Drilling a new hole through metal

[S. Heisley]

Saw this and thought it might be helpful to some of us:

https://www.familyhandyman.com/list/tip ... VQpEU1uwtg

[TimC]

Thanks for that Sharon. I've been drilling metal for years and learned quite a bit from that article.

[tomhawk]

I have found drilling holes in metal to be one of my least favorite tasks. This article covers many important concepts.
One problem I have had is that the drill bits get dull after some number of holes. Using a dull drill is most unpleasant.

There are different grades of drill available. Some retain cutting better than others. I don't think this is completely obvious when you buy them.

for example I noticed that Harbor freight has two brands. The Bauer brand costs about twice what the Warrior brand does. I had been sticking with the cheaper version but I bought a batch of Bauer drills. These were remarkably better. Definitely worth the price difference. Based on all the advertising I would never have guessed.

Do folks have some recommendations of better drills? I feel pretty ignorant about this.

I have seen various methods of sharpening dull drills. Is that something folks have opinions about?

Thanks,
Tom

[Tom&Shelly]

I keep a separate set of numbered bits for drilling though metal, only, with the drill press, only, and cutting fluid (oil). Took a couple of tries to explain to Shelly these bits are not for drilling in wood. She seemed to have trouble understanding wood dulls the bits--think she thought I said that backwards--and saw-dust holds moisture which helps ruin the bits. Finally, I showed her what that set of bits cost to get her attention. (Don't tell her I told you about this!)

The last time I had to drill in steel was when I hung peg-board on our garage walls last month



Can't use a drill press for that, and I didn't want any cutting fluid soaking into the board. The solution was to use a cheap brand new jobber bit, which I threw away at the end of the project.

Tom