Drilling Concord Pots: No Luck So Far!

[benfarhner]

Alright, I'm getting close to assembling my new eHERMS, and one of the last steps is drilling the kettles to attach all the fittings. I have three 20 gallon Concord kettles that I need to drill. I'm borrowing Greenlee punches and a step bit from another brewer, and I bought several cobalt drill bits to do the pilot holes after doing a bit of research.

However, I've now spent at least 2 hours trying to get a single pilot hole drilled, running a hand drill at low torque as slow as I can possibly go, leaning into it and putting as much pressure as I can, and I'm barely shaving off filings. Definitely no tell-tale curly-cues of stainless steel like I'm told I should have. I have a divot now, but progress seems to have come to a standstill, and I'm afraid to keep going and work harden it any more.

Are there any other tips or tricks I should know? Are Concord pots notoriously difficult to drill or something? Is there a better type of bit to be using for pilot holes in stainless steel? Any help would be greatly appreciated—I'm eager to get my system put together so I can start using it!

 

[d3track]

Are you applying a lubricant as you drill?

 

[watermelon83]

Alright, I'm getting close to assembling my new eHERMS, and one of the last steps is drilling the kettles to attach all the fittings. I have three 20 gallon Concord kettles that I need to drill. I'm borrowing Greenlee punches and a step bit from another brewer, and I bought several cobalt drill bits to do the pilot holes after doing a bit of research.

However, I've now spent at least 2 hours trying to get a single pilot hole drilled, running a hand drill at low torque as slow as I can possibly go, leaning into it and putting as much pressure as I can, and I'm barely shaving off filings. Definitely no tell-tale curly-cues of stainless steel like I'm told I should have. I have a divot now, but progress seems to have come to a standstill, and I'm afraid to keep going and work harden it any more.

Are there any other tips or tricks I should know? Are Concord pots notoriously difficult to drill or something? Is there a better type of bit to be using for pilot holes in stainless steel? Any help would be greatly appreciated—I'm eager to get my system put together so I can start using it!

I had a hell of a time with mine. I went and bought a brand new 1/8" bit, maybe even smaller, for the first hole. Went through like butta.

I believe it was this guy:
http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=19061386&cp=2568443.10768931.1253350.1256370.1254873.1393177.1259515

You have the method down, slow and hard. Set the small bit deep in the chuck so you don't snap it. Fast will generate heat, heat will kill the bit faster then anything. That being said, I had to sharpen it after two holes.

 

[JKoravos]

You shouldn't need to push that hard if your bits are sharp. You've probably already dulled them if you've been going at it for 2 hours. It should take about 30 seconds.

What size bit are you using?

 

[benfarhner]

Yep, I'm lubricating with oil, and cleaning out the divot and reapplying oil every so often. Neither the but not the kettle are getting warm to the touch. I started with a 3/16" bit, and I also picked up a 7/64", 9/64" and a second 3/16". No luck with the 7/64" yet either.

 

[vincentAlpha]

Keep in mind the smaller the bit the higher the RPM you should be using. Check out this chart for reference: http://www.drill-hq.com/products/mu...nt-size-tooling/recommended-tool-speed-chart/

Cutting fluid (or any oil, I've used cooking oil, WD40 and 5W30 before) will make a world of difference for making the pilot hole and stepping it out.

 

[tsever00]

I used the bit that came with the Concord kettle I bought and it went through it in about 30 seconds with some cheap 3 in 1 oil. The bits aren't cheap for a one time use but I recommend going to your local hardware store and buying a new bit. The reduction in wasted time and frustration is worth the money.

 

[watermelon83]

I used the bit that came with the Concord kettle I bought and it went through it in about 30 seconds with some cheap 3 in 1 oil. The bits aren't cheap for a one time use but I recommend going to your local hardware store and buying a new bit. The reduction in wasted time and frustration is worth the money.

Wait, your's came with a bit....I feel so....cheated.

 

[tsever00]

This is what I bought , 15 gallon version.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CONCORD-Hom...t=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item20e03489cc

 

[Conan]

I used an Irwin Unibit on my kettles and had zero trouble- pilot with a DeWalt 1/16" (ish) titanium coated bit...the gold ones... and then the step bit. The pot is so thin I didn't bother with oil. As someone else mentioned small bits need higher speed. Kyle

 

[benfarhner]

Great, so I'm probably drilling too slow Unfortunately I didn't have time to work on it this weekend, so I'll give it another shot this week and see how it goes with the fresh bits. Fingers crossed... I just want to get my pots drilled and assembled!

