These type of drill bits come in many types, including pozi, philips, slotted and actually metal, masonry and wood drill bits.  The hexagon shank helps the drill bit to stop spinning in the chuck or can be used in a bit holder type driver, usually magnetic.  It’s not recommended to use screwdriver bits in a power drill as these are not clutched to use them, this will lead to the screw head or the driver bit being rounded off or damaged.

Once again there are quite a few different types of masonry drill bits, later you’ll see SDS which uses a clip-in system.  Basically masonry drill bits have a carbide tip brazed onto the front of the drill shaft.  Very similar to the SDS, TCT and glass drill bits.  However, the masonry drill bit has it’s faces and flutes ground in a different way so it can drill into masonry, breeze block, concrete, asphelt and many other similar abrasive surfaces.

Stainless steel grades have a series of allowable other metal contents to maximize machinability. In addition to the difference in machinability between various types of stainless steel, this makes 316 grade steel easier to process than 316B. The machinability grade of 316 steel is 60, while the machinability grade of 316B is 50, and the machinability grade of 304 and 304L grades is the same, both are 70. In contrast, Alloy 303 is the easiest stainless steel to process. It has a machinability level of 150 and a baseline machinability level of 100.

Used in combination with drill bits to create holes, this type of drill/saw has many different types from Bi-metal; cutting through steel sheet,  plastics, other metals and wood. Cobalt; cutting into harder materials and steels.  TCT grit; cutting into very hard materials. Diamond grit; cutting into tiles, glass, slate, ceramics and similar materials.

Basically another drill for drilling very hard materials. Tungstan Carbide is man made and grown into drill tips, which like the tile/glass drill mentioned earlier are brazed onto a steel shaft. The major difference between the TCT and glass drill is the that the TCT drill has been sharpened and honed to a sharp edge on both cutting faces. This makes TCT bits one of the best drills for drilling very hard metal surfaces.

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Today we will delve into the world of drill bit identification.  Essential if you want to use the right drill bit for the right purpose.  Looking in your toolbox and wondering how you got a collection of so many drill bits and should you buy new ones or try to use the ones you already own?

304 is easier to process than 316 stainless steel. Grade 304 steel is not only easier to process, but also easier to clean, which is one of the reasons why it has so many different finishes, and this is why it is used for surfaces that are visible to the public. Type 316 stainless steel is not only difficult to machine, but also requires special tools for cutting. It performs well in pitting corrosion resistance, but it is not so easy to form, which explains why it is reserved for applications that other types of stainless steel cannot handle.

The centre drill has a tip on both sides and is basically used for countersinking.  Also this is our first HSS drill bit, so can be used with steel, other metals, woods and plastics.  Generally if it’s HSS (meaning High Speed Steel) then it will cut a multitude of different materials.

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There are a few types of spot weld drill bits. The two above are the main versions. On the left is a drill bit guided spot weld drill. On the right is a HSCo (cobalt) drill bit which is harder than HSS. The drill on the right tends to only have a single flute. Both are used to go through the usually harder and/or thicker material of a weld or spot weld.

All 300 series stainless steels have a certain degree of work hardening, and 316 grades are easier to harden, and more effort is needed to prevent this from happening. One solution is to use sharp tools and change tools when they start to wear out, and work at a slower speed and higher feed compared to Machining 304. To process 304 stainless steel, it should be processed at a slower speed. When processing complex grade 304 steel, use deep cutting at a high feed rate to minimize work hardening.

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The most common type of Steel and other metal cutting drill bit.  Before HSS was invented they used Carbon steel drill bits to try to drill metals, but this was found to be next to useless.   The picture shows an HSS morse tapered shank drill bit.

Stainless steel is widely used because of its corrosion resistance. There are many grades of stainless steel, and their formability, strength and workability are different. Grade 304 stainless steel, also known as A2 stainless steel, contains 18% to 20% chromium and 8% to 10% nickel.

In general Metal cutting drill bits can also be used on many other materials, such as wood, timber, plastic, various metals up to and including steel, rubber and other more dense materials.

Once again there’s many myths and misunderstandings about what SDS stands for.  It doesn’t mean “Special Direct System”, “slotted drive system” or “special direct system” as it was created in Germany by Bosch.

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As I say, there are many different drill bits however they fit into the following families;  Wood and timber and plastics, Masonry and stone, Tiles and glass, Metals and other materials.

