Drilling (or burning) large holes???

[sandman2234]

MJNCAD,
I don't want to scare off the O/P, but judging from the finished product in that hook you posted the picture of, I would say you might have messed with a little bit of metal before...
A lot of patience goes a long way when working with metal, doesn't it?
David from jax

 

[Soundguy]

I use a torch to cut large holes,helluv a lot faster than all the other options.
I got a whole stack of diff sizes old bearing races ,i usually can find a size to suit and tack it on the plate i need to cut a hole in and use the ring edge as a guide for the torch tip.
Simple and efficient.

Did you read the OP's message at all?

he has a basic drill press and a welder.. no torch.. that's why we are giving him ideas on how to make the holes with what he has.

It's not a great answer to say.. go out and buy 300+++$ of torches.. ????

his best bet is a hole saw or chamfer rod... I'd choose a chamfer rod over a 6010/6011 and day if I had alot of holes to cut in thick plate AND didn't have a torch or plasma cutter.

ALL-STATE Chamfer Rod

soundguy

 

[grsthegreat]

Did you read the OP's message at all?

he has a basic drill press and a welder.. no torch.. that's why we are giving him ideas on how to make the holes with what he has.

It's not a great answer to say.. go out and buy 300+++$ of torches.. ????

his best bet is a hole saw or chamfer rod... I'd choose a chamfer rod over a 6010/6011 and day if I had alot of holes to cut in thick plate AND didn't have a torch or plasma cutter.

ALL-STATE Chamfer Rod

soundguy

just giving other ideas to think about. i also went with the large hole saws at one point, and those things are not cheap and they do not last very long in the long haul. Maybe paying $300 FOR TORCHES SEAMS ALOT AT FIRST, BUT BUYING 6 - $20-30 HOLESAWS ISNT MUCH CHEAPER IN THE LONG RUN. Dang caps lock button...i hate that thing

 

[Soundguy]

just giving other ideas to think about. i also went with the large hole saws at one point, and those things are not cheap and they do not last very long in the long haul. Maybe paying $300 FOR TORCHES SEAMS ALOT AT FIRST, BUT BUYING 6 - $20-30 HOLESAWS ISNT MUCH CHEAPER IN THE LONG RUN. Dang caps lock button...i hate that thing

Again.. i refer to the op's original post.

he mentions a single hole he needs to make, and it doesn't have to be perfect. thus the mention of chamfering it out with a welder.. or for incedental use.. a hole saw. for the other project needing a few holes

we ALL know if you are making holes day in and day out.. the hole saw is a drawback.

we ALL know tht even with cooling and a good saw, that the number of holes they make in steel will be limited.

the op didn't ask about what torches to go buy.. he asked for some ideas on how to get thru that project and said what he had available.. ie a drill press and a welder.

we'd ALL love a shp with a 2 stage 60g air comp, a huge industrial plasma cutter capable of 1" cut and 1.5"sever, a 400a dc stick/tig welder and a 250a mig or spoolgun setup, a bandsaw and 100K$ of other equipment.. presses, brakes aligtor shear and a metal worker, plus a wood and metal lathe, plus a dedicated mill and perhaps another drill mill in the corner.. some 4/5 bottles of oa.. preferable 2-3 sets.. one set up to cut.. one on a rosebud, and another set of bottles as spare.

but.. i for one.. don't have that much cabbage in my pocket.. I suspect the OP don't either.

us normal gus can't go out and buy a specific use tool on every project we do... we make do if we can, and when we can swing it.. if the amount of work to do allows.. then we get a tool.

that said. i agree.. this sounds classicly like a torch job.. I have one and love mine. before i had a torch.. I made do with a welder and hole saw and chop saw.. and sawsall.. etc.. etc.. etc.

soundguy

 

[HCJtractor]

All good advice guys! A torch is certainly on my list of future tools (as is a plasma cutter, bigger compressor, mag drill, etc. etc. etc!) But I am getting some good ideas. And yes, the hole I had in mind is 2" and will just allow for a shaft to penetrate supported by a bearing, so burning it with a welder may be a way to try, or the hole saw option. I appreciate all the feedback and have learned alot by each response, so thanks and keep the info coming!

