# Forum Home Renovation Metalwork & Welding  Drilling hole in steel lintel

## NRB

Hi all 
Not sure this is posted in the correct place but here we go 
I need to make  a round hole 60 mm  through a steel lintel plate which is about 12 mm thick 
It is in place above a garage door and behind a brick wall, I have knocked out the bricks to expose the lintel,I don't think it can be cut with a oxy torch as there is timber in the area 
One though is to drill a series of holes in a circle then knock out the centre or use a hole saw,is there such a hole saw to do the job 
I am hoping that the talent in the forum can give me some direction 
Thanks in advance

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## phild01

Would a square hole work, with an angle grinder.

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## NRB

Yes it would but as it is behind a course of bricks I could not get a grinder in 
This hole I need to make is for a overflow pipe   of a box gutter which is behind a parapet wall 
The plumber who is  doing this job is on $80 an hour and as it could take a couple of hours I have decided to have a go myself

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## Bros

Sure you can use a hole saw as that is what I would use unless you can get access to a magnetic drill and a 60 mm broach. The hole saw would be the cheapest and get a good one.
Now for the technique, when you drill the pilot hole use a masonry drill to clear the hole behind the drill so the pilot drill is not cutting brick. 
You need a very slow drill and lots of cutting compound and a lot of time but it can be done easily but speed and generous use of cutting compound are the main things you need.

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## Uncle Bob

A hole saw will do it. It may take awhile and it may be in an uncomfortable position.
If you go down this path here's a couple of tips. 
Use  cutting fluid to keep the saw and work cool. Something ike this https://www.bunnings.com.au/sutton-t...fluid_p6320395
Have a spare set of arms around to give you a break for awhile.
Drill a couple of holes where the holesaw will cut to keep the cut clean of swarf. 8 or 10 mm would be ideal.
Use a slow speed and try to keep it cool.

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## Whitey66

I'd use a hole saw.
You want a slow but powerful drill, and if it has a clutch it will help with not breaking teeth if it jams.
You need to use lots of lube to cool and lubricate the saw teeth, get someone to spray it for you while cutting.
Remember nice and slow, just enough speed to keep it turning. High speed does nothing but create excess heat which will bugger the hole saw.

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## NRB

Thanks for your quick tips,I didn't think at this time of night I would get a reply so fast,aren't we lucky to be involved on a forum that has so many people to help 
When I buy the hole saw what should i look for,I luckily have a big slow ozito drill that should be good

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## NRB

Bros thanks for your tip ,behind the steel is only the box gutter

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## Bros

P&N or Suttons and you will have to get an arbour as well. Get a cutting compound paste and a brush to put it on, it will smoke but keep applying it.

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## cyclic

Hmmm, need to change the subject to overflow. 
60mm hole for box gutter overflow means 50mm overflow ????????? very small for any box gutter. 
I hope the roof area is no larger than an awning, say 3 metres x 1.8 metres tops, and where is and what size is the downpipe. 
Also hope there are no trees/ringtails/birds around, or you will be up there every week. 
While you are at it, what size is the gutter as well.

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## ringtail

The people that make the red tools also do a range of hole saws called "HOLE DOZER " . I've found them far superior to other holesaws in steel. Not cheap though

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## Marc

If you can get a magnetic base drill in there, rent one from Kennards with a broach. The drill will cut a 60 mm hole in about 1 minute or less.

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## plum

> Hmmm, need to change the subject to overflow. 
> 60mm hole for box gutter overflow means 50mm overflow ????????? very small for any box gutter. 
> I hope the roof area is no larger than an awning, say 3 metres x 1.8 metres tops, and where is and what size is the downpipe. 
> Also hope there are no trees/ringtails/birds around, or you will be up there every week. 
> While you are at it, what size is the gutter as well.

  
Nice pick-up Cyclic. Overflow not to be smaller than the actual downpipe outlet size.

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## sol381

> The people that make the red tools also do a range of hole saws called "HOLE DOZER " . I've found them far superior to other holesaws in steel. Not cheap though

  Come on you can say it....Mil ...wau...kee.....

