Drilling for heating element - DIY or metal fabricator?

[Jacob]

I got a set of stepbits from AliExpress for next to nothing and they've done a great job for me; used in countless other projects as well.

Same here. Just ordered new one for around 5e

[Shanna]

Cheers for that. I don't need a 38mm bit for a 16mm thread though I'll try and call a few fabricators to see if they can do it. Failing that I think I'll have to buy a drill stepbit.

Unless there is anyone who could lend me one for a few hours?

Apologies missed the 16ml reference. Lidl are also doing cheap as chips hole sets,there might be a 16ml in there.
http://www.lidl.ie/en/Offers.htm?action=showDetail&id=40426

Shanna

[Will_D]

Twist drills over say 4 mm are NOT able to drill thin stainless (typically 1.6 mm for a keg). Anything bigger is a nightmare!

The step drills are by far the best (unless you get a really good quality bi-metal hole saw).

The secret is to do it outside with a garden hose trickling a continuous flow of water onto the tool and run the drill slowly say 400 rpm (this is full speed in low on a typical rechargeable drill) .

You don't need much flow but if you see stean STOP!

[molc]

I used olive oil as the cutting oil when I did mine. If I could smell the oil, it meant it was getting too hot