Drilling Holes In Sheet Metal

At the left is the hole just started and starting to drill some of the diameter.

Drilling holes in sheet metal.

Drilling a hole in sheet metal with a twist drill is a rather straightforward operation. Since this is a small hole a normal drill bit will work well in the sheet metal without extra precautions. Than drill a smaller hole to guide the final drill bit. In essence drilling metal is no different than drilling wood.

Place the drill bit in your drill and tighten it so it s held firmly in your drill. The smaller drill bit puts less pressure on the metal and allows you to drill larger holes easier later on. Simply sandwich the sheet metal between two pieces of wood and clamp everything down on a table or workbench. Drilling into galvanized metal is no different than drilling a hole in standard carbon metal with the exception that the protective zinc coating does not protect the drilled hole.

Sheet metal drills a pdf test drill a hole. For holes up to 19mmø i would suggest starting with a piece approximately 100mm 4. For example if you want the hole to be 1 2 inch 1 3 cm at the end start by drilling a hole that s 1 4 inch 0 64 cm. You set the drill bit in place push the button and press the bit into the material you re drilling.

The center is about half way through the 050 thickness with the point already through the material. At the lower right. The material your drill bit is made of. To drill a round hole in thin sheet metal take a piece of cloth for example an corner of an old tea towel cut into squares an old flannel or anything you don t mind cutting into squares and throwing in the bin once you have your nice round hole.

Piercing cutting and drilling sheet metal is an integral part of metalsmithing. But there are two main differences. This can cause corrosion rust to form in and around the hole. It may seem daunting at first something as simple as learning how to cut a hole in sheet metal can seem like a tall order.

But once you get to know the tools whatever your budget and how to use them you can start creating holes in sheet metal quickly and accurately. The diameter of this pilot hole should be slightly larger than the chisel length picture below of the final bit. For clean precise holes in thin sheet metal make a wood sandwich. The wooden bread layers of the sandwich keep the sheet metal flat and prevent the drill bit from wandering as it bores through the sheet metal.

When drilling thin sheet metal clamp the metal over a piece of sacrificial plywood or other flat sheet good like mdf or particleboard to help prevent the bit from tearing up the hole. For the cleanest hole clamp a second piece on top of the metal making a sacrificial sandwich.