I have a 1/8th thick aluminum bar 36 inches long and 2 inches wide
that I want to drill some 5/16 inch holes into and bend to 90
degrees. Could a hand held drill be used to drill the holes or would
I be better off taking it to a machine shop. If a hand held would do
it what specifications would the drill have to have to do it?

Thanks.

On Mon 01 Sep 2008 05:33:03a, told us...

I have a 1/8th thick aluminum bar 36 inches long and 2 inches wide
that I want to drill some 5/16 inch holes into and bend to 90
degrees. Could a hand held drill be used to drill the holes or would
I be better off taking it to a machine shop. If a hand held would do
it what specifications would the drill have to have to do it?

Thanks.


When you say hand held drill, are you referring to a manually operated or
electric drill? I would only use an electric drill. Aluminum is
relatively soft, so nothing special is really required in the way of the
drill itself. An ordinary twist drill bit designed for drilling metal and
other materials will work fine. I would recommend using a pointed punch (I
know there's another name for it) to mark and dimple the location of each
location you plan to drill. This will prevent the drill bit from skipping
across the metal.

HTH

--
Wayne Boatwright

*******************************************
Date: Monday, 09(IX)/01(I)/08(MMVIII)
*******************************************
Today is: Labor Day
Countdown till Labor Day
-5hrs -42mins
*******************************************
Illiterate? Write for FREE HELP!
*******************************************

wrote:
I have a 1/8th thick aluminum bar 36 inches long and 2 inches wide
that I want to drill some 5/16 inch holes into and bend to 90
degrees. Could a hand held drill be used to drill the holes or would
I be better off taking it to a machine shop. If a hand held would do
it what specifications would the drill have to have to do it?

Thanks.

Make a jig out of four boards- a base, 2 side rails, and a thick top
plate with a guide hole in it to guide the drill bit and keep it
perpendicular. Hard part will be making the hole in the top plate,
unless you have some piece of metal in your junk box that would work.
Pretty much any corded drill would work- aluminum is soft. If you don't
have the material on hand, a machine shop would be pretty cheap- they
could knock it out on a proper drill press in a few minutes, and even do
the bending for you on their jig.

--
aem sends...

wrote:
I have a 1/8th thick aluminum bar 36 inches long and 2 inches wide
that I want to drill some 5/16 inch holes into and bend to 90
degrees. Could a hand held drill be used to drill the holes or
would
I be better off taking it to a machine shop. If a hand held would
do
it what specifications would the drill have to have to do it?

Any drill that will take a 5/16 bit should be able to put a 5/16 hole
in 1/8 aluminum unless there's something you aren't telling us.

--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

On Mon, 1 Sep 2008 05:33:03 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

I have a 1/8th thick aluminum bar 36 inches long and 2 inches wide
that I want to drill some 5/16 inch holes into and bend to 90
degrees. Could a hand held drill be used to drill the holes or would
I be better off taking it to a machine shop. If a hand held would do
it what specifications would the drill have to have to do it?

Thanks.

If this is just a one time job then center punch the holes Accurately.
Buy a center drill and start the holes accurately.

Secure the aluminum over a piece of wood.

Drill to finish size by hand keeping in mind that the drill will catch
slightly when breaking through.

On Sep 1, 5:33*am, wrote:
I have a 1/8th thick aluminum bar 36 inches long and 2 inches wide
that I want to drill some 5/16 inch holes into and bend to 90
degrees. *Could a hand held drill be used to drill the holes or would
I be better off taking it to a machine shop. *If a hand held would do
it what specifications would the drill have to have to do it?

Thanks.


I learned YEARS ago that aluminum can be easily worked with common
wood working tools.

Miter saw, table saw, router, drills just use sharp carbide blades /
bits.

What alloy are you using? Most common extruded shapes are 6061 or
6063.

Flats (what you have) can be a wider range.


I would strongly suggest laying out the hole pattern & center punching
the holes locations BUT bend the material BEFORE drilling the holes.

The hole will change the local stiffness of the bar & the bar might
have a tendency to "kink" at the holes when you bend it.


