Hole Making Tools

Cutwel has been supplying hole making tools to precision engineers across the UK and Ireland for over 25 years, and we hold one of the most comprehensive drilling ranges on the market, from a single stub drill through to a complete modular drilling system.

You will find solid carbide, HSS, HSS cobalt and HSS-PM drills, indexable U-drill systems, modular and replaceable head drills, NC spot and centre drills, reamers, countersinks, counterbores, boring systems, annular cutters and hole saws.

Whether you are spotting, drilling deep holes, reaming to a tolerance, countersinking or boring to a finished size, in steel, stainless, cast iron, aluminium, hardened steel, titanium, HRSAs, plastics or composites, we have a solution built for your application.

We stock market leading brands such as YG-1, Korloy, Dormer Pramet, Kennametal, Rotabroach, and Karnasch alongside our own Cutwel Pro range, so you have the choice between premium high performance tooling or lower cost general purpose solutions for those on a budget.

Hole making is rarely one tool working on its own which is where we can provide the full solution. Pilot drilling or starting the hole, the main drilling work and the finish usually means a spot drill, a drill and then a reamer working as a sequence, with the right toolholding behind them. If you are needing help across that process, our expert technical team can recommend the right combination, advise on cutting data and identify where cycle time, hole quality or tool cost can be improved. Contact our technical team for support on finding the right hole making solution for the job.

Buying from Cutwel also means over 40,000 products held in stock with same day dispatch on stocked items ordered before 5:30pm, with UK next day delivery available.

Cutwel supplies a complete hole making range, covering everything from spotting and starting the hole through to drilling, enlarging, reaming and boring to a finished size, for CNC machining centres, lathes, manual machines and on-site fabrication work.

• HSS & HSS-PM Twist Drills: Jobber, stub and long series drills in HSS, HSS cobalt (HSSE) and powder metal, plus morse taper and reduced shank types, number and letter sizes and drill sets. HSS Cobalt drills maintain their edge at higher temperatures for longer tool life vs standard HSS. Whereas HSS-PM (Powder Metal) drills add toughness for interrupted cuts and lighter setups, or where the job does not justify or allow the use of carbide.
• Solid Carbide Twist Drills: Carbide drills coated and uncoated, from stub through to extra long series, with through coolant options and geometries developed for complex materials. The range covers steel and cast iron, stainless, exotics and HRSA, aluminium and non-ferrous, hardened material and composites, along with flat bottom, high feed and micro drills from only 0.015mm diameter. Higher speeds and feeds, better hole tolerance and straightness on a rigid machine with adequate coolant.
• Indexable Drills: U-drill systems where the body is a one-off cost and only the inserts are replaced. The economical option for larger diameters, where a solid carbide drill of the same size would be too costly and a regrind is not always practical.
• Modular Drills: Replaceable head, tip and blade systems that combine a cutting head with a steel body. Modular drills such as the supercut spade drill from YG-1 allow multiple diameters to be machined with just one holder providing the highest levels of flexibility and economy.
• Reamers: Machine and hand reamers in HSS and carbide, including through coolant, morse taper shank, adjustable, replaceable head and taper pin types, in stub, standard and long series, along with floating holders. Available in 0.01mm increments from just 0.205mm up to 50.25mm diameter, our precision reamers are used to machine a drilled hole to a precise diameter and surface finish where the drill alone will not achieve the required tolerance.
• Countersinks: Countersinks and sets covering countersunk screw heads, deburring and lead-in chamfers. Single flute and cross-hole types resist chatter; multi-flute gives a finer finish. Match the angle to your fastener standard from our range of 60, 90, 120, 82, 100, 30 and 45 degree countersink solutions.
• Spot Drills: NC spotting drills used to establish hole position before drilling, and to chamfer the mouth of the hole in the same operation. The stubby geometry resists deflection where a longer drill would wander. Stocked in the standard point angles to suit the drills you already run.
• Centre Drills: Combined drill and countersink tools that produce the protected centre hole needed to support a component between the centres on a lathe or a cylindrical grinder. Available in Metric or Imperial (British Standard) options in both HSS & Carbide substrates.
• Counterbores: Piloted tools that produce the flat bottomed recess and square seating face a socket head cap screw needs to sit below the surface. Available as solid HSSE tools, indexable bodies and sets. The pilot runs in the existing hole, so the counterbore stays concentric with it.
• Modular Boring Systems: Rough boring, finish boring, back boring and micro boring heads, with modular arbors, extensions and reducers to build the length and reach the job needs. Boring systems available for micro boring from just 5.5mm up to larger diameter boring at 350mm. Where a reamer is fixed to one diameter, a boring head adjusts in microns, so it holds a non-standard size, corrects the hole position and produces the roundness and finish a bore requires.
• Step Drills: Multi-diameter drills that open a range of hole sizes with a single tool, plunging only as far as the step you need. Suited to thin material and sheet work, where a full set of twist drills may be impractical. Step drills are available in a range of sizes, step increments and max cutting depths, in either uncoated for lower level or non-ferrous work and coated for exceptional tool life.
• Annular Cutters: Available in HSS and TCT, with pilot and ejector pins and adapters to suit from market leading brands Rotabroach and Karnasch. Annular cutters are perfect for those needing to machine the perimeter of a hole and eject the slug (core).
• Step (Subland Drills): Two diameter tools that drill and counterbore, or drill and chamfer, in a single plunge. Both diameters are ground on one body, so the features stay concentric without a second setup. Removes a tool change and an operation on repeat work.
• Drill Sharpening Machines: Bench machines that restore point geometry on worn HSS and carbide drills in-house, returning the correct point angle, clearance and web. A resharpened drill goes back into service rather than into scrap, which matters more on larger diameters. Useful where drill consumption is high and an outsourced regrind is not practical.
• 3 Flute Core Drills: Used to enlarge an existing cored, punched or drilled hole rather than to start one. The additional flute gives better support in the hole, so roundness, straightness and finish improve on what a twist drill achieves in the same operation. Core drills have no cutting point and cannot start their own hole.
• Hole Saws: Bi-metal and carbide toothed saws that cut the perimeter of a large diameter hole in thin section material, where a drill of the same size is neither practical nor economical. Supplied with arbors and accessories, and used on pillar drills, mag drills and portable power tools.
• Mag Drills: Portable drilling machines from market leading brands Rotabroacn and Karnasch. Mag drills feature an electromagnetic base that clamps to the workpiece, for structural steel, fabrication and site work where the component cannot be brought to a machine. Normally combined with annular cutters, which limit the thrust low enough for the magnet to hold.
• Pillar Drills: Bench and floor standing drilling machines for toolroom, maintenance and general workshop use. The speed range covers large diameter drilling in steel through to small holes in non-ferrous material. The standard machine for one-off drilling, reaming and countersinking away from the CNC.