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## sol381

I actually prefer these.. I bought a set and gets used every day..mainly by other tradies whos normal holesaws wont do the job..Not quite as neat as bi metal but 10 times faster..  https://sydneytools.com.au/xtorque-x...on-holesaw-set

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## pharmaboy2

> Nice pick-up Cyclic. Overflow not to be smaller than the actual downpipe outlet size.

  60mm does seem to the elephant in the room.  Surely there must be a more appropriate solution than cutting through a beam anyway (overflow box on drainpipe?)

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## Uncle Bob

Good point by Cyclic. Can you extend the box gutter past the roof and turn it into a rainhead?

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## NRB

I am following advice from my plumber who says that 50 mm for a overflow is okay but am hearing the advice from you guys so will look to make it larger  
To extend the box gutter and make a rainhead would mean destroying a parapet wall which is not an option 
The box gutter has a 100 mm down pipe which is bigger than the normal ,this was blocked as it went underground by a gutter clip,how that got in there who knows,leaves and tree roots 
Now that we have the drains cleaned we think that an overflow pipe will reduce the chance of the gutter overflowing 
But please continue to offer advice

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## cyclic

> I am following advice from my plumber who says that 50 mm for a overflow is okay but am hearing the advice from you guys so will look to make it larger  
> To extend the box gutter and make a rainhead would mean destroying a parapet wall which is not an option 
> The box gutter has a 100 mm down pipe which is bigger than the normal ,this was blocked as it went underground by a gutter clip,how that got in there who knows,leaves and tree roots 
> Now that we have the drains cleaned we think that an overflow pipe will reduce the chance of the gutter overflowing 
> But please continue to offer advice

  
1) What is the roof area in either length x width or square metres ??
2) Does the roof take any water from another roof ?? i.e spreader downpipe
3)  What is the box gutter size length x width x depth ??
4) It is not only the size of the downpipe but how the water gets to the downpipe
 i.e a downpipe drop/pop is going to take less flow than a sump or head. 
I am sure I asked a couple of these questions earlier, but if you don't want to answer them, I will stay quiet.

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## Bros

Get the camera out and take some pics and post them so the experts and others can give their opinion.

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## phild01

> Get the camera out and take some pics and post them so the experts and others can give their opinion.

  A well overdue suggestion.

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## pharmaboy2

Change the downpipe into a rainhead perhaps? As long as it has full entry flow, and the rainhead can dump excess then a blocked drain system won't cause overflow into the building, just an idea

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## Whitey66

> Get the camera out and take some pics and post them so the experts and others can give their opinion.

  Is there a way to bring up a message regarding adding photos if necessary when someone starts a new thread?
A picture speaks a thousand words, and quite often peoples description does not match or fully explain their real situation.

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## Bros

> Is there a way to bring up a message regarding adding photos if necessary when someone starts a new thread?
> A picture speaks a thousand words, and quite often peoples description does not match or fully explain their real situation.

   Not really it would depend on the post. The OP originally asked how to drill a hole, quite simple really but it ended up questioning the need for a hole or the size of it so it was sometime in the thread before it became obvious that pics were necessary.

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## Marc

Ahum ... so now a metalwork question has turned into a plumbing question. 
What is an overflow pipe in a box gutter? 
Is it horizontal closer to the edge so that if the main drain pipe is blocked it flows in that 50mm pipe?  
I have an internal 600mm box gutter and that bastard carries a lot of water. When there is a downpour and the down pipe is not enough, I made one end lower so that it spills over the edge and onto the roof below. 50mm seems a lot of work for little gain. I would go 100mm but the steel you want to drill will lose some strength. How much depends from what it is supporting. Clearly without photos we are all poking in the dark. 
You could have an unconventional solution, with a bilge pump rigged in the deep side. Water rises, bilge pump pumps water over the edge. Cheap as chips.