Once the bar is bent you can grip the bar in a vise or "work mate" or
clamp it to a 2x

Drill 1/8" & then go for it with the finished size...... a little
kerosene would help but anything is better than nothing, high speed is
better than slow speed.

If you have any waste material do some practice drilling

cheers
Bob

On Sep 1, 5:51*am, Wayne Boatwright wrote:
On Mon 01 Sep 2008 05:33:03a, *told us...

I have a 1/8th thick aluminum bar 36 inches long and 2 inches wide
that I want to drill some 5/16 inch holes into and bend to 90
degrees. *Could a hand held drill be used to drill the holes or would
I be better off taking it to a machine shop. *If a hand held would do
it what specifications would the drill have to have to do it?

Thanks.

When you say hand held drill, are you referring to a manually operated or
electric drill? *I would only use an electric drill. *Aluminum is
relatively soft, so nothing special is really required in the way of the
drill itself. *An ordinary twist drill bit designed for drilling metal and
other materials will work fine. *I would recommend using a pointed punch (I
know there's another name for it) to mark and dimple the location of each
location you plan to drill. *This will prevent the drill bit from skipping
across the metal.

HTH *

--
* * * * * * *Wayne Boatwright * * * * * *

*******************************************
Date: Monday, 09(IX)/01(I)/08(MMVIII)
*******************************************
* * * * * * Today is: Labor Day * * * * * *
* * * * *Countdown till Labor Day * * * *
* * * * * * * -5hrs -42mins * * * * * * *
*******************************************

Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2008 13:43:38 -0700 (PDT)

(I know there's another name for it)

that would be a "center punch"

cheers
Bob

wrote in message
...
I have a 1/8th thick aluminum bar 36 inches long and 2 inches wide
that I want to drill some 5/16 inch holes into and bend to 90
degrees. Could a hand held drill be used to drill the holes or would
I be better off taking it to a machine shop. If a hand held would do
it what specifications would the drill have to have to do it?

Thanks.


Almost any drill should do the job. Maybe cleaner with a hole punch - don't
know if it comes this small, my smallest hole punch is something like 1/2".
Don't expect problem bending it to 90 degrees, but with aluminum, you never
know until you've tried it.

On Sep 1, 5:33 am, wrote:
I have a 1/8th thick aluminum bar 36 inches long and 2 inches wide
that I want to drill some 5/16 inch holes into and bend to 90
degrees. Could a hand held drill be used to drill the holes or would
I be better off taking it to a machine shop. If a hand held would do
it what specifications would the drill have to have to do it?

Thanks.


I learned YEARS ago that aluminum can be easily worked with common
wood working tools.

Miter saw, table saw, router, drills just use sharp carbide blades /
bits.

What alloy are you using? Most common extruded shapes are 6061 or
6063.

Flats (what you have) can be a wider range.


I would strongly suggest laying out the hole pattern & center punching
the holes locations BUT bend the material BEFORE drilling the holes.

The hole will change the local stiffness of the bar & the bar might
have a tendency to "kink" at the holes when you bend it.


Once the bar is bent you can grip the bar in a vise or "work mate" or
clamp it to a 2x

Drill 1/8" & then go for it with the finished size...... a little
kerosene would help but anything is better than nothing, high speed is
better than slow speed.

On my press I find something in the moderate range works best. Probably
about 3200 rpm but I'm guessing. Too fast and you get too much heat,
too slow and all it does is grab.

Kero tends to make the bits grab a lot harder unless you're using low
angle bits. Regular thread cutting oil (not a lot different, I know)
doesn't seem to cause that "grabbing" so badly, especially just before
punch-thru. It's also better to drill from both sides if you can. If
not, just back it up with apiece of wood is usually enough.


If you have any waste material do some practice drilling

cheers
Bob

On Mon 01 Sep 2008 09:33:01a, BobK207 told us...

On Sep 1, 5:51*am, Wayne Boatwright wrote:
On Mon 01 Sep 2008 05:33:03a, *told us...

