills is sort of,,,, I dont know what to say to be kind about it but can and DO this with a battery drill. Goes double and then some to diy.

[whtbaron]

But in fairness, he is talking 3/4" steel. What brand of hole saw are you using?

[Lis2323]

Has the question regarding the number of holes been addressed yet?

Makes a big diff it it’s just a couple or a series of them needing to be drilled with accurate spacing

And o/a length of material. Something that is manageable to be set on a mill or?

And pics!


Note***why am I asking all these questions. This is Oldiron’s job


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[whtbaron]

Quick answer... nope.

[Shootr]

6 holes total. End customer pays the bill + my margin. Company pays for the truck and gas. And I keep a valued customer locked into my level of service, to the tune of six figure sales per year.

[SweetMK]

The real trick to easy large hole drilling is power down feed.
This drill press has four settings for the down feed,, the lowest being either .004 or .006 inches per revolution.
(I only ever used the lowest setting, I think the higer settings are for aluminum,, etc,,??)



Anyways, that pic is drilling a 3/4" hole in 1" thick steel,,
Last week, I drilled a 1 1/8" hole in 3/4" thick steel,, I did pre-drill with a 3/4" bit, just so as to not abuse the 1 1/8" bit.

I have had a power feed drill for 22 years,, it is a miracle,,, I used to drill 1" holes in 1/2" bars,, six at a time, stacked in a vise.
(That was like drilling through 3" thick steel)
We did thousands of those per year.
Flip the power feed lever, and wait for the drill bit to show through the bottom.

[Oldiron2]

Has the question regarding the number of holes been addressed yet?

Makes a big diff it it’s just a couple or a series of them needing to be drilled with accurate spacing

And o/a length of material. Something that is manageable to be set on a mill or?

And pics!


Note***why am I asking all these questions. This is Oldiron’s job

{Post 4 } If you only have a few holes to drill and your 1/2" drill motor is reliable and slow-speed, using twist bits in stages, maybe 1/4", 1/2", 3/4" and finally 1" (the last two being reduced-shank) would work, if you're careful and control pressure so it cuts but doesn't grab. If you had to buy all the bits, it might not be the cheapest. Are the holes for pins, bolts or something else and how close should they be to 1"?

I don't have a business, but likely have bits I could use on my Bridgeport and could use a boring head to get off-size holes, if wanted.

I mentioned the hole number in Post 4 and also asked about the precision needed; others later directly asked how many holes were needed. So far, the OP hasn't answered most, if any, questions posed. As for the length of material, based on the application I assume they're relatively short, not 20' beams.

Maybe I'm cheap, but paying $25 a hole and driving two hours to get it done seems ridiculous to me. Ignoring the money aspect, just the time, the gas and the drive itself would be more hassle then setting up the heavy old (#203) Post drill to do it:

[Shootr]

84" long. All the answers to the other questions are above and in the title.

[Shootr]

Regarding hand drilling: My ancient wrist breaker has a 12" power cord. In the past I would brace as best I could using an underhand grip. The extension cord would be secured relatively tight. If (when) the drill caught, it would push through my fingers, pul the cord on the way around, and then reset and do it again.

My question really was what type bit gives me the best option. It would have been a courtesy/favor for the customer, but didn't want to burn through multiple hole saw if I misused them.

Appreciate all the info and the time to add your experience.

[scsmith42]

Attachment 1742634

Oh quit being such a bunch of pansies... we're here to torture metal. It's just black iron and it's "only" 3/4" thick. My biggest twist drill with the 1/2" shank is a 1 1/4". Until I got my drill presses maybe 15 yrs ago, my only options were the man-killer B-Dit...

I have one of those 3/4” B&D drills. The guys at the radio tower manufacturer I used to work for nicknamed it “ Son of Kong”. They would borrow it when a mistake had been made on some leg flanges and they had to drill them oversized after the flanges had been welded to the tower legs.

They would put the biggest guy in the shop on the job (300 lbs), and it would still give him a workout.

Nowadays I love my Hougen mag drill!

[TJS]

I mentioned the hole number in Post 4 and also asked about the precision needed; others later directly asked how many holes were needed. So far, the OP hasn't answered most, if any, questions posed. As for the length of material, based on the application I assume they're relatively short, not 20' beams.

Maybe I'm cheap, but paying $25 a hole and driving two hours to get it done seems ridiculous to me. Ignoring the money aspect, just the time, the gas and the drive itself would be more hassle then setting up the heavy old (#203) Post drill to do it:

Driving 2 hours in AZ. I am sure there are many machine shops along that drive that would be willing to do that job. 150 bux in 20 min. There are a lot of marine shops and rockcrawler shops in Az that come to mind.

[bead-boy]

Gee, for not too much more money, you could have your own mag drill when done with this job :

[smithdoor]

New and [GREEN] and will keep fit too.

Dave

I mentioned the hole number in Post 4 and also asked about the precision needed; others later directly asked how many holes were needed. So far, the OP hasn't answered most, if any, questions posed. As for the length of material, based on the application I assume they're relatively short, not 20' beams.

Maybe I'm cheap, but paying $25 a hole and driving two hours to get it done seems ridiculous to me. Ignoring the money aspect, just the time, the gas and the drive itself would be more hassle then setting up the heavy old (#203) Post drill to do it: