Hi, Im Lorne and welcome back to another episode of Gear up with Greggs.
Today were going to step up our knowledge of Unibit High Speed Steel Step Drills.
I can hear it from all the way over here: whats so special about a drill bit?
It just drills a hole, right?
Well, right and wrong.
This single drill bit can drill 13 different-sized holes; one for each step on the bit.
This is the Unibit.
The Unibit, or step drill bit, was first introduced in 1973 by Harry C. Oakes.
This little beauty was different than anything else on the market, since it eliminated the
need to switch between bits and made it drastically easier to enlarge a pre-existing hole.
Until the 1980s, the unibit was only sold by the Unibit Corporation,
but then the patent expired and other companies started to sell it as well.
Now, the modern unibit is a trademark of Irwin Industrial Tools.
Irwins unibits are made of High Speed Steel, or HSS.
This is a type of steel used commonly for power-saw blades and drill bits.
It can withstand high temperatures without losing its hardness and cuts faster than high
carbon steel, hence the name high speed steel.
Here at Greggs, we have two types of Irwin unibits; with or without the Titanium Nitride coating.
What does the Titanium Nitride coating do and why would you want it?
Well, besides looking all shiny and cool, the coating also resists heat and friction,
extending the cutting life of your bit.
You can even see Titanium Nitride at work on medical devices like scalpels and bone saws!
Unibits make it easy to measure the diameter of your hole with the clear markings recessed in each step.
The single-flute, speedpoint cutting edge design minimizes the amount
that the Unibit wobbles while you're drilling, which creates a cleaner, truer hole no matter the material.
The most common uses for step drills is on Aluminum or sheet metal.
You will also see them commonly used when drilling softer materials,
like plywood, particleboard, acrylic, and laminate.
Keep in mind, when drilling a material, it cannot be greater than the length of the depth of the step.
On this drill, it is a quarter inch,
and on this one it is 3/8ths
But what exactly does a Unibit do?
And how can we use it?
Well, like we said before, the Unibit is special because you can use one bit for multiple applications
where you need to drill holes for more than one size.
The Unibit eliminates the tiresome process of switching out your drill bits between each hole.
How?
Well, Ill show you.
Lets take a look at this process in action.
But first, lets make sure we have good eye protection;
hand protection, especially if we are working with metal or any material where shavings could fly off and hit you.
After all, our first step in this bit should be safety!
For some applications, you might find that its easier to drill a pilot hole, that is,
the starting hole that you set your bit into, with a regular drill bit first.
You can either drill a pilot hole or punch an indentation into your material with a centre
punch.
Then, attach your Unibit and settle it into the pilot hole or indentation and start drilling.
Most Unibits are self-starting, so this should be easy.
With each step of the drill bit, you'll find your hole getting larger and larger.
The trick to using a Unibit is knowing when to stop drilling.
Instead of pausing every step to measure the width of your hole, take a piece of tape and
wrap it around the Unibit at the step where you want to stop drilling.
In this case, we want to stop at a half-inch hole.
Keep drilling until you hit the tape and?
its that easy!
Its fast, simple, and leaves you with a clean hole in your material of choice.
Make sure to clean your Unibit with a soft rag after use to remove any metal shavings before storing it.
You can also use the Unibit to enlarge previously-existing holes or to create a countersink
(a conical hole, kind of like a funnel) in a thicker material.
You will be happy to know that Unibits are available in both metric and imperial sizes,
featuring a number of options for any scenario you could possibly need!
If you found these steps too hard to follow, or have any other questions, please don't
hesitate to call us.
Or, if you prefer using the internet, you can visit our all Canadian website at greggdistributors.ca.
Again, Im Lorne and thank you for watching another episode of Gear up with Greggs.