How To Drill A Hole In Sheet Metal

Never ever hold a sheet metal workpiece in your hands when drilling and always.

How to drill a hole in sheet metal.

It s not as effective but much simpler. Your first step should always be to locate the centers of all the holes you will need to. When drilling thin sheet metal clamp the metal over a piece of sacrificial plywood or other flat sheet good like mdf or particleboard to help prevent the bit from tearing up the hole. Twist drills are great.

The cloth prevents the drill bit to dig into the metal without the need of changing the rake angle. Drill a small pilot hole in the required location 3mmø with the drill spindle stopped locate the folded cloth centrally over the hole and fit the large diameter drill to the machine no need to use further pilot holes if you use the correct speeds and feeds. With a small twist bit 1 16 in. Using a black marker pen mark where you want to start drilling.

Make a dimple drill bits can be reluctant about metal. Since this is a small hole a normal drill bit will work well in the sheet metal without extra precautions. How to drill a hole in metal with a rotary drill kit this process is just like piercing a hole in metal. For the cleanest hole clamp a second piece on top of the metal making a sacrificial sandwich.

The pilot hole will help you positioning the drill bit and than just drill as usual. If the point is even with the outer tips of the drill you cannot pick up you mark and the drill will walk around the surface as you try to drill the hole. In general it s a good idea to drill through metal using as slow a speed as possible using a drill bit for metal. To 3 16 in you can drill through most metals at 3 000 rpm.

A point at the end of the drill to place in your center punch mark to start. Hard metals like steel and larger drill bits require even slower speeds. You could also make a small dent using a hammer and. Always use a clamp or three.

You ll need to start by securing your metal sheet in place before.