Drilling a Steel Enclosure…

[Coda]

I got my last (literally) Small Bear order today. I ordered all kinds of stuff, specifically, a footswitch enclosure. I ordered a drilled enclosure (3 holes). I received a non-drilled enclosure (no wonder they are closing…) No worries. Any tips on drilling through steel? I’ve done it once before…with mixed results.

 

[blackhatboojum]

Drill a small pilot hole first. Use a slower speed. Spray bit with a lubricant as you drill. Soapy water will even do the trick.

 

[Bricksnbeatles]

Slow speed, and keep the bit cool. Otherwise it’s really easy. I ordered a few of those footswitch boxes too, and after I got them I’m honestly sad I didn’t order more since I think I could so done cool stuff with them in addition to what I already had planned

 

[Stickman393]

Steel isn't that bad.

You using a drill press or a hand drill? Either way, clamp it. Trust me, you don't want that thing catching and spinning on ya.

I dunno how thick the small bear stuff is...is it mild steel, galvanized, cold rolled, stainless? Regardless, cutting oil is always helpful and will prolong the life of your bits. Tap magic is great, but smells like cancer. Pleasant cancer, if you're into gasoline, but still...there's plenty of great options out there. I'm trying to go a little more eco-friendly recently...

Use a sharp bit. Step bits are great. You'll actually find it's easier to keep a drill bit on target in steel if you have it started correctly.

If you're having trouble with it, your bit might be dull, or your drill might be underpowered if it's struggling at the larger sizes.

Different materials react differently. The hole saw that chewed through galvanized steel at high speed will be reduced a pathetic circular nub disc after a few seconds on stainless.

The best overall advice I can give, drilling through ANYTHING: keep things cool. Heat is what softens and dulls the cutting edges of your drill bit, lube that thing up and if you're having a hard time, keep the speed low and go a little bit at a time.

And don't assume that a harder bit will always perform better, either. With increased hardness you get increased brittleness...though this applies for thicker materials: there's nothing worse than getting a broken drill bit stuck in a hole.

Well...maybe a tap..

 

[Coda]

Steel isn't that bad.

You using a drill press or a hand drill? Either way, clamp it. Trust me, you don't want that thing catching and spinning on ya.

I dunno how thick the small bear stuff is...is it mild steel, galvanized, cold rolled, stainless? Regardless, cutting oil is always helpful and will prolong the life of your bits. Tap magic is great, but smells like cancer. Pleasant cancer, if you're into gasoline, but still...there's plenty of great options out there. I'm trying to go a little more eco-friendly recently...

Use a sharp bit. Step bits are great. You'll actually find it's easier to keep a drill bit on target in steel if you have it started correctly.

If you're having trouble with it, your bit might be dull, or your drill might be underpowered if it's struggling at the larger sizes.

Different materials react differently. The hole saw that chewed through galvanized steel at high speed will be reduced a pathetic circular nub disc after a few seconds on stainless.

The best overall advice I can give, drilling through ANYTHING: keep things cool. Heat is what softens and dulls the cutting edges of your drill bit, lube that thing up and if you're having a hard time, keep the speed low and go a little bit at a time.

And don't assume that a harder bit will always perform better, either. With increased hardness you get increased brittleness...though this applies for thicker materials: there's nothing worse than getting a broken drill bit stuck in a hole.

Well...maybe a tap..

It’s pretty thick stuff. I used a steel “vintage fuzz wedge” enclosure off of eBay a while back for a pedal. It was hard to drill, but it was thinner than this.

 

[Bricksnbeatles]

It’s pretty thick stuff. I used a steel “vintage fuzz wedge” enclosure off of eBay a while back for a pedal. It was hard to drill, but it was thinner than this.

I’ve found those thinner vintage enclosures to be tougher to drill— I think they’re galvanized or something. The small bear footswitch enclosure is around 3.5mm thick (at least the one I looked at so far) and its probably mild steel, so it should be pretty easy to drill. I just drilled 8 drainage holes in the bottom of a big steel fire pit that was about a half-inch thick using just a hand drill, a center punch, a 7/16” drill bit, and WD-40 (far less than ideal, but I ran out of cutting oil and needed to get it done within the hour) and all 8 holes took all of 10 minutes to do— thick steel isn’t too tough to drill if you take it slow and keep it cool.