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## pharmaboy2

Bilge pump Marc?  You cant be serious - think about the 1 in 10 year storm volume of water, and the bilge pump will be to be more like a Davey farm irrigation pump! 
all this also depends on where and how the box gutter overflows - if it's into an eave on a flat roof, then the design really need to be thought out a lot better.  A box gutter should never just flow into a std 90mm downpipe, there needs to be an overflow and or rainhead system.   A decent plumber or builder needs to be consulted for a solution 
bilge pump to prevent standing water for sure - seen that used in sumps to great effect (under houses)

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## Bros

> A decent plumber or builder needs to be consulted for a solution 
> )

   We might be getting ahead of ourselves as we have to wait for the pics if they come.

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## Whitey66

> Not really it would depend on the post. The OP originally asked how to drill a hole, quite simple really but it ended up questioning the need for a hole or the size of it so it was sometime in the thread before it became obvious that pics were necessary.

   That is my point exactly.
If NRB started this thread with his question AND a photo, he would have got an answer a hell of a lot quicker.
As it was, he could have stuffed around for hours getting his hole cut, only to find it's not big enough or not to regulation etc.

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## cyclic

> Ahum ... so now a metalwork question has turned into a plumbing question. 
> What is an overflow pipe in a box gutter? 
> Is it horizontal closer to the edge so that if the main drain pipe is blocked it flows in that 50mm pipe?  
> I have an internal 600mm box gutter and that bastard carries a lot of water. When there is a downpour and the down pipe is not enough, I made one end lower so that it spills over the edge and onto the roof below. 50mm seems a lot of work for little gain. I would go 100mm but the steel you want to drill will lose some strength. How much depends from what it is supporting. Clearly without photos we are all poking in the dark. 
> You could have an unconventional solution, with a bilge pump rigged in the deep side. Water rises, bilge pump pumps water over the edge. Cheap as chips.

  Sorry for bringing up what is obvious to me. 
An overflow should be fitted to any box gutter (not to be confused with box shape fascia gutter) fitted internally in a building. 
The overflow can be rectangle or round through the end or side of the gutter, and the top of the overflow must be level with, or preferably, lower than the shallowest point of the gutter. 
An overflow can also go through the base of the gutter providing it goes to outside the building, and the height is as above. 
The overflow, as Plum pointed out in his post, should be at least as large as the downpipe. 
The steel the op is drilling is a lintel, so no idea how wide. 
Really it is all up to the op from here.

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## Bros

> That is my point exactly.
> If NRB started this thread with his question AND a photo, he would have got an answer a hell of a lot quicker.
> As it was, he could have stuffed around for hours getting his hole cut, only to find it's not big enough or not to regulation etc.

   A lot of posts I don't look at as I don't know the answer but this one caught my eye as I know how to drill holes in steel.   My contribution and others he would be in no doubt how to do this but going into guttering I will leave that to posters more competent than me.

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## commodorenut

^^ I'm a bit like that, but I'm glad I clicked on this one & read every reply. 
I spent many years in an engineering workshop drilling & tapping holes in all manner of materials, from stainless to SG iron & manganese bronze.   Got pretty good at using the 4 head Rockwell drill press with auto feed & reverse.  Strong enough to flick a 14kg casting a good 10m away if it grabbed it out of the vice.  I thought I knew how to drill steel pretty good - and have proven this to myself & many others. 
One thing I have never attempted is to holesaw steel thicker than sheetmetal.  On the few occasions I've needed to make brackets or the like from steel plate, I've used a 4-jaw chuck in a lathe to hold it, and cut the hole.  Usually extending or finishing it with a grinder. 
Reading Uncle Bob's tip on drilling a few holes around the circle where the holesaw will cut is brilliant.  I've never heard of this, but with my knowledge & experience at an industrial level, I can see exactly how it would make a huge difference.   I didn't really have anything to offer to the thread as far as drilling or gutters, but I've learnt something new that I can put to good use in the future, and not shy away from a job I didn't have the confidence to do.  There's lots more examples of this on the forum.  Thanks Bob.