I have a 1/8th thick aluminum bar 36 inches long and 2 inches wide
that I want to drill some 5/16 inch holes into and bend to 90
degrees. *Could a hand held drill be used to drill the holes or would
I be better off taking it to a machine shop. *If a hand held would do
it what specifications would the drill have to have to do it?

Thanks.

When you say hand held drill, are you referring to a manually operated
or
electric drill? *I would only use an electric drill. *Aluminum is
relatively soft, so nothing special is really required in the way of the
drill itself. *An ordinary twist drill bit designed for drilling metal
and
other materials will work fine. *I would recommend using a pointed punc
h (I
know there's another name for it) to mark and dimple the location of
each
location you plan to drill. *This will prevent the drill bit from skipp
ing
across the metal.

HTH *

--
* * * * * * *Wayne Boatwright * * * * * *

*******************************************
Date: Monday, 09(IX)/01(I)/08(MMVIII)
*******************************************
* * * * * * Today is: Labor Day * * * * * *
* * * * *Countdown till Labor Day * * * *
* * * * * * * -5hrs -42mins * * * * * * *
*******************************************

Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2008 13:43:38 -0700 (PDT)

(I know there's another name for it)

that would be a "center punch"

cheers
Bob


Thanks, Bob. I couldn't think of the name.

--
Wayne Boatwright

*******************************************
Date: Monday, 09(IX)/01(I)/08(MMVIII)
*******************************************
Today is: Labor Day
Countdown till Labor Day
-5hrs -42mins
*******************************************
Illiterate? Write for FREE HELP!
*******************************************

(His drill spins counter clockwise. Shhhhhh. Don't tell anyone I reversed
the direction.)

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"J. Clarke" wrote in message
...
Any drill that will take a 5/16 bit should be able to put a 5/16 hole
in 1/8 aluminum unless there's something you aren't telling us.

--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Very gentle feed pressure, and lots of RPM works for me.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


wrote in message
...

If this is just a one time job then center punch the holes Accurately.
Buy a center drill and start the holes accurately.

Secure the aluminum over a piece of wood.

Drill to finish size by hand keeping in mind that the drill will catch
slightly when breaking through.

Prick punch.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"BobK207" wrote in message
...

(I know there's another name for it)

that would be a "center punch"

cheers
Bob

" Frank" x wrote in
:


wrote in message
.
..
I have a 1/8th thick aluminum bar 36 inches long and 2 inches wide
that I want to drill some 5/16 inch holes into and bend to 90
degrees. Could a hand held drill be used to drill the holes or would
I be better off taking it to a machine shop. If a hand held would do
it what specifications would the drill have to have to do it?

Thanks.


Almost any drill should do the job. Maybe cleaner with a hole punch -
don't know if it comes this small, my smallest hole punch is something
like 1/2". Don't expect problem bending it to 90 degrees, but with
aluminum, you never know until you've tried it.






those step drills make a nice *round*,clean hole,but 1/8" thick AL is right
at their limit.Maybe the smaller step drill can do 5/16" hole in thicker,I
don't know for sure.
I HAVE used the bigger step drill to drill 1/8" AL,though.
Using a cordless 9.6V Makita drill.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...
(His drill spins counter clockwise. Shhhhhh. Don't tell anyone I reversed
the direction.)


A couple of years ago one of the guys in our shop was having trouble
drilling a hole. He asked the maintenance supervisor to sharpen the bit for
him. After it was done he came back and said "you can't sharpen bits for
****, it still won't drill." Yes, you can guess the problem.

On Sep 1, 7:33*am, wrote:
I have a 1/8th thick aluminum bar 36 inches long and 2 inches wide
that I want to drill some 5/16 inch holes into and bend to 90
degrees. *Could a hand held drill be used to drill the holes or would
I be better off taking it to a machine shop. *If a hand held would do
it what specifications would the drill have to have to do it?

Thanks.

Your drill bit really ought to be specifically for aluminum but few
people have them handy. They have fast spirals and 118 degree points
like ENCO 301-3336. If a nice clean hole and a decent bend in your
work piece matters, then consider a local machine shop. You are the
best judge of how it should turn out.

Joe

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in news:g9hnpl
:

Prick punch.


No, that's another name for a sucker punch.