When drilling thin sheet metal clamp the metal over a piece of sacrificial plywood or other flat sheet good like mdf or particleboard to help prevent the bit from tearing up the hole.
How to drill holes in sheet metal without burrs.
Customers demand that parts be smooth to the touch aesthetically pleasing have holes that are without burrs and typically have a nice looking chamfer.
Secondly you need to be sure the material is cooled as it breaks through to avoid that melted edge as the work gets really thin and can t dispensate the heat this helps to prevent that thin sharp lip burr.
There are five levels of burrs plus one that goes beyond what is generally considered a burr.
Whether it is improper feeds and.
Tap your hammer to leave an indentation on the sheet metal.
You start off by drilling a small diameter pilot.
For the cleanest hole clamp a second piece on top of the metal making a sacrificial sandwich.
Put several drops of lubricating oil into the depression you made with the center punch.
The drill bit turns into a screw like device.
Simply sandwich the sheet metal between two pieces of wood and clamp everything down on a table or workbench.
Third you need to slow the feed rate down and ease through the back side to avoid the punch through which forms a big nub of a burr.
With eye protection on and hearing protection in place hold your drill perpendicular to the bracket insert the tip of the bit into the punched hole and begin to drill.
Place your sheet metal on your steel block and position your centre punch at a central point in your cut out design.
For smaller holes in thin sheet metal i like to use step bits as larger diameter spiral bits like to grab as they break through thin metal which can wrinkle the steel.
Take a twist bit slightly larger in diameter than the hole you just drilled and gently hand twist it over the top of the hole.
Twist drills are great for small diameter holes drilling a hole in sheet metal with a twist drill is a rather straightforward operation.
The wooden bread layers of the sandwich keep the sheet metal flat and prevent the drill bit from wandering as it bores through the sheet metal.
You can buy fancy deburring tools to smooth sharp edges but before spending money on one try this trick.
When a hole is drilled a burr is usually generated.
This week we tackle those annoying burrs that often develop on the parts we are drilling.
All images courtesy e z burr tool.
After drilling a hole in metal it s a good idea to remove any sharp edges or burrs left behind.
Depending on the tools you have you ll now need to punch or drill a hole where the indentation has been made to produce an accurate hole in your sheet metal.