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Basically this drill bit has been designed to drill through everything except tiles/glass. Masonry, steel, wood, plastic. There is only one problem with this drill type, and that is that once you’ve cut throught masonry of any kind, you will file the edge off and it won’t cut through wood, metal or plastic very well any more. Rendering the drill bit useless except for masonry.

The truth is that if you want quality drill bits they aren’t ever cheap, if they are, you haven’t bought a quality drill bit at all. Think about it! If you’re buying a 12mm drill bit and paying €2.50, you’re going to get Een stukje kaas! (A piece of cheese…) Realistically, for a decent Dormer or Guhring 12mm drill bit you will be paying €15!! I know in England you are forced to price for jobs to include cheap tools and consumables that you use one off for the job, so obviously this comes into play when buying your 12mm metal drill bit. I like the idea of you going into more depth about metal drill bits, like someone posted before.

If I take a TCT bit and run it down a straight edge, can I cut a glass window pane? If I don’t have a glass cutting roller

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Basically because this section is so large, I’ve clumped them all in together. I could probably do a post just on different types of Metal drill bits, from double ended body drills (which are basically drill bits on both ends), to HSS, to HSco, to Tin coatings, Ticn coatings, fast spiral(for Stainless Steel and hard materials.) , slow spiral(for softer materials like brass) Blacksmith’s drill bits which have a reduced shank, left hand or right handed spirals the list goes on.  Starting with Carbon steel (very flimsy drill bits) all the way up to armour piercing (you have to pass a MOD test to be able to buy these, and need to account for them) There are many drill bits around, the above picture is of a TiN coating on a HSS drill bit, one of the popular drill bits around, the TiN coating is suppose to disburse the heat and extend the life of the drill bit.

As stated above with the conedrill, the stepdrill is for opening holes in sheet material. The advantage of the stepdrill is that the steps on the drill are parallel, and therefore the hole won’t be tapered.

Thanks! Did you ever do a post on different types of Metal drill bits (i.e., double ended body drills, to HSS, to HSco, to Tin coatings, Ticn coatings, fast spiral, slow spiral, Blacksmith’s drill bits, left hand or right handed spirals …)? I have some bits I’m trying to identify and didn’t see them on your list. I could send a pic with your email.

As far as wood is concerned there is another scale called the Janka hardness scale is basically a rating of force to embed a steel ball into the surface of the wood by a certain distance. Yeah good eh? Anyhow the more force needed the harder the wood is, some woods like Brazilian ebony are extremely dense and a superior drill bit will be required.

Stainless steelmachinability chart

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Tip: When using a metal cutting bit to cut metal always use a lubricant to aid with the cut.  The purpose of the lubricant is to cut down on friction between the drill and the material being cut.  Therefore cutting down heat and helping the drill to cut through the material.

Hi In the last few days I have found two drill bits with round swirly ends. One belonged to my Dad born 1910. The other fell out of an old makita bag purchased resale.

Free-machiningstainless steel

The conical or cone drill like the step drill is used for making holes bigger.  Usually only for sheet material, otherwise you will end up with a tapered hole.  Also another steel and other metals drill bit, although may only have one cutting face.  The cone drill is more accurate with its cut than the step drill as the step drill has to forced through the material down each step.

In this case it’s probably Iron, Steel, or some types of (duplex, ferretic or Martensitic) Stainless steel(this will be determined easier through price and quantity – if the difference is the expense then it’s probably Stainless steel). However, all three metals will take the same kind of drill bit!

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Adding sulfur or selenium will also improve the workability of stainless steel, which is also easier to corrode and interfere with welding. The sulfur content of stainless steel alloy 303 is much lower than that of stainless steel 304, and the allowable carbon content of weldable stainless steel is lower. For example, 304 stainless steel contains up to 0.08% carbon, while 304L or weldable 304 stainless steel contains up to 0.03% carbon, which does not really affect its workability.

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The Forstner drill bit is another version of wood bit. However it has more teeth around the cutting edge, aiding to a cleaner finish.  Or as in the example above just a much larger cutting edge.

Turningstainless steel

There is also a type of flat bit which is a cross between an auger and a flat bit, called an expansive bit.  This has a fitting attached so the size of the drill bit can be changed to the size of the hole you need it to be.

With lubricant if you have nothing else then yes, WD40 will do. But it evaporates, just leaving a residue on the surface of the material and not acting a coolant or lubricant between materials. As I say, it’s better than bare metal to metal. Even kitchen cooking oil is better than WD40 in my opinion, but nowhere as good as a mineral oil. The reason for the lubricant is to cool the materials down and prevent friction between the materials. Expensive (or cheap) drill bits will be made from molten steel and then hardened and tempered by a controlled heating and a cooling process making them harder than the material you’re drilling. If you don’t cool the materials while drilling them the drill will be de-tempered and will become softer again.

