Drilling Holes In Stainless Steel Sheet Metal

These characteristics of stainless steel make it quite difficult to cut or drill.

Drilling holes in stainless steel sheet metal.

Stainless is actually a relatively soft metal at least in its initial state. Drilling through stainless steel is much like drilling through any other type of metal but with a few key differences. Using high speed drill bits or better is mandatory. Certainly of all the metals out there stainless steel is the one that seems to cause most problems for people when it comes to drilling.

If the metal to be drilled is less than 3mm thick it may be possible to use a single bit to achieve the desired size hole however if the metal is thicker it is recommended to start with a bit half the size of the desired hole diameter for an initial hole and then step up to the final size drill for a. Because so many people ask how to drill through stainless steel we decided to dedicate a page to this topic. Here is the right way to drill stainless steel. What stainless tends to do is work harden fairly quickly when heated and drilling at high speed creates a lot of heat.

When stainless steel work hardens it becomes very hard and extremely difficult to drill. You start off by drilling a small diameter pilot hole and then drill gradually larger holes until you get. After starting out with a bi metal bit and not having much success steve l. Drilling a hole in sheet metal with a twist drill is a rather straightforward operation.

There are also other steps to drilling this material that will make the process easier. Many people have drilled holes into plain old steel with satisfactory results. Steve parente shows how to easily drill large holes in stainless with a step bit. Nylon sheet plate.