 

[rswyan]

just giving other ideas to think about. i also went with the large hole saws at one point, and those things are not cheap and they do not last very long in the long haul. Maybe paying $300 FOR TORCHES SEAMS ALOT AT FIRST, BUT BUYING 6 - $20-30 HOLESAWS ISNT MUCH CHEAPER IN THE LONG RUN. Dang caps lock button...i hate that thing

I have one of the Lennox holesaw sets that I picked from Lowes (electrical or plumbing) 5 or 6 years ago .... think it was under $100 ..... and I have filled in with a couple of sizes that I needed that were not included in the set.

I have not, as yet, worn any of them out - they all still cut fine. Admittedly, I'm fabbing daily.

Having said that, I'd love to have an O/A torch setup ... but it ain't in the cards at the moment.

 

[grsthegreat]

I have one of the Lennox holesaw sets that I picked from Lowes (electrical or plumbing) 5 or 6 years ago .... think it was under $100 ..... and I have filled in with a couple of sizes that I needed that were not included in the set.

I have not, as yet, worn any of them out - they all still cut fine. Admittedly, I'm fabbing daily.

Having said that, I'd love to have an O/A torch setup ... but it ain't in the cards at the moment.

man, i burn up so many of those over the years. mostly on things where i cant use the drill press cause of the bulkiness of the item drilling. I do have a manual oiler also, it helps but i still burn thru them. I guess my hand drill is just operating too fast.

I just got thru cutting a 1" hole thru 1" of steel and it did ok, but there was alot of smoke. not sure if the bit survived.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

I personally like hole saws, but I've never drilled a hole as big as 2" in steel as thick as 1/2". That sounds like a lot to ask of an average drill press. I've had good luck with hole saws, but after about 3/8" thick it seems like the drill press is really working to get the saw through.

 

[HCJtractor]

O.K. holesaws seem to be the popular way for us tool deprived limited budget people. I assume they work better on a drill press on slowest speed. I would be afraid I would break my wrist running them with a handheld drill. And which holesaws are preferred? The standard bi-metal? or another poster mentioned a carbide. I could not find that brand.

On a drill press, I assume you just clamp the work down, run it slowly, and flood it with cutting oil?

 

[Chilly807]

The hole saw will work fine in most steels, high carbon or specialty steel will be a problem.

Whatever you're cutting, use proper cutting oil. It's formulated to do just that.

And go slow, even if it means stopping and starting the drill press, heat is a killer on hole saws. I've got a foot pedal that makes stop and start holes a lot easier.

Sean

 

[J_J]

The OP did say: [ setting up a shop for fabrication ]

So it would be logical to recommend tools for that project.

 

[grsthegreat]

The OP did say: [ setting up a shop for fabrication ]

So it would be logical to recommend tools for that project.

If J.J. said it it cant be wrong .

 

[k0ua]

I have the Bosch hole saw set, with the quick change adaptors, (wife bought it for me, I would never spend the money) It is still going strong, as other have said, slowest speed on drill press, and lots of lube and dont crowd it, dont heat it up, and they will last a good long time. Bosch or Lennox I think are both good sets.

James K0UA

 

[wdchyd]

I've never tried it but a welder friend once told me if you take 6011 and soak them in water that they will cut better when cranking the amps......

Don't recall if AC or DC....:confused2:

 

[mjncad]

MJNCAD,
I don't want to scare off the O/P, but judging from the finished product in that hook you posted the picture of, I would say you might have messed with a little bit of metal before...
A lot of patience goes a long way when working with metal, doesn't it?
David from jax

Thanks David, and you're right that patience is the key. I have tons to learn about metal fabrication. I like working with metal; but am lousy with wood. I find it frustrating.

All good advice guys! A torch is certainly on my list of future tools (as is a plasma cutter, bigger compressor, mag drill, etc. etc. etc!) But I am getting some good ideas. And yes, the hole I had in mind is 2" and will just allow for a shaft to penetrate supported by a bearing, so burning it with a welder may be a way to try, or the hole saw option. I appreciate all the feedback and have learned alot by each response, so thanks and keep the info coming!

A 2" hole saw will do just fine.

And which hole-saws are preferred? The standard bi-metal? or another poster mentioned a carbide. I could not find that brand.

