evaporated milk for drilling stainless steel

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Jraef

Moderator, OTD
Staff member
Location
San Francisco Bay Area, CA, USA
Occupation
Electrical Engineer
It's liquid, it's thick so it sicks to the bit, it has fat so it has at least slightly more lube properties than water.

Disadvantage: it will burn at low temp and create a real mess, it will stink, it will spoil if not cleaned off and it will be difficult to clean off if burned, which WILL happen.

Advantage: it's in the cupboard when you run out of proper cutting fluid, and it's likely cheaper, as long as you don't value your time trying to clean off the burned milk.

I've used liquid hand soap when I run out of cutting fluid. The industrial stuff like Zep and Goop worked good (just make sure it's not the type with pumice), the home stuff, not so much.
 

ggunn

PE (Electrical), NABCEP certified
Location
Austin, TX, USA
Occupation
Electrical Engineer - Photovoltaic Systems
It's liquid, it's thick so it sicks to the bit, it has fat so it has at least slightly more lube properties than water.
Water has virtually zero lubricating property on human skin. Don't ask me how I know. :D
 

USMC1302

Senior Member
Location
NW Indiana
I've often wondered where/how these "remedies" evolved? Hmmm....I need to drill some stainless and am out of cutting oil, let's see what's in the cupboard....or I have a coolant leak in my '73 Impala, let's pour some black pepper in the radiator. Is there a book of mechanical fixes with kitchen condiments?
 

Johnnybob

Senior Member
Location
Colville, WA
It's liquid, it's thick so it sicks to the bit, it has fat so it has at least slightly more lube properties than water.

Disadvantage: it will burn at low temp and create a real mess, it will stink, it will spoil if not cleaned off and it will be difficult to clean off if burned, which WILL happen.

Advantage: it's in the cupboard when you run out of proper cutting fluid, and it's likely cheaper, as long as you don't value your time trying to clean off the burned milk.

I've used liquid hand soap when I run out of cutting fluid. The industrial stuff like Zep and Goop worked good (just make sure it's not the type with pumice), the home stuff, not so much.
I'm just usually not next to my kitchen when I have to drill stainless:happyno:
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
I've often wondered where/how these "remedies" evolved? Hmmm....I need to drill some stainless and am out of cutting oil, let's see what's in the cupboard....or I have a coolant leak in my '73 Impala, let's pour some black pepper in the radiator. Is there a book of mechanical fixes with kitchen condiments?
Well if you are working in a dairy plant there is a lot of stainless to work with, if they happen to make evaporated milk there then it is readily available.

The one I used to work in condensed whey left over from cheese making - but whey is low in fat and may not work as well as condensed milk.
 

cpinetree

Senior Member
Location
SW Florida
Another item from the kitchen that we have tested and seems to help is sugar water, when drilling stainless.

Don't know why, maybe as others have said lubricant with something sticky to keep it on the bit.
The sugar water seems to work better than oil when doing a side by side comparison. YMMV :p
 

rlundsrud

Senior Member
Location
chicago, il, USA
This is anecdotal, but a very long time ago I was a machinist in the military. When I did my AIT training, the mills used a mixture of animal fat and water. It was white in color and smelled pretty bad when it got hot in the building. I don't know why that was used, but it was effective at cooling the bit. We were cutting low carbon steel, not stainless, so I don't know if this even helps. It was more about cooling the cutter than lubricating it, but it did provide lube as well. For what it's worth, anything is better than dry cutting, and you would definitely want to use carbide if you can. Look at a speed and feed table, the larger the bit the slower the RPM's. Good luck.
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
Look at a speed and feed table, the larger the bit the slower the RPM's. Good luck.

That is the most important thing, and there are many out there that don't have a clue at all. What you do get away with on mild steel makes life a lot harder if you do it with stainless.

Running the bit at high speed makes more heat, more heat tempers the material being cut - making it even harder to cut.

A couple months ago one of the HVAC guys asked me if he could borrow a hole saw, I got along great with this crew - and they were the GC for the job so I obliged. A little while later we heard this horrible sound coming from the roof area above us when someone asked what that was, and then I realized what was going on and said - that is Clint burning up the hole saw I lent him. Drilling through sheet metal with an 1-3/8 hole saw and sounded like a two speed drill on high speed running wide open:(
 

Fulthrotl

~Autocorrect is My Worst Enema.~
That is the most important thing, and there are many out there that don't have a clue at all. What you do get away with on mild steel makes life a lot harder if you do it with stainless.

yup. the best cutting fluid for stainless i've ever seen was the old Tap Matic, the
clear stuff that looked and smelled like lighter fluid. the new stuff isn't very good.

as much pressure as you can bring to bear, and as slow a speed as you can stand
is what works best on high nickel anything. if you can watch the flukes going around
at 100 rpm, with good lube, it's amazing how fast you can peel shavings off.

once you spin the bit, you gall, and work harden the nickel in the steel, and your best
choice becomes a plasma cutter. :rant:
 
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