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## Uncle Bob

> ^^ I'm a bit like that, but I'm glad I clicked on this one & read every reply. 
> Reading Uncle Bob's tip on drilling a few holes around the circle where the holesaw will cut is brilliant.  I

  I must admit that I've only just learnt this myself, courtesy of everyone's old friend AvE on youtube.
You can see the trick here: https://youtu.be/QhpOg186fks?t=17m8s (adult themes  :Smilie:  )

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## commodorenut

I've watched a few of his videos (notably the ones about using a strap & pole as a lever) but hadn't seen the holesaw one.  Very good resource.

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## phild01

> Reading Uncle Bob's tip on drilling a few holes around the circle where the holesaw will cut is brilliant. Thanks Bob.

  +1

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## NRB

I would like to respond to all the comments and tips for my original post of how to drill a hole which are all very welcome and thanks to you all but and am at a point of trying to bring a conclusion without offending anyone ,after all I just wanted to know how to drill a hole in the best way 
The property where this issue is was built around 1983,we have had it since 2007 and have not had a problem with this until recently where the box gutter backed up and overflowed into the garage  ,it seems that the problem was leaves and junk in the drainage system so it seems that the box gutter and down pipes have been okay for all these years 
What I am doing is building a bit of safety into  the system ,we have had the pipes cleaned out and adding a overflow should help to stop it happening again 
Again thanks to you all for your advice

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## ringtail

> Come on you can say it....Mil ...wau...kee.....

  Red "tool" sh!te  :Tongue:

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## ringtail

> I actually prefer these.. I bought a set and gets used every day..mainly by other tradies whos normal holesaws wont do the job..Not quite as neat as bi metal but 10 times faster..  https://sydneytools.com.au/xtorque-x...on-holesaw-set

  See how they don't list steel ? Just "other tough materials" I'd like to see one used on plate steel or pipe

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## Marc

> Bilge pump Marc?  You cant be serious - think about the 1 in 10 year storm volume of water, and the bilge pump will be to be more like a Davey farm irrigation pump! 
> all this also depends on where and how the box gutter overflows - if it's into an eave on a flat roof, then the design really need to be thought out a lot better.  A box gutter should never just flow into a std 90mm downpipe, there needs to be an overflow and or rainhead system.   A decent plumber or builder needs to be consulted for a solution 
> bilge pump to prevent standing water for sure - seen that used in sumps to great effect (under houses)

  Sure overflow beats bilge pump, but 50 mm pipe with a few leafs? not so sure. 
As far as that video for "how to", must say not impressed. Never liked those who promote MacGyver style ideas as the way to do things. Best way to drill a hole is using the right tool.

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## PlatypusGardens

> Is there a way to bring up a message regarding adding photos if necessary when someone starts a new thread?
> A picture speaks a thousand words, and quite often peoples description does not match or fully explain their real situation.

  i suggested this some time back and the mods disagreed or couldn't be bothered
Maybe you'll have better luck  https://www.renovateforum.com/f36/ph...photos-117756/   
And that thread turned in to plumbing talk as well   :Runaway:  gaaaah

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## Bros

> i suggested this some time back and the mods disagreed or couldn't be bothered
> Maybe you'll have better luck  https://www.renovateforum.com/f36/ph...photos-117756/   
> And that thread turned in to plumbing talk as well   gaaaah

  And you got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning, have a lie down and you will feel better. I have answered the question but if it is to much for you it is up to you to ask for pics, you are not backward in complaining. As for turning into plumbing the poster took it off track but not enough for a new thread unless he posted pics which he declined to do.

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## Whitey66

> i suggested this some time back and the mods disagreed or couldn't be bothered
> Maybe you'll have better luck  https://www.renovateforum.com/f36/ph...photos-117756/   
> And that thread turned in to plumbing talk as well   gaaaah

  I don't think i'll have any better luck than you. My replies at #24 and #30 didn't help much at all (not relevant), so I gave up  :Doh:

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## PlatypusGardens

> And you got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning, have a lie down and you will feel better. I have answered the question but if it is to much for you it is up to you to ask for pics, you are not backward in complaining. As for turning into plumbing the poster took it off track but not enough for a new thread unless he posted pics which he declined to do.

  Wow man, stop being so frikken serious all the time.  :Rofl5:  
Jeez

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