Drilling through angle iron???

Question

How do I drill trough angle iron, all my drill bits gets blunt and I cant drill through....

Answer 1

Make sure you have the right drill bit, start with a small one at first, keep cooling it down with water to prevent it from going blunt.

Answer 2

The iron may be harden and not a milder steel. Like a bed rail they are harden outside and a little softer inside. Start with a real good quality drill bit say a 1/8 inch then go all the way through then increase size a couple times. This allows the smaller drill bit not have as much too do. Then by increasing you are only enlarging the hole reducing the cuttin surface allows the bit to not to have too cut downward. Use some cutting oil it also flushes out the waste but keeps the bit cooler reducing also the wear on the bits sharpness.
Should the steel prove really hard use a carbide or coated drill bit. If this is stainless you must use a carbide bit.

Answer 3

Drilling At An Angle

Answer 4

1

Answer 5

Use a high speed steel bit at minimum. Cobalt HSS bits work even better and the nitride (gold) coating is good if you have a lot of holes. You get what you pay for with the cheapie import bits.
punch a smaller pilot hole through first if you need a large hole
use cutting oil or Tap Magic (Tap Magic helps a lot)
run the drill at medium to slow RPM
keep enough pressure on so that the bit is always cutting and the metal doesn't work harden.

Answer 6

You need a bit design for metal, not wood. I.E. High Speed Steel, Cobalt, Carbide, etc.
Also, if you can get it to a drill press, you can get a LOT more pressure with a press than a hand drill.
Finally, when drilling steel (iron), slower RPMs of the drill is required than drilling wood or aluminum.

Answer 7

Sure. It's a little easier if you drill through from the 'outside', where both flanges are pointing away from you. Use a file and make a little flat where you want the hole to start and centerpunch on the flat. Don't go to a lot of effort with the flat - just knock off the sharpness of the corner. If you drill through from the inside it's harder to get the hole started because the bit hits the 'sides' before it gets to the actual corner and it's hard to get any accuracy.

Answer 8

you need a High speed steel drill bit, Chicago brand is the best, if you have a lot of holes to drill buy a nitride coated one, also lower the speed on the drill and apply some type of coolant while drilling, IE grease, water or some type of oil,

Answer 9

William B is on the right track. To keep the drill cool, I use a mixture of tapping fluid and cutting oil. You can get these at any hardware store.

Answer 10

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