Just got a replacement front door, the usual Stanley steel type. I want to put one of the oversized peepholes in it that rquires a 1 inch hole. What is the best way to make such a hole? I'm assuming the good old spade bit won't work, and my little cup saw/drills won't like the metal either. Any advice?
- Magnusfarce
Get a hole saw that's made for cutting metal.
hole saw should do it make sure you have some kind of jig to keep the drill at the right angle if not you will wind up looking at the stars!
If you are just punching one door a regular black bell to fit your mandrel will work. Just plan on throwing it away. I punched two 2" holes in an old metal dash board with one and that is a lot thicker metal than a door. It was smokin a might there toward the end tho. The paint on the dash was OK tho.
I used a dremel with a grinding bit to enlarge the hole for my larger peeping device.
You must be good with that dremel! I always end up with a mess. But I must say, I had a friend that was so good with one of those things that said he could build a house with it!... Take care, Ross
How big is the lip around the edge of the peephole? Proper answer is to go to the industrial supply and get a proper hole saw for metal (or even just a
1-inch bit, if they carry them that big), but for a one-time job, that is probably pretty expensive. I'd carefully lay out and scribe the hole, from both sides, and drill lotsa tiny holes inside the scribe line. Drill a pilot hole all the way through, to keep your centers lined up. Eventually, you will get it to the point you can pop it out of there, and clean up the hole with a file. The skin metal on a residential-grade door is thinner than a car fender, in most cases. Use sharp bits, and try not to lean on the door as you work- center section of most cheap steel doors is just filled with foam, and it is easy to make things look like a crushed and straightened beer can. Recommend one of those collar things on the drill, or even a pre-drilled block of wood to use as a jig, to keep bit perpendicular to the plane of the door.aem sends....
i did this last year on 2 doors. It was a bitch. Next time I would use a dremel first to see if that worked better.
Sorry to jump in so late, but one thing you could use is a unibit:
Ken
A good quality holesaw will drill through a steel door. Morse and Starret are 2 brands that come to mind, I once used a Craftsman and it was about shot when I finished, but OTHO, they replaced it under their lifetime warranty.
On 1/24/2005 2:32 PM US(ET), Lawrence Wasserman took fingers to keys, and typed the following:
I used a 3/4" holesaw to drill a hole in the top of a stainless steel sink for a separate drinking water fountain (bypassing the water softener). By the time I got 1/2 of the way through, it was just burning a groove in the SS. I didn't have another 3/4" holesaw, so I continued until I had burned through enough SS to be able to punch the disk out. I had to finish up the hole with a quarter round metal file to smooth some rather nasty jagged edges. I wonder if it was a Craftsman and I could have gotten a replacement? I wound up buying a new 3/4 holesaw at HD on another visit.
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