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How do I drill through a Titan Tower?


trevorb

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I'm installing the wiring for my tower lights and I cannot drill through the titan II tower. These towers are freakin strong. I bought two new titanium bits and they won't even make a dent in it. What is the best bit and best way to drill through these towers?

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I'm installing the wiring for my tower lights and I cannot drill through the titan II tower. These towers are freakin strong. I bought two new titanium bits and they won't even make a dent in it. What is the best bit and best way to drill through these towers?

The best way to drill steel no matter its hardness or heat treat is a lot of drill pressure and at a very, very slow rpm. If your rpm is too high you will smoke/burn the bit or break off one of the flukes. If your final hole size is over a 1/4" make it a two step process by starting off with a pilot hole(1/8" or 5/32") and step it up to your final size afterwards.

IF your titanium bits still don't work using this method, trying buying a cobalt bit at the hardware store. They should be a little cheaper and will work fine using this method.

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Which is better, Titanium or Cobalt? I've already tried the titanium with oil and I've made no progress. I'll try a cobalt bit tomorrow.

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Slurpee drilled our tower this weekend. He started with a really small bit and only drilled for 5 or 6 seconds then let off for 10 seconds. He said it was to let the Al cool. The first whole was easy with the small bit and some pressure. Then he just worked his way up to the bit size he wanted. These were just the standard drill bits in our DeWalt kit.

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Well I ended up using the cobalt bits. The titanium bits do not cut through stainless. I also used a little cutting oil and a very slow speed, and used three different sizes. I finished off with a 7/16 hole. I cannot believe how strong these titan towers are.

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...that's Stainless Steel for ya. Start small, go slow, use oil. Use cobalt bits and MOST IMPORTANTLY wear safety glasses! Cobalt bits are so hard if they hang up they break and pieces fly.

FYI: Anyone else drilling into a Titan Tower make sure you DO not drill into the "cone" where the heim joint is mounted. That piece is solid and fits up into the tube 1/2-3/4". So stay up 3/4" from the weld.

Pat

Edited by Faceplant409
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  • 3 weeks later...
I'm installing the wiring for my tower lights and I cannot drill through the titan II tower. These towers are freakin strong. I bought two new titanium bits and they won't even make a dent in it. What is the best bit and best way to drill through these towers?

So what tower lights did you get? Titan's? Looking to get lights myself, but I was concerned when Titan shows them mounted on top of the bar.

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I ended up getting a set of used skylon tower lights for a good price. 6 x 55W halogens. It fit perfect with my bimini stored on the tower and they look great. The other light that I was previously talking about was the titan anchor light on the top of the tower.

I ended up drilling 4 holes in total in the tower. I had to drill two on the front wishbone for the titan light and 2 on the rear for the skylon lights. Once I started using the cobalt bits and cutting oil the holes drilled really easily.

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Here's a pic of the wiring from the tower to the hull. There is wires for the front wishbone and for the rear.

IMGP1344.JPG

Here is a pic of the tower lights with the bimini stored up. It fits just perfect! You can just barely see the titan light in front of the tow spool.

IMGP1345.JPG

Here is a pic of the tower lights with the bimini down. (a little out of focus)

IMGP1219.JPG

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Stainless is terrible to machine or drill in any way because it's about twice as strong in shear loading than carbon / mild steel, which is how you cut it. It's a tough material (impact), but no stiffer or stronger in tension than carbon steel tubing.

Pilot holes help immensely. I also suggest buying a Drill Doctor instead of more expensive bits; probably the best $90 I ever spent on a tool.

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Here's a pic of the wiring from the tower to the hull. There is wires for the front wishbone and for the rear.

IMGP1344.JPG

Here is a pic of the tower lights with the bimini stored up. It fits just perfect! You can just barely see the titan light in front of the tow spool.

IMGP1345.JPG

Here is a pic of the tower lights with the bimini down. (a little out of focus)

IMGP1219.JPG

Very nice.... thanks for the pics. I like the neat, clean job going from the tubes to the boat. :)

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