Welding Tips and Tricks

Hi Folks,
I bought this awesome new Fein Drill for only $99 on Amazon, but now I am snapping Milwaukee drill bits left and right. The bits are snapping in the middle of the bit. I am drilling through 1/4" mild steel plate, using LPS Tapmatic Aquacut Cutting Fluid.
Can you recommend a drill bit brand to me that can handle a bunch of torque?
Thanks!

Slow your drill speed way down, and make sure the drill is set to "drill mode". That will reduce the torque from snapping the bit.

Pilot holes. Start tiny, and slowly graduate to the size you want. The less,material the drill bit is catching, the less torque it takes to spin the bit.

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Get a set of cobalt drill bits, even the cheap ones are good.
Not a fan of Milwaukee drill and driver bits.

Cobalt bits are excellent in my experience but one hitch may be that they are more brittle than HSS bits which could be an issue with a hand drill if you don't hold it steady and true especially with the smaller sizes and have a binding issue. If you sharpen your own bits make sure the tip is centered as one slightly longer cutting edge can break thru and catch. When the bit is starting to break thru back off the pressure to avoid hooking the bit and breaking it. Like most things it's a bit of a learning curve to get" the feel" of a hand drill especially if you are used to using a stable precise controlled drill press.

scotty17 wrote: Can you recommend a drill bit brand to me that can handle a bunch of torque?
Thanks!

Have you checked your drill chuck and bits for excessive runout?

This is what I like for mild steel in a hand drill after center punching the location:

For initial hole:
Double ended, high speed steel (HSS), 135 degree, split point, chucked up as far inwards as I can get away with.

For final size:
Same specs as above but a stub length or screw machine length bit. I don't use the jobber length very often like you find in hardware stores. Most of my metalwork doesn't need that much flute length. More twist, flex, and runout.

I'm not brand loyal. I check the box for "made in USA" when rummaging the mscdirect or grainger catalog. I'm also having success with the YG1 brand from Korea.

At some point I had to understand speeds & feeds for each drill size and retracting/chip clearing. This naturally helped with hand drilling too. If you watch a decent machine set up for the drill size, you may see strings of chips come out that are several inches long. My hand and drill are not as good, but I stop and regroup when the chips stop. I start out slow while observing these chips and adjusting the clutch until I have a feel for whatever I'm using.

homeboy wrote:When the bit is starting to break thru back off the pressure to avoid hooking the bit and breaking it.

Good advice! That will quickly trash things too.

What size holes are you trying to drill?

The sizes have been from 3/16 up to 1/4.

I have been chucking deep.

I believe the jobber bits I have been using are too long.

I have been speed sensitive watching the long chips.

I believe if I switch to cobalt, Double ended, high speed steel (HSS), 135 degree, split point, it will work.

THANKS!

Using a dark sulphur cutting oil, Rigid make a good one, will do wonders for drill life and ease of cutting.

kiwi2wheels wrote:Using a dark sulphur cutting oil, Rigid make a good one, will do wonders for drill life and ease of cutting.

I've had real good luck with Tap Magic It's a cutting fluid, not just for tapping as the name might imply

Another thing is the flute length on the double ended. They are mainly sold for sheet metal, so a flute length that is twice or more the thickness of the material is preferred. Something like this 3/16" x 2-3/16" Long x 1/2" Flute Length.

3/16 really isn't that small of a drill to hand bomb. If you're having problems the drills could be bad, is the steel really mild steel are you trying to drill a flame cut edge? Or rigidity. I am thinking maybe rigidity as you mentioned long chips. Long chips are great on a machine. Good sign you are working the drill. With hand drilling you only need to strive for any kind of chip.
As for drills I have had good luck with KFC tools house brand.

LtBadd wrote:

kiwi2wheels wrote:Using a dark sulphur cutting oil, Rigid make a good one, will do wonders for drill life and ease of cutting.

I've had real good luck with Tap Magic It's a cutting fluid, not just for tapping as the name might imply

That stuff is the best!

I know I'm a little late on this... But I've actually used. Lucas Oil Transmission Stop Slip as my cutting oil for quite a while... Cheap, big bottle with a pointed snout that makes it convenient and it actually works extremely well!!!

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I've heard boelube is good. Have yet to try it though.

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