I need to drill a 20 mm hole through a 2.5 mm thick piece of aluminum. Is this doable with a step bit and a hand drill? Or would it be a better idea to just buy a 20 mm drill bit?
>>2996371Also I understand the obvious answer is "just try it" but I don't have a step bit or a 20 mm drill bit. I just have a set of imperial bits that run up to 1/2".
>>2996371Yes, you can use a step drill. Practically what they're made for. Soft, squishy Al will pose no problems.
>>2996378OP could drill one side of his aluminum piece half thickness then the other side if the 20 mm step is shorter than 2.5 mm.
you need to drill an opening less than an inch, through a soft metal, with a depth roughly a sixteenth of an inch. Jeez man idk maybe buy a drill press for this project.
>>2996400>drill pressGood fucking luck. A knee mill or small VMC might work, but, for the size of hole OP wants, he's going to struggle pretty badly with anything less than a proper radial drill.
Is this hole for a fitting like a bolt?You could to to use a step drill if you had a drill press, but the risk would be that the metal being so soft, you would easily tear out the edge of the hole. And that's s very big hole for a an electric drill, the edges of the bit will have a fraction of the power of a small bit, and a hundred times more material to cut through. I'm actually wondering if it would make more sense to use a plug cutting bit. Hear me out. You're removing a tenth of the material so the lack of power would be less of an issue, you'd have far more contact with the piece so it would be more like sanding the circle then cutting it, and you could then oil the grove as you went. And because this wouldn't destroy the pilot hole, you could approach the cut from both sides to get a clean edge, again avoiding tear out, then sand the inside of the hole. Another option would be to cut a hole and insert a steel plug which was exactly the right diameter, you might do that if the hole was likely to be under stress and you didn't want the aluminium to tear. You know, a kind of steel eyelet. It's common to add these to aluminium to insert things like screw threads to avoid a screw just chewing the aluminium up. It really depends on what the hole is for, what the piece is.
>>2996420Cont.Just found a reference, you can totally use a hole saw, just like said he's using a drill press and oil.If you had a bench mount for a plug-in electric hand drill, it would be much slower, but the result would probably be the same. You can cut huge holes with these, so people saying you need more power, i disagree. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gr_LLHcXmZIYou can totally use a 20mm stepped bit and this is probably the textbook answer. But let's say you didn't have a proper drill press and very little torque as a result, and poor alignment. Well I don't have much experience but I'd consider this the riskier option as I suspect you'd be far more likely to tear the piece with the "correct" stepped bit, or drill off centre. I think this is the slow, low risk approach if you don't have a bench press
>>2996406>>2996415>>2996420>>2996421>have never drilled a hole in their livesI've used a step drill to make 7/8" holes in steel when fixing my truck bed with a 20v dewalt.
>>2996400i live in a cuckpartment, otherwise i would.
i would buy a step-less cone drill
>>2996472Bought a set of those once and was not impressed... Step bits are way better.
>>2996491>Bought a setwhat did you pay, 10$? step/cone drills are propably the most "you get what you pay for" item in the hobbyist shop.The cheapest set i would even consider is 70€ for 3 sizes right now
>>2996492Hell I don't remember anon. I've had good luck with the warrior brand step bits from harbor freight and have abused the shit out of them and burned up many over the years drilling a ridiculous amount of holes in thicker steel. Pretty sure the stepless bits were the same brand and complete dogshit compared to the stepped version. Maybe good for plastic and super soft stuff only?
>>2996493ive ran them many times through 3mm 316l before. The same operation would rape a step drill as these require more tool pressure. Anyway, the step-less varian is better on thin shit as it isnt as likely to deform the thin sheet or create a huge burr
>>2996495>require more tool pressureFound out why tools fail for you. You don't know how to use them. Common problem.
>>2996553you sound like a redditor
>>2996371I dont know why everyone is rambling. I’ve done exactly that, many times. Step drills are way nicer on thin sheet than any fluted drill. >>2996421> you can totally use a hole saw,Now this is one stupid advice
>>2996625>Now this is one stupid adviceleast amount of chips / effort for a large hole. most of you guys seriously have no experience
>>2996626brother did you ever put this in a hand drill? I bet you haven’t because you’d see what shit holes these make when the feed force isnt applied 100% perpendicular to the sheet material because unless you’re drilling in some kind of deep backing material it will continuously try and ream out the center hole and go everywhere. Meanwhile a step drill keeps itself straight (wow what an invention), doesn’t catch on anything, and deburrs the hole while at it The pic you posted is the cheapest chinese interpretation of a ‘tungsten carbide hole saw’ btw
>>2996633at work we routinely use these on 2-4mm 316l with a cordless drill.no wandering, clean hole. I ask, have you eqver used them or are you talking out of your ass?>when the feed force isnt applied 100% perpendicular to the sheet materialtruly a task impossible to pull of with a cup geometry tool, you cant be that retarded
