Drilling through Stainless

[Ferguson]

Hi guys and gals,
Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving.

My question is about building my stock pot still.
I need to drill a 2" hole through the stainless steel stock pot lid.
SO: no problem gettin my hands on a 2" hole saw bit, but my drill is a wimpy Black and Decker 5.2 amp plug in model i got last year for around $40.
Think it will work?
I also need to drill some holes for the screws, so i can just get the right drill bit for the job, but do i need a more powerful drill to do it?

[jholmz]

it'll work just use some cutting fluid or you'll burn up the hole saw

[WalkingWolf]

Doesn't work as well as "cutting oil" but I've used WD-40. You'll need an assistant to squirt a small bit on the business end. You don't want it to get dry so it'll be a pretty consistant application. The other thing I've found when drilling heavy-duty stainless (such as a keg) is do not get in a rush. Put a reasonable amount of pressure, keep it lubed and let the bit cut it. If you really lean into thinking you'll semi-force it through you will be disappointed.

[bonehead]

if you are doing it outside one quater carisene to three quaters oil works wonders for drilling and sawing stainless. it stinks,smokes and is messy but we improved production around twenty percent with no difference in tool life.

[S-Cackalacky]

I used the hole saw to drill a hole in a piece of 1X6 wood. After this, I removed the pilot bit from the hole saw. Then, clamped the piece of wood onto the pot lid and used it for a guide. I used water to cool and lubricate the metal - just pour some in the hole. Drill slow with light pressure - it's like cutting butter. Takes about 30 seconds.

I used this technique for my heating element hole, my riser connection hole on a ss mixing bowl lid, and two holes in my thumper lid. Worked great.

S-C

[Truckinbutch]

You will be fine with what you got . Lube , slow , light pressure like everyone else has said . Gonna be lots easier than you think .

[Prairiepiss]

Just go slow.

[OBX Phantom]

High RPM's will only heat up the SS and "temper" (harden) it. Also the heat will dull the hole saw teeth. So like everyone said slow speed with moderate pressure, and cutting oil to help cool and lube it.

[Ferguson]

Thanks guys! I'll post pics next week

[Ferguson]

I like the idea of using the precut wood as a guide.

[Truckinbutch]

I like the idea of using the precut wood as a guide.

That works well . I have used that type jig many times to get an odd angle hole in both wood and metal as well as 90 degree fits .

[CuWhistle]

Best "handy" cutting fluid for SS with a HSS or Bimetal cutter is diluted milk. Full cream milk with water at 50/50 and go slow. You can also us Nestlé's or Carnation Evaporated Milk with water if you have it.

Do not use Condensed.

Give it a try. You'll be surprised. I recently had to make a transition plate to put a fuel gauge sender into a SS tank and I did it with a bi-metal hole saw and used diluted milk as the cutting fluid. Worked a treat.
Cut a 1/1/2" hole through 1/4" plate in no time by just using a little squirt bottle to keep it lubed up.

My dad is a shipwright and he showed me the properties of milk on SS years ago.

[OBX Phantom]

That is interesting cu whistle!!!

[shadylane]

The problem with stainless steel is it "self tempers" when over heated.
You start with a small drill bit and keep getting bigger. Before the hole is big enough, the drill bit and the SS are glowing a dull red.
The bit is shot, so you chuck up a new one and give it another try. No-Go the new drill bit can't cut the stainless any more.
The basic rules for drilling stainless are more coolant and pressure than normal, but at a slower speed.
The average, hand drill operator is probably doomed to failure.

A trick I found is to drill a pilot hole, then use a course rat tail or half moon file. This obviously isn't the most accurate may to make a round hole.
But with patience and skill you can get close enough.

[Stainless dude]

I'll throw in my two cents here. I've been working stainless for many years. For cutting stainless what I have found is lots of pressure, push like hell. The bit needs to be cutting or it will burn and have to be resharpened. Rapid tap cutting oil works fine, and anything is better than using nothing. But the best thing for cutting is a lube stick, which is kind of like a wax. I don't know what it is made of but works wonders. The stuff I use is made by lenox... The lube comes in a tube and just touch it to a spinning bit or hole saw, it works wonders....It also works great for bandsaw blades, skill saw blades ect..

