Drilling advise

[Craig]

I'm looking into adding a lid bale to my scratch and dent black OTS that I got earlier this year. I ordered the lid bale assembly from ereplacementparts.com. I don't want to screw this up. So what kind of bit do you guys recommend?

[Bman]

A sharp one.  Seriously, that's about it.  Start small, real small, and go slow.  You need to get though the porcelain which is the dangerous part.  After that, the metal is a breeze for the pilot hole.  Then step up in sizes until you reach the final diameter.

[Heyjude]

A step drill bit may work. Be sure to tape off the area prior to drilling. Use some blue painters tape.
It will be easy to see your marks. It may also help to prevent the porcelain from chipping.
Start slow and easy.   

[javahog2002]

I use the tape and a punch to start the hole with a small bit.  Then the stepper bit which makes nice clean hole.

http://www.harborfreight.com/2-piece-titanium-nitride-coated-high-speed-steel-step-drill-bits-69088.html

[zavod44]

Sometimes a punch can knock off a big piece of enamel.  Just put tape, drill a small hole and go up in size from there....no biggie....

Sent from my XOOM 2 using Tapatalk 2

[mike.stavlund]

+1 for tape, sharp bits, small hole, slow.  I've drilled about 10 different holes so far, and not had any chipping (knock on wood).

[pbe gummi bear]

Sometimes a punch can knock off a big piece of enamel.  Just put tape, drill a small hole and go up in size from there....no biggie....

Sent from my XOOM 2 using Tapatalk 2

+1. Just use a sharp drill bit. You can start with a small pilot and move up in increments for larger holes.

[TexasOnion]

drill a small pilot hole and use these      http://www.harborfreight.com/titanium-nitride-coated-high-speed-steel-step-drill-bit-set-3-pc-60379.html

[Harbormaster]

And if you have a variable speed drill, use a lower RPM. Higher speeds will cause the porcelain to chip.

Definitely tape the area off with masking tape too. It really helps minimize chipping.

If you do get some chippage that's visible, a stainless fender washer helps cover it up.

[weirleigh]

I did put tape on the kettle both sides before drilling but just used a standard sharp metal drill bit and didn't have any problems on mine