drilling in aluminum

Dry, kerosene, even WD-40 or candle wax will work.

Tim

Unless you've got thousands of holes to drill, I wouldn't bother. More important is probably altering the angle on the drillbits so that it won't grab. The larger bits will grab as they go through.

I use kerosene too. It works great for me. Here's what Ernie once wrote, however:

"I have been saying this for several years now, and will continue until the entire world sees the light of day. The best cutting fluid for aluminum, bar none, is industrial strength Citrus based solvent. I don't care what brand. The one I use is made by ZEP, and is called Big orange. The active ingredient is D-Limonene, and is extracted from orange, lemon, lime, and grapefruit skins. It is the same stuff in Fast orange hand cleaner , and all the citrus based cleaners. The greater the percentage of active ingredient, the better. Big orange is 98% D-Limonene. Take Off ( a floor cleaning solvent) is 45%, and is available from Asplund Cleaning Supply. Big Orange works better than any industrial aluminum cutting fluid I have ever used, and smells great. It is also extremely safe, biodegradeable, and water soluble. The shit just works great. Try it , and you will not go back.

"I use it for tapping, cutting, drilling, sawing, milling, and turning. Just keep some in a small pump spray bottle. Squirt a little on the cutting edge as you cut." - Ernie Leimkuhler

Grant Erw> I have some holes ranging from 1/8" to 33/64" to be drilled in aluminum

Hi Marty,

The big problem with machining aluminium is that the metal swarf effectively welds itself on the cutting tool. Ally is soft and the temptation to use high cutting speeds is very persuasive, but if you want to cut dry, keep the speed down. I've had drills break in aluminium, but it works fine if the speed is kept down. For high speeds you must use a lubricant - paraffin is very good.

It depends on the alloy and temper of the material. If you are working on 7075-T76 which is hard, it might only need a light flood of Kool-Mist

1. If you are cutting on 3003-0 it might need something with a thicker base, like a heavier oil, so that the chips don't stick to the cutter. It might also depend on how you are drilling, in a drill press or by hand, what position, etc. I've been using the Kool-mist as my general purpose lube, and have been fairly happy with it. It's cheap, doesn't smell, stain, or smoke, and the water evaporates so clean up is greatly reduced. But, I do revert back to oils when I want maximum lubrication effect, such as threading or knurling.

On this side of the pond try parafin - I believe it is the same as kerosene. I do not like water for aluminium.