 

[brew_ny]

I did my pots with a bi-metal hole

all the best

S_M

 

[nutty_gnome]

You might also try to use a nail set to make a small indent for your small drill bit. Just tap a noticible indent where you want to drill. It helps keep the bit from wandering and, in extreme cases, snapping during use.

 

[augiedoggy]

I burned up two sets of step bits from harbor freight in seconds with little progress before I changed drills with one that had better low speed control and then I was able to drill 6 holes with no problems with the third set of the same bits. Each hole took about 30 second or less and the bit went through like butter...I used WD40 since I could not find cutting oil at either hardware store and didnt think to try the sporting goods store till later... I was just drilling too fast in the beginning.

My advice go VERY SLOW like 1 revolution per second and slowly speed it up if you can but keep the drill going as slow as you can while still cutting at a good rate.

 

[Carusoat]

I've had the hardest time drilling holes in my Concord kettles. I've never been able to do it with a hand drill. Luckily I have a drill press and after adjusting the speed accordingly it goes through like butter. So if you have access to a drill press I'd give that a shot with lots of lube. This has worked for me using step bits from harbor freight and some vegetable oil.

 

[benfarhner]

Keep in mind the smaller the bit the higher the RPM you should be using. Check out this chart for reference: http://www.drill-hq.com/products/mu...nt-size-tooling/recommended-tool-speed-chart/

Well, I feel like a dummy trying to use a hand drill now. I was definitely going too slow

I set the drill press on the slowest setting, which is a lot closer to what the chart linked to above says, and it went through right away. Much easier pressure and direction control too, of course. 3/16" pilot hole drilled, stepped up to 3/8", and punched to 13/16" all in just a couple minutes.

Thanks everyone for all your help! The other 12 holes I have to drill should be a piece of cake now

 

[LandoLincoln]

Alright, I'm getting close to assembling my new eHERMS, and one of the last steps is drilling the kettles to attach all the fittings. I have three 20 gallon Concord kettles that I need to drill. I'm borrowing Greenlee punches and a step bit from another brewer, and I bought several cobalt drill bits to do the pilot holes after doing a bit of research.

However, I've now spent at least 2 hours trying to get a single pilot hole drilled, running a hand drill at low torque as slow as I can possibly go, leaning into it and putting as much pressure as I can, and I'm barely shaving off filings. Definitely no tell-tale curly-cues of stainless steel like I'm told I should have. I have a divot now, but progress seems to have come to a standstill, and I'm afraid to keep going and work harden it any more.

Are there any other tips or tricks I should know? Are Concord pots notoriously difficult to drill or something? Is there a better type of bit to be using for pilot holes in stainless steel? Any help would be greatly appreciated—I'm eager to get my system put together so I can start using it!

I think certain sections of these pots are an alloy of mithril and adamantium. Nothing should be this hard to drill through.

Here's the crazy amount of crap that I had to do to drill through these things:

1) Made a stand to hold the pot on its side
2) Got a drill press and secured it to my workbench and made a 2x4 brace to brace the top of the press with the basement ceiling
3) Bought some cutting oil
4) Made a 2x2 brace for the inside of the pot and then drilled down into the brace
5) Ran the drill press at its slowest setting
6) Bought a brand new cobalt drill bit for every pilot hole that I drilled

Once the pilot hole was drilled then it was pretty smooth sailing with the step bit.

Most important things though are the new drill bits (since these pots dull them in a hurry), cutting oil, a good amount of pressure and drilling slow

 

[JKoravos]

It does take a while to get used to drilling stainless if you haven't done it before. I drilled five 1" holes in my pots last night, stepping up from 1/8 to 5/16 to a step bit. It didn't take more than 20 minutes to drill all 5. No cutting oil needed. The pilot holes took less than 10 seconds to drill (I counted in my head ).

 

[benfarhner]

I think certain sections of these pots are an alloy of mithril and adamantium. Nothing should be this hard to drill through.

