Northern Ontario 2022

[Swingpure]

-25*c here tonight
Mid to late March for tapping up here. Once we get to around 2*c I will start cleaning buckets and preping everything g else
Purchased a new tapping bit this year to see how much better it is than a regular drill bit
Not sure what youre drilling but I found the step bits from canadian tire work great for drilling stainless steel and they make a nice clean hole. They come in handy for many other uses as well and they're on sale this week.

-22° here overnight. We have a small stretch starting March 6, that if somehow it warms up 3°, I might tap my bucket trees. If it doesn’t warm up, it maybe the third week of March before we can tap. More time for ice fishing I guess.

The step drill bits are on sale at Cdn Tire. I have seen them before, but have never used them. I need to drill a 7/8” hole, which is the largest step on the largest step drill bit. I will check them out tomorrow.

[Someclown]

Ended up at -29*c this morning
Use a punch to make a small indent to start your hole so the bit doesn't wonder and don't go high speed or you will burn the tip of the bit, stainless steel is hard metal.

[aamyotte]

Apply as much pressure as you can as well. A slow turning, heavy pressure with cutting oil should make for a good hole.

[Swingpure]

Ended up at -29*c this morning
Use a punch to make a small indent to start your hole so the bit doesn't wonder and don't go high speed or you will burn the tip of the bit, stainless steel is hard metal.

Somehow we only dropped to -20°. The long range still is not getting better. Partially tempted to tap the bucket trees Monday, when the bark would warm up, but no sense in doing that, because no sap will run for awhile.

Would drilling a pilot hole help?

I can borrow a step drill bit from a friend, so I do not have to buy one. The bulkhead arrives Wednesday and I will get the other fittings on Thursday and hopefully have it working by Friday. I presume you can test it with water.

[Someclown]

Maybe to late but yes a pilot hole will help but may still need that indent to keep the bit from wondering.
No sense tapping to early as the roots will still be frozen, the longer your holes are open may shorten your season by introducing bacteria that much sooner. It takes about a week above freezing around here to get the trees to drip.

[Swingpure]

The Weather Network’s Spring forecast is not encouraging.

“Early tastes of warm spring weather will continue to tease at times, but overall, March and April will test our patience with periods of colder than normal weather expected, which will include additional high-impact winter weather for much of the province. However, we are optimistic that May will bring enough warm weather to bring our temperatures to near normal for the season as a whole.”

The sap may not flow until at least the third week of March. Yeesh

[Swingpure]

So I got the Canadian Tire brand step drill bit today and I knew the hole I wanted was 7/8”, so I thought I would drill the hole.

I did a good punch mark, but the step drill would wander, so I tried drilling a pilot hole to allow the step drill to get started. Four broken or dull bits later, I barely made a mark in the stainless steel, but it was enough for the step bit to get started.

I put oil on it, pause about three times in between steps so it did not get too hot, but I knew each time that I added the oil, the area was hot. I made it to the 7/8” step and stopped right away. I don’t get the bulkhead until tomorrow and want to check to see how it fits before doing anything else.

Although the edge that I could see was a nice clean hole, I was surprised to see the inside was not a clean hole at all.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/038h...8AAJc8WsZutSMA

Not sure if I have to go a little farther with the step drill and it will clean it off, but I know I cannot put the bulkhead on with the metal shards sticking out. Not positive on how to remove them without making a mess. Also not sure how it happened other than the bit did not have a good enough cutting edge for stainless steel.

[aamyotte]

It's hard to tell from the picture but would you be able to get your drill inside the pot to ream out the rough spot? If not a regular drill an angle drill should work.
If you don't have an angle drill check with Home Depot about renting one for half a day.

[Swingpure]

It's hard to tell from the picture but would you be able to get your drill inside the pot to ream out the rough spot? If not a regular drill an angle drill should work.
If you don't have an angle drill check with Home Depot about renting one for half a day.

I was able to get the drill with the step bit inside, it did not work as well as hope, but between that and two other things I tried, it got better, but not close to perfect. It will never be perfect. It actually is now flatter than the picture looks. I have to hope that the compression ring will create a seal on the inside, or perhaps some food grade caulking will help.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0b9y...E0pORXf6XVFdyA

I have to assume the bit did not hold it’s edge against the stainless steel, I should have either chosen a stronger step bit of a carbide tipped hole saw.

We will see how the bulkhead fits tomorrow.

Edit: My stepson is pretty good with a grinder and thinks he can get it at least smooth, so it has a chance to seal.

[Someclown]

Holy crap it looks like the bit was just pushing its way through the metal instead of cutting the metal.
I did not have that problem when I drilled my pan, the bit cut a clean hole and the bulkhead fit nice and tight.
I think the metal you drilled was thin and got so hot it just pushed its way through. That's very disappointing