Upside Down Hole

[MarkEva]

I need to drill a hole in the bottom of my frame for my new rock sliders. I've tried three drill bits and none worked. I'm going to get an industrial grade bit and try that. The other issue is oil. Any suggestions to get oil in an upside down hole?
Thanks,
Mark Evans

 

[DaveInDenver]

Upside down? You mean like drilling over your head?

You can find cutting (or sometimes it'll be tapping fluid or something similar) oil at a decent hardware store but I usually just keep a small bottle of 3-in-1 oil for random holes, putting a drop on every few seconds either on the surface or the end of the bit as I'm drilling or use a spray oil, even penetrating oil or WD40 will work alright. I've also found dipping the end of the bit in a little cup of motor oil worked and even a couple of times using bike chain lube (which is more like a thin wax) even. You might have to get creative, you just need to keep some lubricant between the metal and bit.

Go slow, even pressure, don't push too hard or spin too fast. You want to see chips or spirals of metal coming off. If you don't see cuttings coming off, slow down, maybe a little less pressure but not too light that all you do is burnish the cutting edge of the bit. Wear glasses!

 

[Brucker]

Everything David stated is correct. To add to it, make sure you are using drill bits meant for metal. Start with a small drill and work your way up to the correct size. The larger the diameter of bit, the slower the speed it should spin. Depending on the size of the hole needed, a standard step bit may be the easiest/fastest bit. If you are having difficulties with standard cutting oil, you could try tapping paste.

 

[IoN6]

Third-sies.

What size of hole? Did you drill a smaller pilot hole first? You should only start to apply full pressure once the drill bit is cutting the full diameter of the bit as well. Drilling through a frame web should not require any lubrication if done semi-properly and with a decent drill bit.

 

[jps8460]

A stub bit is nice, but a nice step bit is really nice after you drill a small pilot hole for the tip

 

[Corbet]

Grease will stay on the bit longer and catch some of the chips from landing in your face.

 

[MarkEva]

Thanks for the help. I'm going to get a step bit, some cutting paste and go slower.

 

[DanS]

In general.... Large diameter bits should turn slower. It's also important to have enough pressure on the bit to be cutting metal, not just rubbing shavings off. Cutting Oil is available at every Ace I've checked, and I think Home Depot carries Anchor Lube (thread cutting paste). Use it. Lots of it. I put cutting oil in little pump cans. I recently reamed a whole bunch of tapered holes (1+ inches diameter, 5-8.5" deep) and in reaming 16 holes we went through nearly 1/2 gallon of the stuff. But it kept the reamer nice and sharp. Go slow with your drill bit, keep good pressure on it, read the chips coming off the drill and you'll have no problems.

What comes off the drill should be chips. Once you learn to watch the chips for your drilling you'll end up drilling WAY faster and easier. Not that you've got a mill or mag drill under there to control it so closely, but still some good info on standard twist drills:


Dan

 

[rover67]

Might try a carbide bit. A friend drilled into his 200 series frame for sliders and said it must have been hardened because he kept trashing bits also.

 

[IoN6]

Carbide, while very hard is extremely brittle. The likelihood of it spinning in your keyless chuck is also very high due to material hardness. FWIW.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Might try a carbide bit. A friend drilled into his 200 series frame for sliders and said it must have been hardened because he kept trashing bits also.

I don't know if anyone knows the actual alloys or done XRF but I've seen this picture floating around that I believe is the 3rd gen Tacoma frame. Maybe you M.E. types can tell from the tensile strength values what they might be?

 

[IoN6]

Not really enough for a definitive answer, but metals in those MPa’s are not hard by any means. Which is not surprising really.

You need ductility, or the ability to deflect and deform in a frame. A frame of carbide for example would be very rigid but it would likely crack after a few pothole encounters. Plus it would be heavy AF.

 

[nakman]

Not mentioned yet is the use of a floor jack- sometimes I'll put the drill on the jack then press up with it, other times I'll raise the truck up in its suspension travel then wedge the drill under the frame, then gently lower the jack to increase drill pressure. I can't press up that hard anymore, my shoulders can't take it, but I can use the weight of the truck or a jack to get stronger. just did this when I put sliders on the Tundra, guessing the operation is very similar to your Taco.