Issue drilling holes

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gabeofalltrades07

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Feb 24, 2023
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CD75D6A7-A52D-4A3D-A28B-DF5A54610BDC.jpeg95C85DFF-FCEB-460A-A38A-C41BD1A79C4D.jpegwill someone please tell me why I can’t drill holes through this? It’s 1095 and it’s not hardened. I pulled it out of the Forge and let it cool off. Also, it’s a brand new drillbit. Pulled it out of the package, Put it in the drill and it would not go through. The blade is thin too, not like it’s an enormous piece of steel.
 
Agree, even if normalized it should cut with a new bit. But if it won't then you need to anneal, or spot temper with a torch, or use carbide.

If it was me, I'd heat the hole area with a torch till the oxides go gray, then drill it.
 
from what I understand, scale is very hard. It might be that you damaged the bit by cutting the scale and maybe there was a feed/speed issue. Personally, I never gave drill bits much thought, but since I started learning how to sharpen them my life has gotten better.
So, this is just a shout out to drill bit sharpening, regardless of whether or not that's causing your issue

Also, sometimes when I'm drilling holes and the bit won't go through, I'll take a look at the depth stop and find out it's wound its way down. 🥴
 
Lorien said:
from what I understand, scale is very hard. It might be that you damaged the bit by cutting the scale and maybe there was a feed/speed issue. Personally, I never gave drill bits much thought, but since I started learning how to sharpen them my life has gotten better.
So, this is just a shout out to drill bit sharpening, regardless of whether or not that's causing your issue

Also, sometimes when I'm drilling holes and the bit won't go through, I'll take a look at the depth stop and find out it's wound its way down. 🥴
Click to expand...
😂😂I checked that. Thanks
 
You can buy cheap masonry drill bits with brazed on carbide that will drill through fully hard steel.

Also, even with yours, be sure to lube/oil your work
 
I bet scale is the issue. Pickle anything you want to grind or drill in sodium bisulfate solution overnight and wash off. It will grind and drill a lot better. Make a few gallons in a drywall bucket and keep it covered when not in use. It will last for a long time. The ratio is 1-pound Sodium Bisulfate per gallon.
It is sold for treating swimming pools as Ph-Down.
 
As others have said, the tang needs to be annealed. After forging if the billet is allowed to cool in air many times the billet will harden enough it's really hard to drill, or cut with a saw. After forging it's always a good idea to do a heat, then allow to cool slowly. Sometimes just cooling as the forge cools will provide enough annealing, sometimes it will need a slower cooling.
 
Slow cooling is best for annealing. Taking it out and letting it air cool doesn't cut it as you found out! I did find that some of the tips for drilling natural stone work good for drilling hardened steel. Solid carbide works best, but it pricier.
 
fitzo said:
Big ole' plate martensite from air cooling 1095 straight from the forge can make drilling a real nightmare. 1095 is famous for it.
Click to expand...

I've had this happen several times with 1095. As others have said, you have to anneal it. I've had some success just leaving the blade in the hot forge after turning the gas off for the day. I think letting it cool in vermiculite is better though.
 
I recommend putting a flat sacrifical material under the blade so you stop drilling into your table.

Scraps of white covered MDF shelf material like they sell at HD is my favourite, garbage picked from broken ikea type furnature.


A solid single flute carbide drill will do it, but they are $25 and easy to break.
garbage chipped flute carbide end mills will also do it.
Sharpen a carbide tipped masonry drill on a diamond wheel Drill Dr
Solid carbide burrs work.
 
I like three flute carbide drills for many tasks. They drill clean and easy and resists chipping better. Yes, they are pricey, about $22 each in 1/4". Carbide Depot is my main source for them.

I also buy bundle bags of carbide bits from eBay and other places. They are sometimes ones that need sharpening (what industry calls dull we often call "almost new"), or new ones from industrial surplus. Often it is less than $2 a bit. They seem to work fine right out of the bag. I sharpen ones that seem to drill slow on the diamond lap. I have found bags of reamers for stupid cheap. Once they don't meet specs the industries toss them in the "get rid of them" box. Resellers bundle them and sell for as low as $1 a reamer in bags of 20-30 reamers.
 
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