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304stainless steel

I shall add a new post to this in a couple of days that will have a close up of the different types of drill bit tips.  Masonry, Steel, and wood.

Yes, there are many types and forms of drill bits for many different uses.  If you’ve never drilled into any kind of material or even if you’re a professional then this list may be a handy guide to identifying drill bits stuffed into your toolbox and when they are best used.

The auger drill bit is basically a wood bit.  Using the principle of the archimedes screw the drill takes the material from the front of the drill to the rear, it has a small screw type point which burrows into the wood or timber keeping the drill in the wood while the cutting face shaves off the wood.

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Precious metals are obviously a lot more expensive than everyday Aluminium, iron or steel. Gold, Silver, Palladium, Platinum are all extremely expensive and it is usually obvious what they are as they’ll be in smaller quantities.

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In the ideal process for machining 304 and 316 stainless steels, there are several ways to make all 300 series stainless steels easier to machine. Heat treatment can be performed to make the metal easier to process, for example, normalizing heats the steel to a temperature higher than the annealing temperature. Keeping it long enough to produce smaller austenite grains improves the machinability of the steel. These types of steel have low thermal conductivity. Be careful not to overheat the surface, which can also cause distortion that is difficult to repair. Use oil lubrication to reduce tool wear and cool objects. You can use mineral oil or water-soluble emulsified oil, and use cemented carbide tools to work at high speed.

To process 304 steel or 316 steel, you do not want the machine to be subjected to excessive vibration, and you need to use large machines. Small lathes and milling machines cannot cut these grades of stainless steel. For any type of stainless steel, carbide tools or high-speed steel (HSS) tools can be used. When working at lower cutting speeds, high-speed steel tools are a better choice.

Grade 316 stainless steel or A4 stainless steel contains approximately 16% chromium, 10% nickel, and 2% to 3% molybdenum. This means that one of the biggest differences between 304 and 316 stainless steel is the presence of molybdenum in 316, and no molybdenum is added to 304.

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3. Weight and quantity – if it’s a large piece of metal like a table, but it’s very light in weight then it’s probably aluminium. If it’s thick and heavy, grey silver then it’s probably steel or iron, if it’s a watery yellow it may have a zinc passivate or chromate coating and be steel underneath.

303stainless steel

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Unlike the metal drill bit, there’s many different types of bit that can drill wood and timber.  We’ll go through most of them in this post.  Also unlike wood no lubricant is used with wood, although beeswax can be used to lubricate anything cutting through wood.

Once again with the masonry drill bit, lubricant isn’t really used.  Sometimes water is used with the harder types of slate or more dense materials.

5. Is it magnetic? The next best thing to do is get a magnet (even a fridge door has a magnetic strip around the edge) and place the metal against it. If it’s magnetic then the metal you’re about to drill is most likely to be Iron or steel. Although there are a few other metals that are magnetic they are pretty rare in the home.

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1. Colour; dark gray maybe..has paint on it so can’t tell 100%… 2. Context and 3. Weight; It’s large and it’s in the home, bought from DIY store and is pretty heavy 4. Cost £120 . 5. Is the metal magnetic…yes.

Now a post on how you know the diff btw hard metal and soft metal, and hard wood and soft wood. Im s chik so dont laugh. The only way i know how to tell aluminum from other silver metals is with a magnet. So if you have a hard metal but its real thin (like tin roofing), does it still require the same type of bit as drilling thru a thicker hard metal?

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The saw drill is an interesting bit.  it has teeth one either side of it’s cutting flutes enabling it to saw through material sideways.  Very useful for softer materials like wood and plastics or sheet materials.

You may find that some drill bits have an additional very thin coating of TiN (Titanium Nitride), or TiCN (Titanium CarboNitride).  This is a very thin layer and will be worn away after a time. and is to aid with wear resistance.

Lol ive been using wd40 as lub when drilling metal… But im only going thru thinner materials and seems to help than without. Guess I’ll go buy right kind

This element is added to help it resist corrosion by chlorides. Grade 316 steel also contains trace amounts of silicon, carbon and manganese. The presence of molybdenum makes 316 stainless steel known as marine grade stainless steel. Type 316 stainless steel is more resistant to chemical corrosion. For example, it will resist fatty acids and sulfuric acid at high temperatures. Grade 316 stainless steel can withstand temperatures up to 1600 degrees Fahrenheit. Compared with 316, grade 304 stainless steel is less heat-resistant.

