I am trying to drill a 1/16" hole in a 3/4" black steel pipe with my portable drill, the drill bit does not penetrate int the pipe. Is it because of drill bit or drill itself?

 

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Normally black iron pipe is fairly soft and easy enough to drill?
Is the drill bit sharp?
What RPM?

 

I think the drill bit is not sharped. I usually buy good quality drill bit because is hard to sharp them.

 

I am trying to drill a 1/16" hole in a 3/4" black steel pipe with my portable drill, the drill bit does not penetrate int the pipe. Is it because of drill bit or drill itself?

Is the bit sharp? What kind of bit are you using? Different bits work better/worse in different materials. If you are using a wood bit in steel....

Are you able to hold the bit steady while applying pressure to the drill?

Are you using any cutting fluid (oil) to lubricate the bit? If not, and if you have not done so in the past, your bit is more likely to be dull.

 

Yes, may not be sharp. Speed is max for the Ryobi 18 V drill.

 

You might try starting with a smaller drill bit.

 

I make a piolet hole first. See post #7 crutschow.
It is also common to use a punch, or sharp nail, to make a mark on the pipe. You need a small indent to get started in.
Next you could use a file to make a flat spot to start in.

It is hard to drill a round object. All (any) of the above will help.

 

Pilot? 1/16" is pretty small to start with?

 

One tip is do not buy drills that originate from China!
You MAY get to use them once, if lucky !
I have never seen a drill get bent before.

 

That drill motor is reversible, do you have it turning the right direction? Drill bits won't cut running backward.

 

I have never seen a drill get bent before.

I have. Needless to say, those bits didn't stay in my toolbox.

The worst, however, was an easy-out that didn't break, but rather twisted all the way around while the broken screw didn't budge. I should still have that in a box somewhere as a trophy.

 

I meant to imply that I did actually see one get bent when I was perusing a discount store, someone closed the lid a little heavy on a box of drills.
Origin: China.

 

I meant to imply that I did actually see one get bent when I was perusing a discount store, someone closed the lid a little heavy on a box of drills.
Origin: China.

Back in high school I bought a cheap set of small tools at the grocery store (in one of those sale-of-the-week bins) to throw in the glove compartment to ensure I at least had some tools at all time (my toolbox had a habit of not getting returned to the car in a timely manner). I went to use the pliers to remove a leaking hose by compressing the clamp and all that happened was the handles on the pliers bent toward each other, despite me only using my thumb and forefinger on them. Curious, I took out the adjustable wrench (think Crescent wrench) and held it with my thumb on one side midway between and my index and middle fingers on the other. Took almost no force at all to bend the handle. And, of course, the pouch they came in proudly proclaimed them as "Quality tools for heavy-duty use."

Even so, I think that might have been among the best money I ever spent, because that was the first time (or at least the first time that made enough of an impact to stick with me) that I encountered outright, intentional fraud. Before that, I assumed that anyone that made claims about a product they were selling at least believed them. But after that, I became a lot more skeptical and I assume that any claims made are total fabrications until I am convinced otherwise. That has saved me countless money in the decades since, which is not to say that I still don't buy things that end up disappointing me. Sadly, most of that has been the ever-increasing occurrences of truly piss-poor quality from formerly highly-respected brands.

 

On the left side I drew red lines that show a chisel shape that tears away metal.
At the very center of a bit is an area that does not remove metal well. (small red line) That is why we use a piolet hole.

 

That is why we use a piolet hole.

I've never seen it spelled that way. I've always seen it as "pilot hole", including in many charts of drill sizes.

The term "pilot" makes sense, since one of the meanings is someone or something that acts as a guide.

But piolet, to the best of my knowledge, refers to a small axe, typically an ice axe.

Do you happen to have any reference to this use of the piolet, or perhaps another meaning for the word that would tie in with it being used this way?

 

But piolet, to the best of my knowledge, refers to a small axe, typically an ice axe.

Probably not the best choice for making a small hole in a metal tube

 

1. Make sure the drill, as mentioned:

That drill motor is reversible, do you have it turning the right direction? Drill bits won't cut running backward.

2. Make sure your drill bit is case hardened steel verse case hardened peanut butter.

I use a center punch to create a divot and drill. A quality bit should not have any problem.

Ron

 

On the left side I drew red lines that show a chisel shape that tears away metal.
At the very center of a bit is an area that does not remove metal well. (small red line) That is why we use a piolet hole.

Actually the flutes(marked by the long red line) doesn't do any cutting, they are only for getting the chips out of the hole. The short red line is called the chisel edge, and does do some cutting, but most of the cautting is done by the straight unmarked edge going to the chisel edge.



But for someone not used to drilling holes, many times it is they have the drill motor rotating the wrong direction, it has to turn clockwise for a standard drill bit.

 

Probably not the best choice for making a small hole in a metal tube

It'll work fine as long as you hit is JUST right....