Drilling Holes In Sheet Metal

But once you get to know the tools whatever your budget and how to use them you can start creating holes in sheet metal quickly and accurately.

Drilling holes in sheet metal.

The material your drill bit is made of. For example if you want the hole to be 1 2 inch 1 3 cm at the end start by drilling a hole that s 1 4 inch 0 64 cm. After you drill the hole it is possible to provide adequate corrosion protection for the drilled. At the left is the hole just started and starting to drill some of the diameter.

Sheet metal drills a pdf test drill a hole. For the cleanest hole clamp a second piece on top of the metal making a sacrificial sandwich. Simply sandwich the sheet metal between two pieces of wood and clamp everything down on a table or workbench. Piercing cutting and drilling sheet metal is an integral part of metalsmithing.

Than drill a smaller hole to guide the final drill bit. For holes up to 19mmø i would suggest starting with a piece approximately 100mm 4. 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. This can cause corrosion rust to form in and around the hole.

Since this is a small hole a normal drill bit will work well in the sheet metal without extra precautions. It may seem daunting at first something as simple as learning how to cut a hole in sheet metal can seem like a tall order. For clean precise holes in thin sheet metal make a wood sandwich. Drilling into galvanized metal is no different than drilling a hole in standard carbon metal with the exception that the protective zinc coating does not protect the drilled hole.

You start off by drilling a small diameter pilot hole and then drill gradually larger holes until you get. The wooden bread layers of the sandwich keep the sheet metal flat and prevent the drill bit from wandering as it bores through the sheet metal. In essence drilling metal is no different than drilling wood. The right shows the finished hole.

Place the drill bit in your drill and tighten it so it s held firmly in your drill. The diameter of this pilot hole should be slightly larger than the chisel length picture below of the final bit. But there are two main differences. Drilling a hole in sheet metal with a twist drill is a rather straightforward operation.

The center is about half way through the 050 thickness with the point already through the material. At the lower right.