cymaz Posted December 19, 2021 Share Posted December 19, 2021 Anyone had experience of a stepped drill bit? Are they accurate? Do they make clean, round holes? CHEERS? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Stephenson Posted December 19, 2021 Share Posted December 19, 2021 Cymaz, I have used a variety of stepped drills. They have their uses but one thing you will notice is that when drilling thick material you will end up with a stepped hole. With two deep cutting faces they can grab and snag in some materials. They almost always come in even steps of mm and the only ones I've found in odd mm sizes don't cover the range that would be useful. Tapered drills are handy for getting an exact size hole in thin material but as far as accuracy goes I've never checked, they do make round holes but like all drills they can wander. They are best used in a drill press not a hand-held. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Harris - Moderator Posted December 20, 2021 Share Posted December 20, 2021 Best used for making holes in sheet material where a conventional drill often grabs and makes an irregular shaped hole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymaz Posted December 20, 2021 Author Share Posted December 20, 2021 Thanks for the advice. I was going to use one in some thin ply. If it’s not successful, what I may end up doing is drilling a small hole and using a conical sanding bit to go right up to the edges Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace Posted December 20, 2021 Share Posted December 20, 2021 On wood thicker than the steps (2-3mm ish) I just turn it over, center and run it through again. Also helps eliminate splintering. I also wrap a piece of masking tape above the step width required to ensure correct size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ovenden Posted December 20, 2021 Share Posted December 20, 2021 I find them very useful for making larger diameter holes in thin material. As Ace says, you can drill from both sides for thicker material. I also find they are good for starting a nice smooth round hole (that you can drill deeper with a standard drill bit once the hole is neatly started). Avoids splintering the wood with a big drill when you start drilling a larger size hole. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Bennett Posted December 20, 2021 Share Posted December 20, 2021 Interesting, I'd never heard of a stepped drill bit until this post. Apart from avoiding the hassle of changing bits for different size holes, is there any other advantage over conventional single-size bits? A disadvantage would seem to me to be when the size you use most wears out you have to replace the whole bit, at a much greater cost than a single-size bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ovenden Posted December 20, 2021 Share Posted December 20, 2021 38 minutes ago, Allan Bennett said: Interesting, I'd never heard of a stepped drill bit until this post. Apart from avoiding the hassle of changing bits for different size holes, is there any other advantage over conventional single-size bits? A disadvantage would seem to me to be when the size you use most wears out you have to replace the whole bit, at a much greater cost than a single-size bit. I am still using my original HSS step drill (made by Halls of Sheffield) that I bought 35 years ago. Its never been sharpened an is still working well. I also recently picked up a cheap one from LIDL and that works fine too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Hooper Posted December 20, 2021 Share Posted December 20, 2021 I'm a fan of the stepped drill. However, I'm aware that the initial tip is going to get all the wear, no matter what size of hole you're aiming for. For this reason I like to drill a pilot hole with a conventional bit first. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ovenden Posted December 20, 2021 Share Posted December 20, 2021 2 hours ago, Tim Hooper said: I'm a fan of the stepped drill. However, I'm aware that the initial tip is going to get all the wear, no matter what size of hole you're aiming for. For this reason I like to drill a pilot hole with a conventional bit first. Tim Tim, yes I tend to do exactly that myself. Drill a pilot hole first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outrunner Posted December 20, 2021 Share Posted December 20, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, Allan Bennett said: Interesting, I'd never heard of a stepped drill bit until this post. Apart from avoiding the hassle of changing bits for different size holes, is there any other advantage over conventional single-size bits? A disadvantage would seem to me to be when the size you use most wears out you have to replace the whole bit, at a much greater cost than a single-size bit. The big advantage of a a stepped drill as others have mentioned is when drilling through sheet material as they don't grab like a jobber drill bit does and the holes are quite accurate and round too. Have you ever drilled through a piece of thin metal and noticed the shape of the hole when using a standard jobber drill? Edited December 20, 2021 by Outrunner Added text Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymaz Posted December 20, 2021 Author Share Posted December 20, 2021 Ok, I’ll try and get one before Christmas and report back. It’s only going to be used for thin ply at the beginning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Low 2 Posted December 21, 2021 Share Posted December 21, 2021 Toolmakers tip..........When drilling sheet metal, if you place a about 4 pieces of rag between the drill and where you want to drill the hole. Then drill through the rag into the metal, it stops the drill wobbling and produces a nice round hole. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Bennett Posted December 21, 2021 Share Posted December 21, 2021 18 hours ago, Outrunner said: The big advantage of a a stepped drill as others have mentioned is when drilling through sheet material as they don't grab like a jobber drill bit does and the holes are quite accurate and round too. Have you ever drilled through a piece of thin metal and noticed the shape of the hole when using a standard jobber drill? Thanks Outrunner. I rarely drill through thin sheet, but with all drilling I start with a 1mm bit and then work upwards ? Looking closely at stepped drills online, I see that they have very little, or no, twist in the cutting edges, which I'm sure must help prevent snagging and odd-shaped holes. Maybe I'll invest in one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Fry Posted December 21, 2021 Share Posted December 21, 2021 10 hours ago, Colin Low 2 said: Toolmakers tip..........When drilling sheet metal, if you place a about 4 pieces of rag between the drill and where you want to drill the hole. Then drill through the rag into the metal, it stops the drill wobbling and produces a nice round hole. Tried this today as I wandered through to turn the house heating off. Mounted in a drill press, thickish tinplate, worked well. Only point to make, keep the rags small, you don’t want big bits of cloth whipping round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymaz Posted December 21, 2021 Author Share Posted December 21, 2021 Now ordered a bit - 4mm/20mm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted December 21, 2021 Share Posted December 21, 2021 These are what I use for ply, £4 or so from China, about 6-30mm diamond tipped. Use in a drill press. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ovenden Posted December 22, 2021 Share Posted December 22, 2021 13 hours ago, Martin McIntosh said: These are what I use for ply, £4 or so from China, about 6-30mm diamond tipped. Use in a drill press. They look very useful Martin. Do you remember who you got them from? Banggood; Ebay?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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