[Ferguson]

Well, after all the worry it couldn't have been easier!
Took a hack saw and cut through the pot lid first though, then just bent the two halves around out of the way. Wish i had an angle grinder to just cut em off.
Used the homemade gasket popular here.
I used a 2" hole saw on my crappy drill. Too expensive!
I kept a spray bottle of water and kept spraying as i drilled, light pressure, medium speed. Locked up a couple times when i accidentally leaned to one side or the other, but after a couple minutes i had a nice hole.
Tough to file down the edges though.
I used a titanium drill bit for the screw holes.
Its a good and sturdy connection, though a bowl dome would have been better. I'll keep my eyes out for the right diameter.

Thanks for the help y'all!

[J_48_Johnson]

I made my 2" hole in the stainless by first using a 2" hole saw, VERY slowly just to marr the surface. After that, I used my Dremel tool with a standard cutting wheel and slowly walked it around where the hole saw mark was. I went slow but it came out fine.

[zombie911]

It is too late to help the OP here but this will help others. You need a Cobalt drill bit to cut Stainless. They are 7-8 times the cost but that is what they are made for. I have several in all the popular sizes, and have owned them for years.

I am a marine Mech. by day so this is what I do. Cut Stainless.

You can buy these bits at Ace/ Home Depot as well as just about everywhere else.

[Chroi]

I cut a perfect 2" hole in the top of a stainless keg using a crappy kawasaki cordless drill, Milwaukee bimetal hole saw and a garden hose trickling water over the cutting surface. Used the high torque setting and moderate pressure. No inadvertent heat treating

next time I'll give cutting oil a try but this seemed very easy

[Truckinbutch]

I cut a perfect 2" hole in the top of a stainless keg using a crappy kawasaki cordless drill, Milwaukee bimetal hole saw and a garden hose trickling water over the cutting surface. Used the high torque setting and moderate pressure. No inadvertent heat treating

next time I'll give cutting oil a try but this seemed very easy

Any kind of lube , even cow butter , slow with steady pressure and once you start cutting don't stop until it's done .

[Drunk-N-Smurf]

After burning up countless hole saws cutting holes in stainless warming pans at work, I've found the easiest way is to simply draw your hole, and cut it out with a pair of tin snips (good tin snips, not the hardware store brands, but Weiss or similar) and lefts and rights work better that straights.that's the red or green handles instead of the yellow. To start the hole, I use a step drill bit.

[zaph1]

High RPM's will only heat up the SS and "temper" (harden) it. Also the heat will dull the hole saw teeth. So like everyone said slow speed with moderate pressure, and cutting oil to help cool and lube it.

304SS doesn't harden, at <.08% it's not enough carbon. Second, contrary to legend, heating up steel that little would soften it, not harden it. If the stainless steel had enough carbon, it would have to heat to orange(around 1900° F) to convert stainless steel to it's martensitic state(hardened). 304 or 18/8 stainless don't have enough carbon to achieve a martensitic state.


Something this thin, my first choice would be a set of nibblers followed by tin-snips. I regularly use a 10 amp low-RPM saw for 1" holes. A high-RPM drill will not have much torque and when it starts to cut will slow to a stop and burn out the motor. You'd be better off with a cordless drill on high-torque setting. A drill press would be considerably better. Most corded drills only have high-RPM setting and are completely unsuitable for the task at hand.

[Prairiepiss]

I have three regular old bosh holesaws. I bought from Lowes. I have one for element ports one for 2" Ferrules and one for 3/4" fittings. Oh and one for 3/8" fittings. I have used the hell out of them. Built three still boilers. And three electric beer kettles. And used them for other stuff too. I could go down right now and use any of them to cut a hole in a keg.

Just go slow. And don't let it heat up to much on you. If it heats up. Stop and let it cool off. Oh and I don't even use oil. You go to fast it will heat it up to much. And it will dull the hell out of the holesaw.

[Stew8]

This is my attempt at a 3” hole using grit, water and slow revs.
https://youtu.be/AfL6KbBuBTU
When it’s attached I’ll update the thread