Drill Hog bits

When I was looking for drill bits to install my Demello rock sliders, I came across this set of step bits from Drill Hog, which made short work of drilling 1/2" holes into the frame. I just punched a center divot, and these bits drilled through that frame in less than 30 seconds. I got off center holding the drill and snapped one of the bits, which Drill Hog promptly replaced, given their lifetime warranty. Great product; great company.

 

Nice. I always find a use for step bits

 

The junk ones at Harbor Freight aren't that bad either. Keep that cutting edge cool and they do well. Can't beat a step bit for plastic work.

 

Looks like HF has a comparable "Hercules" set that's $4 cheaper - wonder if those are warrantied? Seems like it's easy enough to return items to HF, but I consider their stuff disposable.

 

I use the cheapest HF ones and they work pretty good with lube. We drill a lot of 1/2” holes off site over water and started out using twist drill which would try and break your wrist. The step drill was so much easier on the operator. We have thought about buying some nicer bits but with the number that end up at the bottom of the lake it is hard to stop using the HF ones that cost is about $4.

 

Are you drilling through 1/4" plate? I tried some other cobalt bits - low speed, with oil, and never seemed to get too far. Maybe they were too dull...

 

I’ll give them a shot, we drill all kinds of holes at work.

 

Most of the time it is 1/8” galvanized steel. We do occasionally need to drill 1/4”. Sometimes aluminum. On steel it makes the step bits last longer if you drill a small Pilot hole the size of the first step of the step bit but we rarely do that. Once you get past the tip of the step bit it goes quick. We are usually drilling 1/2” holes with a hand drill. No mag drill or press.

We started using good traditional twist drills at first. We tried different brands and never came up with something we liked. They would need need to be sharpened or replaced very frequently. When we switched to step bits there was no going back. I have been thinking about trying a better brand just to see if there is a difference but have not pulled the trigger yet.

I had used step bits in the past on thinner metal and tried it on this out of curiosity. For us they work great.