Fitted 3 vertical blinds but broke 4 drill bits , metal mesh on lintel ? Just wondering for future use what I should be looking for in a drill bit ? Type or brand maybe , guessing the generic cheap sets are pants ? Milwaukee drill btw
Metal drill bits
- Thread starter moon man
- Start date
Soldato
- Joined
- 6 Sep 2016
- Posts
- 13,199
Sounds like your putting your body weight into the drill. Let the bit do the work not you.
I think this is true I also wasn't sure on the speed needed
Associate
- Joined
- 20 Nov 2013
- Posts
- 1,386
- Location
- leicestershire
Different size bits have different optimal speeds, when you get it right you should see the metal come out in spirals, bigger the bit the slower the speed, if you're drilling a big hole drill a pilot hole first, if you're drilling through thick material use a cutting fluid to keep the temp down or just let things cool down.
Soldato
- Joined
- 6 Sep 2016
- Posts
- 13,199
Always take DIY advice from Homer
Use the drill bit icon setting if you have it, most people (including myself) have no idea how to use a drill, even most people working in industries using them professional! read a guide by someone who actually does will probably blow your mind compared to what you thought was the way to use them.
Last edited:
Soldato
- Joined
- 25 May 2008
- Posts
- 4,035
- Location
- North Wales
Yeah for cutting metal you need to go really slowly actually, there's lots of charts in engineering books but it's super easy to dull/break a drill bit by going too fast and not putting enough pressure on them.
As a general rule you want to go slow with quite a high force but the force needs to be perfectly square to the job otherwise you'll just snap it.
I've had good results over years using fairly cheap drill bits, nothing special but using the right speed, pressure, keeping them sharp and using the right lubricant.
As a general rule you want to go slow with quite a high force but the force needs to be perfectly square to the job otherwise you'll just snap it.
I've had good results over years using fairly cheap drill bits, nothing special but using the right speed, pressure, keeping them sharp and using the right lubricant.
Man of Honour
- Joined
- 29 Mar 2003
- Posts
- 57,637
- Location
- Stoke on Trent
After taking advice off a couple of Tradesmen a couple of years ago I ended up buying these, never had a problem since -
you could go a lot dearer with Milwaukee but these are bang for the buck.
you could go a lot dearer with Milwaukee but these are bang for the buck.
Last edited:
Yup
They're relatively expensive but go through metal and masonry, but they've made life so much easier for me when doing stuff around the house, especially fitting curtains or blinds as you are never quite sure where the lintel is going to end.
Soldato
- Joined
- 4 Aug 2007
- Posts
- 22,396
- Location
- Wilds of suffolk
No one has mentioned drill but IMO it is as important as drill bits
Anything difficult if you can go wired IMO its a world apart compared to a combi
I've got good battery based and even a cheap wired drill I bought is so much better on demanding tasks
If I break out the wired bosch SDS even in normal drill mode its a beast, using the same drill bits its like 10x easier
Anything difficult if you can go wired IMO its a world apart compared to a combi
I've got good battery based and even a cheap wired drill I bought is so much better on demanding tasks
If I break out the wired bosch SDS even in normal drill mode its a beast, using the same drill bits its like 10x easier
Last edited:
I don't bother with battery drills, I have a wired Bosch one and just use an extension.
Soldato
- Joined
- 25 May 2008
- Posts
- 4,035
- Location
- North Wales
I've never had an issue with a fairly cheap battery drill, what are you guys drilling!
I drilled 40x 10mm holes in 8mm thick steel with my brushless Ryobi and didn't have any issues at all.
I let it have a rest half way through as i felt sorry for it at such low RPM there can't have been much cooling but it still did it no worries.
I drilled 40x 10mm holes in 8mm thick steel with my brushless Ryobi and didn't have any issues at all.
I let it have a rest half way through as i felt sorry for it at such low RPM there can't have been much cooling but it still did it no worries.
Soldato
- Joined
- 4 Aug 2007
- Posts
- 22,396
- Location
- Wilds of suffolk
Its not just what, its where and how long it takes
There is a vast difference drilling some straight down holes into a sheet of metal compared to trying to drill a hole into a brick wall either on a ladder or above your head.
What causes most (like vastly most) breakages in drill bits is not drilling a consistent angle, plus ofc the strength of a bit goes up exponentially to its diameter.
Pushing hard trying to drill into eg a lintel above your head is exactly when people will fail to apply consistent angle and snap a bit, typically they will be using something like a 6mm bit.
Even at 18v I think many drills are underpowered, especially when you start drilling to some depth.
I drilled about 40x 8mm by around 80mm deep holes into breeze block (through wood) using a bosch expert drill and completely drained my 4Ah and one of my 2Ah batteries.
I was really surprised as I thought the 2Ah would do the lot let alone draining the 4Ah as well.