![]() ![]() These are expensive, and it would be a shame to ruin one for a few holes in your still.īourbonbob: Hi Soc. Step Drills: same considerations as drilling (above). Thin SS overheats easily - if the metal turns blue it is overheating and you are work hardening it. Keep cutting or else.īe careful - take your time. As drill size increases, the already slow speed gets slower and the pressure gets higher. Very slow speed, lots of pressure, cutting oil - keep cutting! Begin by prick punching so the drill won't wander and you can apply plenty of cutting pressure from the get go. "Coated" drills don't improve the drilling, cost more. Carbide or Tungsten Carbide tipped are better, but more expensive. Drills: "High Speed Steel" bits can be used (though NOT at high speed). ![]() This amazing kit includes a nice tubing cutter - great for copper - and a 1.4 inch hole punch - designed for cutting holes in their SS sinks.Ĥ. Unbelievably, IKEA sells one of their "Fixa" tool sets for $9.95 (available in the kitchen/sink department). You could pay a plumber to punch your holes, and a few rental centers will rent them. Hole Punch: these are VERY expensive ($50 for a small hole, hundreds for a large hole), but do a great job. Use oil or a bit of oil soaked sponge which you can stuff into the hole saw - avoids need for a third hand.ģ. SS pots/lids are often less than 1/16" thick and need to be supported from the back, so you can use adequate pressure without bending them.īefore you actually cut the large hole, it is acceptable to lightly centerpunch the center, then drill a small starter hole, then drilling to enlarge it to the same size as the center guide on the hole saw (to avoid the center guide breaking through without warning). But not so much pressure that the saw stalls or catches. The key - you must keep cutting, slow and with pressure to avoid any work hardening slippage or spinning. Allowing ANY tool to spin fast on SS will work harden it and your hole drilling is over. All require the same technique - very slow speed and use of ordinary or cutting oil, lots of pressure. More expensive are the carbide or tungsten carbide tipped hole saws. At the least this requires what are called bi-metal hole saws. Hole Saws: ordinary hole saws will not work on SS. Plasma Cutting and/or SS Welding: expensive equipment and process that most of us are not equipped to do.Ģ. Now let's consider some of the techniques I found:ġ. The other hole(s) include small (say 1 to 1-1/2 inches) to be made in the lower side of the stockpot for inserting heating elements. The two type of holes usually needed include a large hole (say 3 or 4 inches) for the column flange or SS drain, made in the lid or bowl serving as the cover. They are also thin - another factor requiring special techniques.ģ. SS stockpots/lids/bowls tend to be made of lower grades of stainless that are spun or stamped - which means the SS is already work hardened to some degree. Working with it requires special techniques - SS can easily work harden and mess up your project.Ģ. Stainless steel is difficult to work with and requires better drills and tools. After much research and a goodly number of PM's to many of the well known and respected distillers here, I was able to accumulate a bunch of very good info which I thought would be worth sharing in this one post. ![]() Missing seemed to be a good summary on cutting or making holes in spun SS stockpots, lids and bowls. There's nice summarized info on things like soldering, assembly, coiling, cleaning and distilling. Like many of you I've spent many hours reading the main site and the forums, which led to my decision. As a few of you know, I'm new here and about to embark on my first Bok Mini based on a mid priced SS stockpot. ![]()
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