Need a good drill bit for enclosures

[aaronwahlmusic]

What's a good, preferably unibit I could buy? The issue I'm having is that when drilling for the input and output jacks, especially in a small enclosure like the 1590a, most unibits I've looked at would drill all the way through the entire enclosure before it would get to the desired size step in the drill bit (3/8 for jacks I believe). Any advice? Thanks gents!

[TweedBassman]

There are a ton of 'stubby' unibit/step bits available that will go up to 3/4" before they touch the other side of a 1590a, but they're expensive. Try harbor freight if you're in the US they have decent cheap ones. If not there, most hardware stores have them but they'll be $30+.

[aaronwahlmusic]

Thanks! will try harbor freight, and then most likely just get it from amazon prime if possible :P

[Dr Satan]

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Irwin-Unibit-TiN-Turbomax-Pro-Drill-Bits-Set-9-Pieces-3018008/202956942#.Ubogu6xxYz4 Not a bad price considering the larger step bit alone is about $30~$35. Don't cheap out on drill bits, you'll regret it. Use lower speeds on aluminum as it will melt and gunk up the bit if you try to go too fast.

[McSpunckle]

Go to your local big box store (or Amazon), and get a set of Irwin Unibits. The stubby fat one will do the jacks in 1590a boxes, and the one with more steps (from 1/8" to 1/2") is better for tops. My drill press (the cheapest Harbor Freight one-- and likely the same as most entry level bench drill presses) doesn't have enough range to get through the whole smaller bit, though.

The Harbor Freight step bits are fine (and shorter, incidentally), but I've have a problem with the fatter ones not cutting. Sometimes right out of the box, and other times they just stop working. The smaller ones have never failed, though, and they aren't any worse than the real Irwins for performance, as far as I can tell. They'll -just- do 3/8" in a 1590a. The stubby ones from either brand will do them fine.

With step bits, you wanna use cutting fluid if at all possible. Otherwise they can gum up. You can scrape them off if that happens, though.

[aaronwahlmusic]

Bought this one: http://tinyurl.com/kyhovw3
and so far it has worked splendidly, thanks guys!

[Jero]

Go to your local big box store (or Amazon), and get a set of Irwin Unibits. The stubby fat one will do the jacks in 1590a boxes, and the one with more steps (from 1/8" to 1/2") is better for tops. My drill press (the cheapest Harbor Freight one-- and likely the same as most entry level bench drill presses) doesn't have enough range to get through the whole smaller bit, though.
The Harbor Freight step bits are fine (and shorter, incidentally), but I've have a problem with the fatter ones not cutting. Sometimes right out of the box, and other times they just stop working. The smaller ones have never failed, though, and they aren't any worse than the real Irwins for performance, as far as I can tell. They'll -just- do 3/8" in a 1590a. The stubby ones from either brand will do them fine.
With step bits, you wanna use cutting fluid if at all possible. Otherwise they can gum up. You can scrape them off if that happens, though.

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