Can I drill through cast iron?

Question

I need to make the hole in a weightlifters 'weight', larger!
It's currently, 1" wide, and I need to make the hole 26mm wide
Any ideas?

Answer 1

I would file it out. A 26mm drill bit is going to cost you a lot on money and as mark B said, you would really need a piler drill.

Answer 2

Contrary to many answers, cast iron drills easily and requires no cutting fluid as it is self lubricating due to its carbon content.

Large holes, however, can be an issue in any material but since you only want to increase the hole by 0.6mm this shouldn't be too hard. The biggest issue you will have is finding a 26mm drill to fit a domestic electric drill. I have had someone turn down the drill shank from a Morse taper but it may be best to buy or borrow a reamer.

Or since you are into exercise, why not use a file and consider it the days workout.

Answer 3

Depends.

You can.

Bar can be modified but it is batter to modify weights.

Once you do modification then, they will not be regulation weight set, cannot be used for compitition.

Square or round hole.

Round Hole.

Any standard high speed steel or Carbide drill will do the trick but you will need a drill press, and good clamps, do not try it with hand drill you can injure your hand or break it.

Drill RPM should be kept high and dril travel should be very slow so you do not crack the cast Iron.

A Lethe and a boring bar/or a fly cutter can do the job also.

Other equipments are also available to do this.

If the bar is 26 mm diameter, then your hole needs to be 27-28 mm or at least 26.5 mm. Need some clearance to slide it on or it will **** and jam, it will not slide on freely. It is call play and it is up to you to decide how much play you want for good, no bounce lift.

Take it to a mettle works, With the bar and the weights.

You can buy a hand reamer and ream it out slowly, take a long time to do it.

Cast Iron is easier to drill then some other steel alloys.

Square Hole.

If it is a square hole then you need a broach, and a hydraulic or hand press, they come in all sizes and they are tapered so they start correctly.

You did say "1" wide".

In all cases may need to use cutting oil.

Oil,must be cleaned to avoid accident while lifting. Soap solution type cutting fluid is preferred for this application, can be washed out without challenge.

Answer 4

Simple. Run a 26mm drill through, If you need the hole to be more accurate, use a reamer.It is your mistake that you had a 1" rod and drilled a 1" hole.

Answer 5

Cast iron with a hole already in it can be drilled with a normal HSS drill bit. If you need to drill a new hole in cast iron you will have to drill a small , say 3mm hole and then drill the size you want going up in sizes if it's a large hole to be drilled. Now the crucial bit, slow and the slower the better, to fast with the drills speed and you will take the edge off the drill with the heat generated. Patience is the key....

Answer 6

Yes. Why not? You will have to use diamond drill (high quality bit for metal) fixed on a stand. Make sure to use continuous water pipe mixed with motor oil. It would be better if you use first a larger bit, when you are through, start again with a bigger one, keep on drilling until you reach the required measurement. If it still gets hot, stop a minute and then start again. I am sure you will be a winner.

Answer 7

bung it on the lathe and use a cutter 26mm is a large bit for a normal diy drill press pop along to your local garage they will have one there is no problem with drilling cast iron however most weight disks are actually cast steel as cast iron tends to be too brittle for the impacts weights receive

Answer 8

Cast iron machines pretty well.
I'd suggest a reamer rather than a drill
for your application. They're expensive though.
If it's only one or two discs, and you're only
removing 1/2 millimeter of material, it might be
cost effective to just open the holes with a file.
What's your time worth?

Answer 9

Cast iron machines easy. No coolant is necessary. Normally best to regrind the drill with a 90 degree point angle-Standard point angle is 118 deg.-
I have a lathe so i would bore it out on that. If no lathe is available and the hole does not have to be accurate and there is only 0.6 to remove then i would use a 2nd cut half round file.
cast iron cant be cut with a oxy acetylene torch

Answer 10

It may be easier to reduce the size of the bar.

If you want to make the hole in the weight plate bigger you will need to take it to a metal engineering company to do it for you or you could sit there all week and file it down!