How to Make a Hole in Hardened Steel Without Drilling

How to Make a Hole in Hardened Steel Without Drilling

In this simple way, you can make not only a round hole in hardened steel, but also a hole of any other shape without any extra effort. The chemical method will help you out and make the task easier. The method does not require expensive chemicals; all ingredients can be found in any household.

Will need


I offer a simple method for making holes in high-speed steel. To work you will need:
  • any product made of high-speed steel;
  • marker;
  • nail polish;
  • nail polish remover (can be replaced with white spirit or acetone. I chose the remover only because of the pleasant smell, and it’s the same acetone);
  • cotton wool;
  • empty plastic container (bottle);
  • salt;
  • knife;
  • a homemade device made from a charger and two nails.

Making a hole in metal without a drill


Apply nail polish remover to the cotton wool and degrease the surface of our workpiece.
How to Make a Hole in Hardened Steel Without Drilling

Apply varnish to the desired area. The varnish must be applied in a thick layer on both sides. Don't forget to coat the ends thoroughly. Leave the workpiece for 10-15 minutes to allow the varnish to dry.
How to Make a Hole in Hardened Steel Without Drilling

On the dry surface, with a marker on both sides of the workpiece, I mark the place for the hole. I choose the location arbitrarily, now I need to show how you can make a hole using this method. For example, you need to install a regular factory rivet. The diameter of the hole should be slightly smaller than the size of the rivet.
How to Make a Hole in Hardened Steel Without Drilling

Then use a knife to remove the varnish inside the hole outline. Do this on both sides.
How to Make a Hole in Hardened Steel Without Drilling

Pour water into a container and add 3 tablespoons of salt. The height of the water in the container should be 10 mm less than the height of the varnished area of ​​the workpiece.
How to Make a Hole in Hardened Steel Without Drilling

I take a device made from a hair clipper charger and two nails. The nails will serve as electrodes - I connected them to one contact. The other contact is simply bare, stripped wire. I use a 12V charger, but a regular cell phone charger will do the job.
How to Make a Hole in Hardened Steel Without Drilling

The stripped wire should be positive, the electrodes should be negative. We attach the positive wire to our workpiece using a clothespin. Then we lower the nails into the water.
How to Make a Hole in Hardened Steel Without Drilling

You can make slits in the container to fix the position of the nails. Plugging the charger into a power outlet. After switching on, the water around the electrode nails begins to bubble, and the cleaned hole mark turns black.
How to Make a Hole in Hardened Steel Without Drilling

How to Make a Hole in Hardened Steel Without Drilling

Note: to check the polarity of the wires, you must connect the charger. If water starts to bubble around the nails, it means it's a minus and you connected correctly. The appearance of bubbles in the water around the workpiece indicates that the minus is connected to it and the wires need to be reconnected. The negative must always be connected to the electrodes, the positive to the workpiece being etched!
Leave the container for one hour, 30 minutes after the start of the process you need to change the water.I turn off the charger and take out the workpiece.
How to Make a Hole in Hardened Steel Without Drilling

A through hole appeared in the intended location. In order to make the hole diameter larger, the process can be continued. Or file uneven edges with a file.
This is how you can make the desired hole in a workpiece by etching high-speed steel using the most ordinary objects.
How to Make a Hole in Hardened Steel Without Drilling

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Comments (28)
  1. Guest Alexey
    #1 Guest Alexey Guests August 30, 2018 09:31
    19
    Great.
  2. Guest Roman
    #2 Guest Roman Guests 30 August 2018 13:36
    8
    In the same way, inscriptions or drawings are made. Instead of varnish, you take wax or paraffin and heat it until the wax spreads into a thin layer. Then you draw a design with something sharp, then you etch it. After etching, you heat it up and remove the wax with a cloth, quickly and easily. All.
  3. Boris
    #3 Boris Guests 30 August 2018 19:47
    3
    Indeed, and as I myself did not guess, everything is simple. Thank you.
  4. Guest Alex
    #4 Guest Alex Guests 31 August 2018 12:10
    2
    Isn't it easier to just use vinegar? Or doesn't he?
  5. Denis
    #5 Denis Guests 31 August 2018 12:19
    2
    This is not etching, but electrochemical processing.
    Expensive method, mechanical is much simpler and faster
    1. bibik_dp
      #6 bibik_dp Guests 31 August 2018 17:34
      5
      Why is it expensive? Water, salt, electricity? or maybe nail polish?
  6. Guest Vladimir
    #7 Guest Vladimir Guests 1 September 2018 23:33
    4
    I read about this about 50 years ago. In a magazine, it was a model designer. Battery, salt solution and razor blade...
  7. Guest OLEG
    #8 Guest OLEG Guests September 2, 2018 01:50
    3
    PAPER TAPE MAKES PREPARATION FOR ETCHING MUCH SIMPLER. VARNISH IS NOT NEEDED THEN.
  8. Olek
    #9 Olek Guests September 2, 2018 09:58
    5
    It’s long, tedious and pointless... You have a drill and a drill of the required diameter, 30 seconds and you’re done!
    1. Paul
      #10 Paul Guests 3 September 2018 23:43
      16
      I'll see how you drill hot, high-alloy or hardened steel
  9. Guest Alex
    #11 Guest Alex Guests September 2, 2018 11:17
    0
    Can you explain why there are 2 nails? Why do they need to be secured and not just thrown into a jar? Why are they on the diagram on both sides of the workpiece? What will happen in the end if you change the plus and minus?
    1. Paul
      #12 Paul Guests 3 September 2018 23:47
      4
      2 nails so that the process occurs on both sides at once, the efficiency depends on the distance, if you change - + then the nails will begin to dissolve and not the workpiece.
  10. gvsp
    #13 gvsp Guests September 3, 2018 10:33
    1
    An option if there is nothing to drill with. In general, after laboratory work at the institute, I dreamed of making a machine for electric spark machining. The principle there is completely different, a hundred hundred times faster, simpler and cheaper than here. But you can’t do it with your hands; you still need a servo drive.