suggestions for holes in bed frame.

[jmanatee2]

I have drilled a LOT (read 1000s) into bed frames. Always used regular HSS (High Speed Steel) bits in the drill press on the slowest speed...

Usually I drip a drop or two of oil as I am drilling

 

[Baby Grand]

... And where do the Chinese get the same orange paint for everything?

Chernobyl.

 

[kidstrustfund]

I purchased a set of bad dog bits. I sent them back. They didn't work as good as the vendor made it look. Bad dog did make good and refunded my money. I must have been missing something when I tried to use the bits. They called for using a high speed for the larger bits which vibrated my drill press. I didn't get it. Tom

 

[rankrank1]

I too utilize free bed angle for low cost type applications. Sometimes drilling a hole is very easy with a HSS drill bit, but then a few inches away in the very same piece of angle you can not drill it no matter what (and sometimes mangle what was a perfectly good drill bit). I usually use 6011 in the stinger of the arc welder and simply burn a hole through it if I can not drill it. Actually anyone would be hard pressed to find a cheaper way to cut a hole than with the arc welder and 6011. (I do not currently have a working torch but it would cost more to run if I did have one as compared to the arc welder).

I am actually not convinced that the bed frames are purposely heat treated when made as this would cost extra money to do. Instead, I think bed rails are often made from undesirable scrap returns like old bed springs, auto leaf springs, bearing races and other hardened steels that are otherwise hard to recycle which makes for hardened areas in the metal when it is blended/re-melted/remanufactured into new metal. The undesirable traits of this newly creately low-grade metal is then only suitable for low-grade applications like bed rails and other applications where workability and uniformity strength is not crititical - or cheap in other words.

 

[JohninCT]

I have drilled bed frame angle iron with a carbide masonry drill that I sharpened like a normal drill. To sharpen the carbide drill I use a "green" grinding wheel and grind the point the same as a normal drill. It drills fine, lasts a long time, and the drills are cheap to buy.
Chip

The Bad Dog bits are made similarly. Carbide tip. The key is that you must run them fast. The Bad Dog drills to not cut thru metal like normal drill bits. It's more like grinding thru - very fine powder/chips coming off. I use regular drill bits for 99% of my metal drilling needs, but I've got a small set of the Bad Dog bits for that odd drilling situation.

 

[SandburRanch]

If the 6011 method leaves the hole a little rough or just a bit too small, place it over the Pritchel hole of your anvil and swage it with a tapered punch.

 

[chad22]

I use bed frame angle alot too. It's great and has many uses. Whenever I see someone throwing the stuff out. I just got too get it.

I got an old trailer made from a pickup bed. It was sagging. Because the bed was just sitting on the axle. There wasn't much support for it. It did make it 400 miles down the highway like that though.

I towed it all the way from Cove Arkansas to Turon Kansas, behind my 92 Chevy pickup. I had that poor little trailer loaded down too. :laughing: I was wondering if the old thing was gonna make it to Oklahoma, let alone Kansas. But it did.

After I got to Kansas with it. I used some bed frame angle to give it some support and works great.

I bought the trailer from a guy (he died not to long ago) in Cove Arkansas for $10.00

He had it sitting out by his little store. My brother had asked him how much he wanted for it. He told him $10.00

He then came and told me about it. I said lets go look at it. I asked my brother. "Are you sure you heard the price right?"

I then asked the guy about the trailer and handed him the $5.00 I had in my pocket at the moment and asked him if he'd hold the trailer until I got him the other $5.00 a week later. He said sure.

He told me the bearing was froze on the axle. Later I jacked it up and found out that the tire was just too big. So I pulled it behind my riding mower on a flat tire back home.

The axle and bearings were just fine. I got a great deal on the trailer though. The axle and tires are worth that.

I bought $60.00 in tires and wheels for it before I towed it to Kansas. But still was and is worth it.

Chad

 

[Baby Grand]

If the 6011 method leaves the hole a little rough or just a bit too small, place it over the Pritchel hole of your anvil and swage it with a tapered punch.

Thanks for that idea. Could use the anvil & punch after blowing a hole with the O/A totch, too. Get a nice, round hole. Hit it with the angle grinder to get a flat surface.

I suppose if you wanted to make a bunch of holes you could make a die hole in a plate, place it over the pritchel, bring the angle to heat, punch the hole and give it a rap with the ball peen to flatten the face.

 

[bobodu]

If you've got an anvil and punch.....punch the hole!!

 

[chopped]

:thumbsup:I ended up using the arc rod and masx heat setting. plunged it right through. then hit with grinder.. I wasnt to concerned with it being prety. It worked great Wish I had thought of that years ago.Within reason its faster and cheaper than the torch.(mine is out of fuel)..
I like the idea of hitting it with the punch after. Ill give that a try when Im critical of the hole.
Thanks all for the ideas...:thumbsup: keep em coming.