Warning: NEVER use WD40!  WD40 (WD40 – stands for Water Displacing formula 40) creates a thin film of oil over whatever you’ve sprayed it on and stops squeaks, but will not help with your drilling lubrication.  As soon as the drill gets hot the WD40 will dissipate.  Drilling lubricant is specifically for purpose.

1. Colour – The first thing to do is look at the metal’s colour. Silver, platinum chromium and palladium will all have a bright white colour, Aluminium is slightly less white and more gray, Titanium will be a slightly more grey-white colour. Steel will have a silver dark-grey colour. Tin, pewter, lead and manganese are all be duller gray metals. Bronze is a dark orange/brownish colour, copper will be an orangey/yellow colour, brass will be even more yellow with a hint of orange, then gold will be a bright yellow colour.

The flat bit is probably the most common drill bit around. It’s for wood and usually has the size printed on it. It has two cutting edges on either side and a point at the front for keeping the drill steady in the material. It’s also known as the spade bit.

416stainless steel

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The brad point, dowel or lip and spur bit, is similar in design to the auger bit.  The tip is the major difference, as it has three points, one on each of the initial cutting faces and one in the middle of the tip. Unlike the auger this bit does not pull the bit into the wood.

Now, like wood drill bits there are many different types and for different purposes. All either for wood or for metal. There are just four examples above. The two on the left are metal countersinks (A three flute HSS, then a deburring countersink) and the two on the right are dedicated wood countersinks (A rose head countersink and a drill countersink combination).

There’s a lot of myths concerning diamond drill bits. Yes diamond is hard so potentially would make a very good drill bit, however it doesn’t have a good cutting edge to cut steel, wood and so on. It’s used for cutting tiles, glass and similar materials, and it’s used abrasively, like a carbide grit holesaw or core drill, which is also diamond.

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Traditional split point metal drill bits were originally designed to be used with milling machines, lathes or pillar drills.  Their use was adopted by hand rotary drills over the years, however this is why most drill bits snap.  With the use of a machine the factors of keeping the drill bit straight, constant pressure and exact speed can be controlled, whereas while hand drilling all these factors are constantly changing no matter how professional or for how many years you have used drill bits.

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430Fstainless steel

Austenitic stainless steels are generally considered difficult to machine. 400 series stainless steels are easier to machine than 300 series stainless steels. This includes 304 and 316 grades. The machinability of 304 and 316 grade stainless steel is indeed different. Type 303 stainless steel may be the easiest 300 series to be processed. It is easier to process than 304. This makes grade 303 steel the first choice for accessories, gears and fasteners with strict tolerances. Its relative weakness means that it is not used as often as 304 grade stainless steel.

SDS actually stands for “Spannen Durch System” and was created by Bosch in the 1970’s, although Bosch international have changed its meaning in English speaking countries to to mean “special direct system” in order to keep the SDS title uniform across the world.

Generally Soft metal and hard metals are easy to gauge brass (shiny light yellow) being soft, and a high tensile steel (dull shiny grey) bolt being hard. Usually a professional will assume the material is hard and use the appropriate drill bit, until he finds the material isn’t. There are charts one called The Mohs Scale which tell you the generic hardness of metals that people use as a rule of thumb.

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Millstainless steel

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The SDS plus drill bit is probably the most common of SDS drills and is a push fit system fitting into a dedicated masonry drill. As well as masonry, there a bits that can drill into reinforced concrete and drill through the rebar material.

If the metal is your sink, it’s probably stainless steel or cast iron and it’s easy to tell these apart cast iron is usually black or very dark and Stainless steel is a silver grey colour.

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Easily recognised because of the brazed on carbide tip and the look of the tip being flat without any noticable cutting edge. Was originally invented to be used by hand, and very slowly with a lot of pressure.  Lubricated with water to cool the tip down.  A common problem with using this drill bit is running the drill too fast without any lubrication.

A good tip for starting the drill on the slippery tile or glass is to put scotch tape or cellotape across the tile where you want to drill, then the drill will grip on the tape until it starts to cut into the material.

They could never get a sharp enough edge, and big enough diamond to cut into hardened steel to make it worthwhile.  The bit would cost a fortune!

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Similar to the countersink, but for socket cap screws so they fit flush with a flat surface. Usually used together with a standard drill bit to drill the center hole to length.