Best way to drill armco crash barriers

[ARW]

As above, normal metal drill bit, plenty of oil?
Mag drill? Will it work with the curveture of the metal?
Advice please

 

[scholland]

I just used normal bits, only 12mm holes I did though. Seem to remember it wasn't the most fun I'd ever had...

 

[ARW]

I just used normal bits, only 12mm holes I did though. Seem to remember it wasn't the most fun I'd ever had...

Oh dear we are aiming on 16mm holes!

 

[madmatt]

On site drilling or in the workshop?

In the workshop but ain't so bad with a good quality drill bit and a pillar drill.

On site may be a hydraulic drive pistol drill running off a power pack ooooodles of torque but again a top quality drill bit is needed.

 

[John 1594]

Gas bottles and someone with a delicate touch who knows how to use them

Did a similar job last week, gassed a nice hole in a trailer chassis to bolt a threaded bar into it for carrying the drawbar foot, instead of leaving it in the yard, moving to another farm, then having to stand the trailer on a block of wood

 

[Wombat]

Drilled some last year with the mag drill, went through fairly easy with some cutting oil

 

[ARW]

On site drilling or in the workshop?


In the workshop but ain't so bad with a good quality drill bit and a pillar drill.

On site may be a hydraulic drive pistol drill running off a power pack ooooodles of torque but again a top quality drill bit is needed.

on site, slow with torque then? ive got 3 drills, electric, cordless and two stroke drill. could be a day for the two stroke

 

[MF-ANDY]

Step drill in a hand held drill. Plenty of cutting oil. Hung some on a Cattle yard last week. 16mm bolts

 

[Cowcalf]

plasma cutter if you have a steady hand, watch the fumes

 

[madmatt]

on site, slow with torque then? ive got 3 drills, electric, cordless and two stroke drill. could be a day for the two stroke

Yep they are slow but they drill anything I should never have sold ours but did so after spending an hr or 4 in A&E having ribs xrayed after the dam thing snatched one day.

A good drill bit is essential. Fuchs do a cutting fluid called Silkcut its very good.

 

[Jfp]

We used to just gas them out, was good enough for cattle yard, and was nice and quick!

Backs of the yards used to be made of old flat lorry bodies held up by big rsjs pushed in with the old 360! Then we pushed more rsjs in for the fronts with crash barrier bolted to it! All the bolt holes were gassed out! Good times!

 

[RWG Contracts]

use core bits they soon go through them

use plenty of cutting compound though, makes a big difference

 

[bert]

Last time I did them the gas bottles had run out so turned the welder right up and blow a hole through with that, it was quicker and more accurate than gas I found, no good if no electric though

 

[Mursal]

I'd mark the centre with the center punch (good and deep), pilot with something around 4-6mm in one drill, lift the other drill and go out to 16mm (5/8") nice and slow and needs to be morse taper.
Waste oil will be your friend, have a dip can, to put the drill tip sitting in

Failing that, the welder is the way forward, just say someone else did it ....................

 

[roscoe erf]

Gas bottles and someone with a delicate touch who knows how to use them

Did a similar job last week, gassed a nice hole in a trailer chassis to bolt a threaded bar into it for carrying the drawbar foot, instead of leaving it in the yard, moving to another farm, then having to stand the trailer on a block of wood

Gas axe job done

 

[Hesstondriver]

Gas

 

[exmoor dave]

Decent quality hole saw on the cordless?

 

[Mursal]

................

 

[joe soapy]

Mag drill every time.
beware the w barriers are high tensile and will break if allowed to flex

 

[ARW]

Been at it with decent metal bits that I've kept well lubricated, cool and sharp. First a 6mm then 10mm then the 16mm all with electric drill. Left the two stroke for boating holes through the shed