Yep, absolutely, using quality drills, and even better would be starting
with one ground with a split point for the first thru-hole drill. These
drills begin cutting immediately upon contact with the workpiece.. an
ordinary grind has a center web that must displace metal before cutting
begins, which may be too late for some alloys of stainless steel.

A good method of increasing the hole size when starting with a small pilot
hole, is to choose a larger drill with a web about the same size as the
existing/previous hole.

If one has family or friends working in the trades, they might have some
cutting lubricant they could give away.. which saves going on a quest to
find some, and buying a large amount compared to the few drops that are
needed.
Great stuff to have around though, for any metal cutting task.

--
WB
..........


"Spehro Pefhany" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:54:11 +0700, John B.
wrote:

On Mon, 29 Apr 2013 04:57:39 +0000 (UTC), John Doe
wrote:

Using ordinary tools, is that realistic?

Talking about an 8mm hole sideways through the rod (from one side to
the other), not down the center of the rod.

Thanks.

Why not? Assuming that you have a drill press as with a hand held
drill it might be a problem is your hands shake :-)

More seriously. Set the drill press for the proper cutting speed;
center punch the work or otherwise make a starting "hole"; and feed
just fast enough to cut a continuous chip.

And use a good quality drill bit designed to cut metal, preferably a
first-world-made cobalt steel stubby, not some POS jobber gold-plated
or black soft steel turdlet drill from a kit (at least the latter
won't snap, but they'll work harden the SS and go downhill from
there).

I'd also put a drop of 3-in-1 or other oil on there, but others may
disagree.

The important thing is to take seriously what others are saying about
not being wimpy about the feed or letting the drill linger at the
bottom to prevent work hardening.