Cutting 2" hole in thick stainless steel tank?

[YankeeShine]

Anyone know a good way to cut a 2" hole in a thick (amybe a little thicker than a keg) stainless steel tank? Will a bi-metal hole saw work? Drill a bunch of small holes and then try a jigsaw? Blast a hole with the 12 gauge?

[acfixer69]

All of your mentions will work results will vary.

AC

[Halfbaked]

diamond tipped hole saw. fairly expensive though

[squeezins]

The hole saw will work just fine as long as you don't turn it too fast. Keep lots of pressure on it and lube it with blade wax or any type of cutting oil and it should so fine. I have cut literally thousands of feet of stainless with bi metal blades.

[mystakilla]

Keeping the hole saw wet with just water works great also.

[Richard7]

If none of the above work I recommend 00buck in the 12 gauge but don't forget your safety glasses lol. I don't thing you will have to go that far. A good wet hole saw should go through just fine.

[Soggy Bottom Boy]

2" bi-metal hole saw, 85 RPM or slower, constant pressure. Using a drill press would be better than a hand drill, for keeping the pressure on the cut. 304SS eats tools if you run too fast.

[johnhopper1957]

If you have access to it a plasma cutter works well...... or hole saw as an alternative....

[S-Cackalacky]

A good bi-metal hole saw works OK. I've seen it written other places on HD to start with a smaller metal drill bit and work your way up to the pilot bit on the hole saw. This didn't work for me - could have just been my cheap-assed drill bits. As others have said, use low rpm with lots of pressure to get the pilot bit through. After the pilot bit breaks through, lighten up on the pressure and the teeth of the hole saw will eat through the ss in a very short time. I had a second person spraying water during the drilling process. It's important to keep the ss cool.

Oh, and be sure to eat your spinach before you start - just sayin'.
S-C

[toast860]

i think 00 buck shot would give you more holes then you need but a slug seems like a good size then just beat something thru it to it flares out. also please post pics. i would like to compare.

[jholmz]

i marked mine out drilled a hole at the line then used a jigsaw to cut out the hole . you have to take it slow and keep the blade cool with water but worked good. just used a ketchup bottle with water to squirt the blade once in a while

[Da Yooper]

If you have access to it a plasma cutter works well...... or hole saw as an alternative....

Be sure to put as much water as possible in the keg before cutting with the plasma, otherwise you"ll spend more time cleaning then it took to build the whole boiler.

[Halfbaked]

yea what squeezin says. a slow with lube to keep from over heating and preasure. A drill press would be better than a drill but if you are drilling a milk tank i doubt you will be able to do that. They make a drill press that you mound on your metal by electromagnet. I doubt you have one though. Very expensive and If you had eq like that you would def not be asking your question. Plasma great also and lots easier but I am sure you don't have one of those either. If you know someone that has one and do it for free I would do that over drill. Hole saw prob $20-$30. Do it right (a slow with lube to keep from over heating and preasure) you might get 2 or more holes with it.

[S-Cackalacky]

A good bi-metal hole saw works OK. I've seen it written other places on HD to start with a smaller metal drill bit and work your way up to the pilot bit on the hole saw. This didn't work for me - could have just been my cheap-assed drill bits. As others have said, use low rpm with lots of pressure to get the pilot bit through. After the pilot bit breaks through, lighten up on the pressure and the teeth of the hole saw will eat through the ss in a very short time. I had a second person spraying water during the drilling process. It's important to keep the ss cool.

Oh, and be sure to eat your spinach before you start - just sayin'.
S-C

Just remembered - Some folks here on HD have also recommended using the hole saw to drill a hole in a piece of wood. For a 2" hole, maybe a 1" X 6" piece of wood. Then, clamp the piece of wood to the ss surface and use the hole in the wood as the guide for the hole saw - that is, remove the pilot bit and just use the part with the teeth. This should make the process much easier and faster. Wish I had remembered this method before doing mine.

S-C

[Big Stogie]

I drill the pilot hole and then turn the drill bit around in the arbor so the cutting part does not touch the keg then the pilot hole does not get oval and sloppy and the cut is MUCH easier
B.S.

[Soggy Bottom Boy]

I drill the pilot hole and then turn the drill bit around in the arbor so the cutting part does not touch the keg then the pilot hole does not get oval and sloppy and the cut is MUCH easier
B.S.

Some of the new pilot drill bits that come in the hole saw kits have 3 flats on the shank (like spade bits do), so that won't work for some. I use a blank (no cutting flutes) 1/4" drill rod to do just what you suggested, especially when cutting holes in thin material to avoid making the pilot hole oversized and sloppy, which keeps the hole saw from dancing around and chattering, resulting in a better, smoother, rounder hole when you're done.

[CuWhistle]

Now here is something that none of you have mentioned yet but it is something shown to me years ago by an old boiler maker. When drilling or cutting SS, use milk as your cutting fluid. I only ever used normal bottled full cream milk and it worked pretty well. Of course Aquasol (water soluble cutting fluid oil) would be better if you have it. I just Googled it (so as not to make a complete ass of myself here) and one guy recommends evaporated milk.

Another bloke says condensed milk but I imagine that would be a bit of a sticky mess.

[armstrong]

hole saw will work great just take your time and use lots of lube ! LOL !

[Halfbaked]

I jsut read http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... =2&t=36347 and it looks like Soggybottom has the cheaper way to do it. I think SB said under 85 rpns truckinbutch uses a bimetal hole saw. There is a great video that he posted on silver soldering stainless also.

[Black Eye]

Becareful with that 2" hole saw if you use a bigger HP drill, like a hammer drill with a 1/2" chuck, especially in Stainless. If that thing grabs quick it can really ruin your weekend. Slow and Steady with lots of lube and try to really stablize your barrel when drilling.

Stainless is good for food handeling..... miserable for Metal working, If I never had to deal with it again I'd be a happy camper.

[whetstone]

A very good friend of mine is a stainless fabricator by trade, and also happens to be the guy who provided most of the tools and expertise for my build. I noticed during the process that the plasma cutter is his go-to tool for almost every cut...

[YankeeShine]

Thanks for the advice. A $10 hole saw did the trick. I have a big drill press and the troat was just big enough. The bit bound often but it worked out OK. I just used some WD 40 for lube/coolant. Soldering was a different story. I had to solder the 2" sanitiary ferrul 4 times before it worked. The secret was tinning first. Thanks again.

[Truckinbutch]

Thanks for the advice. A $10 hole saw did the trick. I have a big drill press and the troat was just big enough. The bit bound often but it worked out OK. I just used some WD 40 for lube/coolant. Soldering was a different story. I had to solder the 2" sanitiary ferrul 4 times before it worked. The secret was tinning first. Thanks again.

Glad it worked out . I really like the fact that you have enough initiative to try again and again when something fails to work the first time .

[rgarry]

Just bumping up since I'm going to try this with my 20 gal pot so I can add a drain valve to it.

[YankeeShine]

Status update - The solder failed at the 2” sanitary fitting. I thought it was on their good but it didn’t pass the leak test. Luckily I met someone who can weld stainless. Took him two minutes and looks professional. I’d still try soldering stainless again, but it’s probably not worth the hassle if you can find a welder.

[Truckinbutch]

Status update - The solder failed at the 2” sanitary fitting. I thought it was on their good but it didn’t pass the leak test. Luckily I met someone who can weld stainless. Took him two minutes and looks professional. I’d still try soldering stainless again, but it’s probably not worth the hassle if you can find a welder.

Gotta agree on that .