Help Installing XB-100 Horizontal Base into T2000

[keithdanielson]

I am attempting to add an XB-100 Horizontal base onto an old Tormek T2000.
I read the instructions, but I'm really not sure how to drill the screws in through steel.
I can't find any videos showing the actual installation.

I tried using an 18V battery powered drill with oil and a 3/16" bradpoint bit, but it didn't seem to budge. I then tried putting it under my drill press at a 600-900 RPM and the same bit, and it's not able to get through there either.

They are called self threading screws, are we supposed to install them with no pilot holes? I'm pretty stuck here.

[Herman Trivilino]

If the self-tapping screws won't penetrate then you do have to drill pilot holes. It sounds like your drill bit is dull. Small drill bits dull easily. Buy a new one.

[John Hancock Sr]

3/16" bradpoint bit,

Brad point bits are specifically for wood and are not for drilling steel. You will need a HSS twist drill. I have used them on aluminium but would never use them on steel.

[RickKrung]

If the self-tapping screws won't penetrate then you do have to drill pilot holes. It sounds like your drill bit is dull. Small drill bits dull easily. Buy a new one.

3/16" bradpoint bit,

Brad point bits are specifically for wood and are not for drilling steel. You will need a HSS twist drill. I have used them on aluminium but would never use them on steel.

Yup, I was in the process of responding when these came in.  Brad point drills are for wood and would dull quite quickly tried on metal.  There are special drills for sheet metal, but you don't really need one and I'm not sure they come small enough for what you are doing.  Regular HSS drills will work well enough if used properly.  A bona fide "center-drill" might actually be best, but with care to only run the centering point into the sheet metal, not the broad beveled flutes, followed by a regular drill if the centering point doesn't cut all the way through.  Center drill would be much stiffer and helps keep things from wandering more than standard drills.  Best to center-punch the locations, however, as even center-drills will wander, particularly if hand held or even on a drill press. 

600-900 might be too fast, at least for getting the holes started.  Good to use bona fide cutting oil, not just any lubricating oil, but better some oil than none.  For getting holes like this started, it might take a good bit of pressure so the cutting flutes can get a bite.  That is where the balance between speed and pressure is important, slow enough and hard enough so the flutes can dig in, but not too slow or too hard.  Having the workpiece securely held in place and the drill in a machine quill helps a lot, but a drill press (woodworking types) often can't go slow enough. 

Commercially available drill that might be thought to be good for sheet metal, but really isn't.  Notice how the tip of the left flute is already dull.  Center point is much too large.  This drill is actually about 5/8" dia.  Drills like this are likely hard to find small enough for what you are doing. 
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Sheet metal drill I found online.  Small center point, very low profile primary flutes, still sloping down and away, albeit, at a shallow angle.  I've never used a drill like this.
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Spot welding drill, but only available in larger sizes.
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A sheet metal drill the way my father would hand grind them and is essential the same as tthe spot welding drill above (very similar to the spot weld drill above). Notice the tiny bit of point on the outer corner of the left flute, helps when the drill breaks though, cutting cleanly rather than the flutes grabbing (right side is either dulled or just not ground high enough). Very effective, but this one is about 1/2" dia. and would be extremely difficult or impossible to hand grind at the size you need. 
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I use Tap Magic Cutting Fluid, which is available in small cans, but I didn't find them on the Tap Magic web site, just this type
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[RickKrung]

...snip...

They are called self threading screws, are we supposed to install them with no pilot holes? I'm pretty stuck here.

If the self-tapping screws won't penetrate then you do have to drill pilot holes. It sounds like your drill bit is dull. Small drill bits dull easily. Buy a new one.

There is a difference between self-tapping/threading and self-drilling screws.  Self-drilling have a drill bit point and essentially drill the necessary pilot hole without the separate use of a drill.  They are limited in the thickness of sheet metal, though.  There are two types of self-tapping/threading screws, some have a blunt, non-drilling point, some have a sharp point that can penetrate soft materials like wood and some plastics.  The screws provided in the MB-100 kit are the blunt, non-self drilling type and require a pilot hole. 

However, one is not limited to the screws provided in the MB-100 kit.  Self-drilling screws likely are available, possibly in better hardware stores but certainly online, like However, one is not limited to the screws provided in the MB-100 kit.  Self-drilling screws likely are available, possibly in better hardware stores but certainly online, like McMaster-Carr and Fastenal.

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Self tapping/threading vs self-drilling screws.
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MB-100 screws.  Pilot holes required, per Tormek instructions. 
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