How to drill a NEW air hole?

[FrostyDream]

All I can find are tutorials on how to enlarge an air hole, but how do I drill a new one? I have 3 holes on one side but I need one on the other side. I want a hole that's as big as the 3 combined to even it out. Can I just take a drill and go at it or will it crack?

I have this atomizer: $6.35 V5 Rebuildable Dripping Atomizer (1.5ml) - 1.0

 

[emus]

Don the safety glasses.
Punch a dimple w/ sharp punch or sharp screw.
Drill to hearts content.
If using pot metal bits you may need a few spares.
Chamfer edges w/ larger drill bit.

 

[muzichead]

Don the safety glasses.
Punch a dimple w/ sharp punch or sharp screw.
Drill to hearts content.
If using pot metal bits you may need a few spares.
Chamfer edges w/ larger drill bit.

This is news to me... I've been selling industrial tools for 30+yrs and never heard of a pot metal bit!!! By chance, did you mean HSS?

 

[Nermal]

Same here, muzichead. Cobalt for really obdurate materials; HSS for everything else.

 

[emus]

This is news to me... I've been selling industrial tools for 30+yrs and never heard of a pot metal bit!!! By chance, did you mean HSS?

I mean the kind of drill bit that broke off in my aluminium (very soft) transmission case.
That was a bad day; still hurts to think about it.
Got any tips on how to verify drill bit quality?

 

[muzichead]

A HSS bit is either polished or black unless it is Ti-coated then it's coated goldish bronze. Cobalt bits are normally a gold or yellow coated. A glass or diamond drill is usually HSS tipped w/ carbide or diamond.

 

[Mitey F]

How to drill a new hole... Try a drill or drill press, and a drill bit. It really is THAT easy

I just did this twice yesterday, once in an IGO-L and once on an IGO-W. It's not hard. It helps to center punch your hole, and use a good drill bit (not those crappy titanium ones) and lots of lube. Even 10-30 works fine.

 

[emus]

A HSS bit is either polished or black unless it is Ti-coated then it's coated goldish bronze. Cobalt bits are normally a gold or yellow coated. A glass or diamond drill is usually HSS tipped w/ carbide or diamond.

I am certain that my drill bits from years ago are higher quality than the junkers I've bought in recent years.
I save my good ones for important jobs and use the similar looking junkers for less important jobs.
I mistakenly thought cheap bit would be sufficient to drill stripped aluminium transmission case for heli-coil.

Some of the cheap ones are done after drilling through one piece of 1/8" mild steel.

 

[muzichead]

As with anything, you get what you pay for... Cheap=Cheap=any way you put it=Cheap=Garbage=waste of time and money!!!

 

[emus]

As with anything, you get what you pay for... Cheap=Cheap=any way you put it=Cheap=Garbage=waste of time and money!!!

Even the moderately priced drill bits at major hardware stores seem to be lower quality than years ago.
I don't even know what brand to trust anymore.
I suppose a machine shop could tell me.

 

[Nermal]

Cleveland Twist & Chicago Latrobe used to be top industrial bits. Probably still are. Those sold in little snap in plastic drill indexes probably are not, especially if the selection costs less than one bit from an industrial brand.

 

[muzichead]

Precision Twist Drill, Cleveland Twist, Republic Drill, and Guhring are 4 of the top mfg's of drill bits... You really can't find these at your everyday hardware stores...

 

[savagemann]

Do you have a drill press?

 

[FrostyDream]

I have a drill, probably almost 10 years old. The bits are black.

 

[Jerry J]

Since we have discussed the various types of drill bits, I have a question about the the various types. Of course the interest would be in a bit that can stand up to drilling stainless steel.

From the Precision Drill site they say that they offer bits made of: "cobalt, High Speed Steel (HSS) or solid carbide". So which type would work best for drilling stainless?

 

[emus]

Since we have discussed the various types of drill bits, I have a question about the the various types. Of course the interest would be in a bit that can stand up to drilling stainless steel.

From the Precision Drill site they say that they offer bits made of: "cobalt, High Speed Steel (HSS) or solid carbide". So which type would work best for drilling stainless?

Genuine carbide bits are awesome.

 

[cghildreth]

Genuine carbide bits are also very brittle and very expensive. Cobalt bits are plenty good enough if you're just going to be drilling one or two holes here or there. Carbide bits are generally intended for precision industrial work (e.g. using a mill or lathe). I've got a set of relatively cheap cobalt bits that have lasted for years now, despite frequent use in drilling metals including stainless. Some of the smaller bits have had to be replaced, but the larger bits I just sharpen occasionally when needed. The set I've got is just a cheapy Neiko set that I picked up off of Amazon for around $50.

 

[Jerry J]

Gosh, there is this thing called "Google" that has a 1000 answers to my question regarding the best bit to use on SS.

The types were all over the board, but the common answer was: slow speed (400 rpm), constant pressure and a coolant like some type of threading oil. They also stated that the bit really has to be SHARP and if it heats up to glowing then you have toasted the bit and essentially heat treated the SS. Also, it is best to put enough pressure to where you are running a wire rather than small chips.

Also, most of what I read stated that you really need to where a face shield and clamp your work. It sounds like it's really common for the bit to break just before it punches through. Something about lodging a shard of metal 1/8th of an inch into skin!

 

[emus]

My worst bits are the gold colored bits from Northern; they don't like SS at all.
My black HSS bits (from about 1997 flea market) in 1/8" to 3/16" were sufficient to cut about a dozen holes through thick SS decks and air caps.
The black HSS 1/16" dulled quickly while cutting through thin SS air caps and thicker SS for improved batt vents.

Back in the day I was drilling through several car spot welds which are pretty hard. Only bit that lasted was carbide.

 

[Jerry J]

My worst bits are the gold colored bits from Northern; they don't like SS at all.
My black HSS bits (from about 1997 flea market) in 1/8" to 3/16" were sufficient to cut about a dozen holes through thick SS decks and air caps.
The black HSS 1/16" dulled quickly while cutting through thin SS air caps and thicker SS for improved batt vents.

Back in the day I was drilling through several car spot welds which are pretty hard. Only bit that lasted was carbide.

Did you clamp the caps when you drilled them? If so how did you do it so that you didn't scratch the cap?