megalomani
Well-Known Member
This weekend I set out to drill some holes in my stainless and mount some weldless fittings. Used a 18V Black and Decker cordless drill.
Hole #1: Bottom of half barrel for weldless sight glass (Brewhardware).
- 1/8" titanium bit for pilot hole
- olive oil
- Small step bit from brewhardware.com
The first hole went without a hitch. The pilot hole took no time at all and the step bit made quick work of dilating to the appropriate size.
Hole #2: Upper skirt of half barrel to install eye bolt (for securing sight glass)
- same bit for pilot hole, the bit snapped in half before hardly scratching the surface.
- New cobalt 1/8" bit from lowes
Spent an hour with the new bit and couldn't get through. Best I can tell I may be about half way through the skirt. I was making no head way so gave up and went to work on my next hole.
Hole #3: Weldless ball valve on straight sided thin walled stainless pot.
- Same, now slightly worn cobalt bit from Lowes
It wouldn't go through. Again spent 30-40 minutes and couldn't get through and only got a small divot drilled. Also now have a 1" diameter dent because of the gauge of the pot and the pressure I was applying (Standing over the pot with body weight for downward pressure).
So anyone with some experience have insight why my first hole was so easy but then two subsequent tries failed miserably?
Oh I also got a new bit this morning thinking I may have dulled the bit too much and it snapped withing 10 minutes of using it and did very little before breaking.
If it work hardened is there any way to get through now (I never had smoke and the bit never felt hot when I touched it)? My drill is mostly used for hanging pictures on drywall, could I need a more powerful drill?, something with more torque or a gear box? I tried keeping the trigger about half way to keep the rpms low but have no idea how many rotations I was actually getting per minute.
Hole #1: Bottom of half barrel for weldless sight glass (Brewhardware).
- 1/8" titanium bit for pilot hole
- olive oil
- Small step bit from brewhardware.com
The first hole went without a hitch. The pilot hole took no time at all and the step bit made quick work of dilating to the appropriate size.
Hole #2: Upper skirt of half barrel to install eye bolt (for securing sight glass)
- same bit for pilot hole, the bit snapped in half before hardly scratching the surface.
- New cobalt 1/8" bit from lowes
Spent an hour with the new bit and couldn't get through. Best I can tell I may be about half way through the skirt. I was making no head way so gave up and went to work on my next hole.
Hole #3: Weldless ball valve on straight sided thin walled stainless pot.
- Same, now slightly worn cobalt bit from Lowes
It wouldn't go through. Again spent 30-40 minutes and couldn't get through and only got a small divot drilled. Also now have a 1" diameter dent because of the gauge of the pot and the pressure I was applying (Standing over the pot with body weight for downward pressure).
So anyone with some experience have insight why my first hole was so easy but then two subsequent tries failed miserably?
Oh I also got a new bit this morning thinking I may have dulled the bit too much and it snapped withing 10 minutes of using it and did very little before breaking.
If it work hardened is there any way to get through now (I never had smoke and the bit never felt hot when I touched it)? My drill is mostly used for hanging pictures on drywall, could I need a more powerful drill?, something with more torque or a gear box? I tried keeping the trigger about half way to keep the rpms low but have no idea how many rotations I was actually getting per minute.