"SpamFree" wrote in message
...
I want to drill a 1.25" hole in a sheet of (probably) 12ga stainless
steel. I'm not sure of the grade but it's the type commonly used for
commercial (restaurant) range hoods and tables.

How do I go about this? Hole saw? Carbide tipped? 3/8 electric drill?
Do I need to use a drill press? Slow speed? High speed? Water cooled?
Oil?


Alloy is probly 304 or 316 series.

I would probly use a drill press with a hole saw--a good one--no junk, use
High Speed Steel ( HSS ), and run at a fairly slow spindle speed (~100 /
200 rpms) using sulphur oil.

Running too many rpms in stainless will burn up a hole saw pronto, with
resultant work hardening of the nickel in the stainless alloy.

An easier way might be to just take it to an electrical contractors shop and
have them do this using a knockout punch.

--

SVL