On a drill press, I assume you just clamp the work down, run it slowly, and flood it with cutting oil?

The bi-metal saws will be just fine. Yes, clamp the work down good and tight, run the 2" saw at your drillpress' slowest speed (probably ~200 RPM), flood with cutting oil, or even motor oil; just use something to keep the saw cool. A toothbrush is good for brushing away chips. Compressed air is handy too; but it will send oily chips everywhere...ask me how I know.

Remember, hole saws are not the most accurate cutting tool compared to annular cutters and boring bars on a mill; but they work well for this kind of work. The only other downside is they are time consuming and the hole may or may not need further work to remove the burrs.

 

[Soundguy]

The OP did say: [ setting up a shop for fabrication ]

So it would be logical to recommend tools for that project.

"slowly" setting up a shop for fab.

then mentioned a very few incedental jobs needing a few holes.

then asked about a hole saw.. and mentioned the welder.

sure sounds like a recipie for a few hundred dollars of victor equipment and owner or lease bottles vs the 25$ alternative ????????

no wonder this site has the reputation for spending other peoples money at a rate faster than howitzer shells were used on the opening hours of d-day....

soundguy

 

[Grayson Klassen]

I still say the Walter carbide hole cutters are the best for a precision hole, same deal go slow use cutting fluid, the differences are that the walter is all one piece and doesn't flex like bi-metal saws. I use drills up to 1-1/8 and hole saws after that.

Once you have tried the walter bits Lennox will be like using a cold chizel :laughing::laughing::laughing::thumbsup:

Champions tools makes them too 1-13/16 was 40 bucks online

 

[sandman2234]

Just food for thought, speeds and feeds charts are available all over the internet, and although a good word of advice is to run the drill press on it's slowest setting, a better word of advice would be to tell somebody to calculate the correct cutter speed and go with that. Most of us tend to run cutters about 50% faster than they should be run, at least for the larger sizes, and we run the smaller ones too slow, so the best bet is to find out what it should be run at and get as close as possible.
My drill press goes down to 40rpms, which is slower than most.
David from jax

 

[Spudland_Dave]

I've seen it mentioned, but I' figured I'd weigh in...
Durabilty of Holesaws....Like any other tool, if you take care of em, you'll get PLENTY of nice clean holes...certianly enough to "Pay for itself" so I wouldnt say they're expensive in that sense...I've drilled a BUNCH of holes with mine and they're still sharp as new. Key is KEEP THEM COOL. So that brings me to part 2...Cutting Oil. I've not tried a specially formulated oil, thats one of them things I keep saying I need to get but always forget to get some...but anywho, i've found so far the best thing I've used as a cutting oil is Windshield Wash Fluid...Cheap & Easily available... Even after cutting a 2" hole in 3/8" Plate, my hole saw is still cool enough to touch by hand.

Side Note...if theres a sharpening service in your area, check them out, Many sharpening services will sharpen holesaws...I've not needed to sharpen any of mine yet, but if you dont overheat & burn em up, you should be able to sharpen them and get a buch more use out of them.

 

[Soundguy]

Just food for thought, speeds and feeds charts are available all over the internet, and although a good word of advice is to run the drill press on it's slowest setting, a better word of advice would be to tell somebody to calculate the correct cutter speed and go with that. Most of us tend to run cutters about 50% faster than they should be run, at least for the larger sizes, and we run the smaller ones too slow, so the best bet is to find out what it should be run at and get as close as possible.
My drill press goes down to 40rpms, which is slower than most.
David from jax

i've used a router speed control device on a drill press before to get slower speeds than the standard pulley/ belt setups can give. I find most consumer grade drill presses are not suited for drilling metal , if you look at check speed.

for oil I use a real 'cutting' oil that I bought at the hardware store long ago.. bought in bulk.. am finally down to about a pint of it after 11 years.

I know some people use the water emulsions.. have tried those in one shop I worked at.. but not for my home setup.

for portable cutting / drilling, i use my standard bolt buster fluid i keep in a squirt bottle and custom mix. usually atf + 2 stroke oil, plus a lil naptha and either mineral spirits, diesel, or kerosene.. whatever I have on hand.

adds a lil lube, and flashes off pretty fast.. thus carrying heat.

soundguy