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So after an extended period of acquiring the necessary parts, I am ready to drill a hole in my brass/chrome beer tower to add that second tap. I don't really have a vice or anything to hold the tower steady, (or a drill press) and I am not too experienced when it comes to drilling through metal, (especially a convex surface like the tower!) Any tips to help avoid destroying this beast? I am considering drilling it in place, mounted to the kegerator. I will be using a 1" bi-metal hole saw. I know with a step bit you are supposed to apply a lot of pressure and slow drill speed, should I do something similar with the hole saw? I was thinking about putting some masking tape on the surface of the tower to "try" to avoid chipping if possible.

I would use a pilot bit first to make a hole to keep the hole saw from wandering. I'm not a big fan of high speed drilling, and I would use lots of lubricant.

Yup, start with a small bit. Go slow.

two pieces of wood with a ratchet strap might act like a vice and prevent it from rolling around on ya. Got a punch you could hit where you're gonna drill? would help so the bit doesn't slide until you get it going.

Surely somebody here has a drill press you could use - especially if you're bringing your own bits. I'm really, really, sorry I sold mine before I moved here.

There are two tools that I always seem to need every month or two and I have never gone out and bought because I can "do it without." An angle grinder, and a drill press! I agree, mounting the tower in some sort of a vice would be ideal, but I am hoping to set up the tower ASAP, we have some company coming this weekend, so I think I might just risk it... Any substitute for cutting oil if I don't have any on hand? I have a close to empty jug of motorcycle oil that might work.

I've alwasy drilled my shank holes (always in large fridges) with a 7/8" hole saw bit, you may get too big of a hole with 1" as they tend to get away from ya a bit. I would use a step bit if you've got it instead of a hole saw on a finished metal like your tower, you can pick a cheap one up at PA.

moxie wrote:There are two tools that I always seem to need every month or two and I have never gone out and bought because I can "do it without." An angle grinder, and a drill press! I agree, mounting the tower in some sort of a vice would be ideal, but I am hoping to set up the tower ASAP, we have some company coming this weekend, so I think I might just risk it... Any substitute for cutting oil if I don't have any on hand? I have a close to empty jug of motorcycle oil that might work.

Any oil will be an improvement over nothing.

that oil will be perfectly fine for drilling that... please remember that the chrome will be a very hard layer.

be sure to use a punch to give the pilot something that will prevent skipping.

Thanks for the input, guys. I think I am going to go grab a step bit up to 7/8" since like LD said, the 1" may be a tiny bit too large. I'll let you know how it turned out.