Drill Bits for Stainless Steel

[cwstevens92]

Any leads on who makes the best, longest lasting bits that are made for Stainless??
Thanks

 

[Diesel_Crawler]

Get some HSS drills and lube real well while drilling.

 

[nissan_crawler]

Get some HSS drills and lube real well while drilling.

Yep, plain old bits work fine.

 

[superautobacs]

And what would be a good drill lube to use?

 

[airdale]

If you need to drill a lot of stainless, get cobalt bits, not carbide. McMaster has good sets in metal index boxes from Viking. Norseman are good too. Heed the advise to use lube, cutting oil works best. Use moderate speed and good amount of pressure, otherwise you will create too much heat. Some stainless alloys are harder to machine than others, most of what you come across is 304 (18-8), or 316 which are not too bad to drill.

 

[airdale]

And what would be a good drill lube to use?

Any tapping spray, like Tap-Matic, whatever the hardware store or Home Depot has.

 

[tcianci]

HSS works fine but limit your speed and use reasonable pressure. SS work hardens pretty easily. Just try drilling it with high speed.....it cuts like a dream for about 3 seconds and then it starts eating bits.

 

[speed bump]

Cobalt bits make it really easy but you can do it with HSS bits. Personally I have been buying Norseman or Consolidated Toledo bits recently.

 

[nissan_crawler]

Each to their own, we drill lots of stainless at work, and most prefer not to use cobalt bits due to snapping if they catch.

 

[wreckercologist]

Each to their own, we drill lots of stainless at work, and most prefer not to use cobalt bits due to snapping if they catch.

Very true.

+1 on slowing the speed down and using a cutting fluid.

 

[Kevin54]

Very true.

+1 on slowing the speed down and using a cutting fluid.

Ditto on the SLOW speed and using a lubricant. Even something like 10w-30 will work just fine. But you have to go slow. Any speed at all and you will burn up a bit in a split second. I drill stainless on a daily basis and use cheap Westward bits with no problem.

 

[Elroy]

It's not that important if the tool is HSS or Cobalt. What is important is having the tool sharp.

If the bit is dull and doesn't cut from the get go you're screwed because stainless is real bad about work hardening. Get the work hot from a dull drill you might as well hang it up.

Short and sweet: Sharp tool with a cutting oil specifically designed for stainless. Keep it cool, keep the bit cutting (sharp) and maintain low speeds.

 

[NAYLOR]

Moderate speed and cutting fluid. Remember, the more metal chips you make the more heat you are removing. If you aren't making chips, check you speed, pressure, and as Elroy said, how sharp your bits are.