Drilling stainless steel

[Larry Caldwell]

Working in a food plant that's all we do drill SS . When you have to hand drill Like Mrmicky said good sharp bit lubricant slow speed lots of pressure . If you don't see any chips or shavings STOP !!!! get a new bit . Once it gets work hardned You are in a world of sh-t private pyle.:drink:

How hard does it get? Would it make good lathe tool?

 

[spitter]

Depending on thickness of material and type of SS when wen some JO tries to drill with a dull bit no pressure or lube it will turn blue and be hard only around the diameter of the hole you are trying to drill out. We have had some nightmare days trying to get through it if it was in a place where that hole had to be on a specific machine.:drink:

 

[Larry Caldwell]

It's very interesting if you can heat treat stainless to be harder than tool steel.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

I will be starting a project in a few weeks that will require me to drill stainless steel. Couple of questions; will I need any specialized drill bits? What is the best liquid lubricant to spray during the process? I remember seeing one recommended by several on TBN but can't remember the name. Thanks for any and all advice.

What sized hole?

Through how thick?

What grade of stainless?

 

[dstig1]

It's very interesting if you can heat treat stainless to be harder than tool steel.

Certain grades of SS ARE tool steels. We use a lot of 420 SS for injection molds at my work. There are several different grades of it that either come pre-hard to a moderate level or ones that go through heat treatment to get much higher numbers. I seem to recall Rockwell-C of around 50-55 at the high end. There are harder steels available, but that is pretty flappin hard!