Here's the crazy amount of crap that I had to do to drill through these things:

1) Made a stand to hold the pot on its side
2) Got a drill press and secured it to my workbench and made a 2x4 brace to brace the top of the press with the basement ceiling
3) Bought some cutting oil
4) Made a 2x2 brace for the inside of the pot and then drilled down into the brace
5) Ran the drill press at its slowest setting
6) Bought a brand new cobalt drill bit for every pilot hole that I drilled

Once the pilot hole was drilled then it was pretty smooth sailing with the step bit.

Most important things though are the new drill bits (since these pots dull them in a hurry), cutting oil, a good amount of pressure and drilling slow

Excellent advice. I'll be making a brace today and picking up more bits to finish the job.

 

[vincentAlpha]

@benfarhner, don't feel too bad. I burnt out 3 7/8" bits trying to drill through 1/4" steel by hand at some stupid speed before doing my homework and finding out how damn stupid I was. Least it was a cheap mistake and not an expensive one on my part, really only cost the couple bits and those 3 hours I'll never get back

 

[GotPushrods]

I had a lot of trouble with holes very near the bottom sidewall of the Concord kettles. Holes in the top 85% of the wall and the bottom of the kettle are not as difficult.

It leads me to believe there is something in the manufacturing process hardening these near the bottom of the sidewall. Maybe the drawing process, or maybe the bottom is welded on. I have no idea, but I've drilled and dimpled many dozens of holes in stainless and the low sidewall area on a Concord is different than anything else I've drilled. I rotated drill bit sizes to score the metal progressively deeper until on popped through. I also used a 2x4 cut to length inside to let me really bear down. I've learned to drill stainless like butter, so this really frustrated me.

 

[benfarhner]

I had a lot of trouble with holes very near the bottom sidewall of the Concord kettles. Holes in the top 85% of the wall and the bottom of the kettle are not as difficult.

That's good to know. However, I noticed the bottom 2" or so of my kettles curve slightly inward, which would put all my fittings at an angle, so I won't be drilling anything that low anyway.

 

[ImNoExpert]

This weekend I drilled my 60qt. Towards the bottom, I had no problem at all. It was my whirlpool about 6" up from the bottom that gave me trouble. I leaned and leaned but could not get through. I finally went and cut a 2x4 brace and wedged it in there. I leaned and pushed and leaned, but all I was doing was pushing the metal and not cutting. I was worried that my bit was dull and shot at this point. Finally I broke through-- into the wood. I had wedged the 2x4 right where I was drilling.

After that, it was like butta.

 

[djreson]

i'm igetting ready to build my eherms HLT soon and was thinking of going with a concord pot and weldless fittings...this thread scares me. I already have a brew pot but it's has welded couplers...I'm trying to save costs on my HLT with more DIY.

I do have access to a cheap (HF) drill press, anyone think that will make it easier? Anyone here have experience using one on a concord kettle? I was wondering how to properly secure this thing to the press.

 

[LandoLincoln]

i'm igetting ready to build my eherms HLT soon and was thinking of going with a concord pot and weldless fittings...this thread scares me. I already have a brew pot but it's has welded couplers...I'm trying to save costs on my HLT with more DIY.

I do have access to a cheap (HF) drill press, anyone think that will make it easier? Anyone here have experience using one on a concord kettle? I was wondering how to properly secure this thing to the press.

Yes. Post #17 in this thread. No, you don't secure the pot to the press.

 

[LandoLincoln]

This weekend I drilled my 60qt. Towards the bottom, I had no problem at all. It was my whirlpool about 6" up from the bottom that gave me trouble. I leaned and leaned but could not get through. I finally went and cut a 2x4 brace and wedged it in there. I leaned and pushed and leaned, but all I was doing was pushing the metal and not cutting. I was worried that my bit was dull and shot at this point. Finally I broke through-- into the wood. I had wedged the 2x4 right where I was drilling.

After that, it was like butta.

See? That's what I keep saying. Fresh drill bit, drill hole, easy. Move on to second hole, problem. Drill bits wear out fast with these things.

 

[ImNoExpert]

See? That's what I keep saying. Fresh drill bit, drill hole, easy. Move on to second hole, problem. Drill bits wear out fast with these things.

I'm not sure if it was the second hole or the fact that being higher up on the pot, there was more flex or spring to the metal-- negating my healthy girth's downward force.

Truth be told, the problem hole was my third hole drilled with my economy (read cheap-@$$) step bit. First hole was on a different non-concord pot, also towards the bottom, that I also had no issue drilling.