Drilling Holes In Stainless Steel Sheet Metal

Because so many people ask how to drill through stainless steel we decided to dedicate a page to this topic.

Drilling holes in stainless steel sheet metal. Here is the right way to drill stainless steel. Stainless steel also known as inox steel is an alloy of steel with a minimum of around 10 5 chromium based on its mass it is known for its corrosion resistance high heat resistance and high ductility. Many people have drilled holes into plain old steel with satisfactory results. Drilling through stainless steel is much like drilling through any other type of metal but with a few key differences.

There are also other steps to drilling this material that will make the process easier. When stainless steel work hardens it becomes very hard and extremely difficult to drill. If you ll be drilling a lot of holes or need to drill through hard abrasive metals like stainless steel or cast iron spend a couple bucks more for black oxide or a cobalt steel drill bit for metal. Nylon sheet plate.

Steve parente shows how to easily drill large holes in stainless with a step bit. Stainless is actually a relatively soft metal at least in its initial state. You start off by drilling a small diameter pilot hole and then drill gradually larger holes until you get. The least expensive twist bits are made of high speed steel hss and these basic bits are just fine for most metal drilling tasks.

These characteristics of stainless steel make it quite difficult to cut or drill. 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. What stainless tends to do is work harden fairly quickly when heated and drilling at high speed creates a lot of heat. Drilling a hole in sheet metal with a twist drill is a rather straightforward operation.