Installing a dead bolt on a steel door
#1
12-10-07, 12:24 PM
Installing a dead bolt on a steel door
I need to install a new deadbolt on an old steel entry door. I've done it on wood doors but can I use the same hole saw on steel?
#2
12-10-07, 01:52 PM
Group Moderator
Yes you can, but it might help if you adjusted your speed when drilling. Drill slower than you would when drilling in wood. Most hole saws are bi-metal and can drill through a thin skinned metal door easily. But if you drill with high speed, you'll really dull the hole saw.
Even if your hole saw isn't bi-metal, I'm sure it will stay sharp long enough to drill one hole. Once your pilot drill bit pokes out the other side of the door, stop drilling on that side and start drilling from the opposite side. It will make a cleaner hole and you won't have to wrestle the plug out of the hole saw.
Even if your hole saw isn't bi-metal, I'm sure it will stay sharp long enough to drill one hole. Once your pilot drill bit pokes out the other side of the door, stop drilling on that side and start drilling from the opposite side. It will make a cleaner hole and you won't have to wrestle the plug out of the hole saw.
#4
12-13-07, 06:16 AM
Another thing I do on steel doors is clamp a 1x4 over the area where you will be drilling and drill through it first, remove the blank and continue drilling. It will keep your bit stable. Quite often when drilling steel the arbor bit will tend to gouge out its hole and your bit will wobble a little.
