Tips for drilling metal

In general, you can't drill properly without the right drill bit. When you drill into metal, a metal drill bit is the one you need. This drill bit has a very sharp tip and has a round shaft to remove the metal fragments. Want to drill a hole larger than 8mm? Drill a 3mm hole first and then drill with the desired size. That way, you prevent the drill from slipping.

If you drill in metal, the surface is often very smooth. The drill could slip and leave an ugly scratch with the first attempt. To prevent this, you can first make a small dent in the metal. You can use a center punch or a nail. If you set your drill in the dent, it's less likely to slip. Use a pillar drill to be sure that you drill in the right spot.

When you drill in metal, make sure you don't use a drilling speed that's too high. The larger the hole you want to drill and the harder the material, the lower you should set the drilling speed. If you drill in stainless steel or inox with a 5mm drill bit, don't set the machine's speed over 600RPM. You can use 1500RPM for the same result with aluminum, which is softer than stainless steel. Always start slow. Is it going easily? Slowly raise the speed.

Cooling is very important when you drill in hard metals like stainless steel. That's because stainless steel becomes harder after it's been heated. When you drill in metal, both the drill bit and the material get extremely hot, so don't touch either after drilling! If you don't cool, the material will harden and the drilling will get tougher. With special cutting oil, you cool both the material and the drill. This makes the drilling faster and more easily. The drill bits also last longer, because they stay sharp.