Solid carbide runs at several times the surface speed of HSS and holds a closer, straighter hole, but it only delivers that on a rigid setup with low runout and consistent coolant where required. HSS is the more forgiving tool due to its toughness, and in poorer machining conditions it can be the better option.

Carbide is hard and brittle, so it does not tolerate vibration, deflection or an inconsistent feed. A worn spindle, a chuck with visible runout or hand feeding on a pillar drill will chip the corners of a carbide drill long before it wears out. HSS, cobalt and powder metal drills are the sensible choice on less complex materials, lower powered machines, manual machines, mag drills and anywhere the setup is less than ideal.

Once you are into hardened material, carbide is the only realistic option. Stainless can be drilled with cobalt HSS, though carbide handles the heat better and has better tool life over a longer run. Abrasive materials such as composites and cast iron wear a HSS edges quickly, which is where coated carbide pays for itself.

Carbide holds a tighter tolerance and a straighter hole, which on some work removes the reaming operation altogether. It is also the practical route to deep holes, where through coolant clears the chips beyond five times diameter.

A carbide drill costs several times more than HSS, so it earns its place through hole count and cycle time rather than purchase price. On one-off and maintenance work, HSS is usually the more economical choice. On a repeating batch, carbide is can almost certainly work out much cheaper per hole.

Not sure which side of that line your job falls on? Call our technical team on 01924 869 615 or send us your enquiry.

When comparing the choice between an indexable or a solid drill, indexable drilling should be preferred on larger hole sizes, when the cycle is repeated often and the machine has the capability. On smaller diameters, particularly below 12mm use a solid HSS or Carbide drill.

An indexable U-drill body is a one-off purchase and only the inserts are replaced after that. On a 25mm or 30mm hole, a set of inserts costs a fraction of a solid carbide drill of the same diameter, and a worn edge is indexed at the machine in seconds. There is no regrind to plan around and no drill to scrap.

The same body covers more than one material. Change the insert grade and geometry and the drill moves from steel to stainless to cast iron. Specify the central and peripheral inserts separately to suit the work.

Indexable drilling generates high cutting forces and needs a rigid setup, adequate spindle power and through coolant at pressure. Put one in a light machine and it will chatter, push the hole off line and destroy inserts.

An indexable drill leaves a rougher finish and a wider tolerance band than solid carbide. Plan a reaming or boring operation where a solid drill would have held size on its own. Solid also wins on small diameters, deep holes and anything where roundness and straightness matter.

Where the diameter sits between the two, a modular set up could be an alternative option. A modular drill features a solid drill geometry and hole quality in the replaceable carbide head while the steel body stays in the machine, so you get solid drill performance without replacing the whole tool each time.

Judge it on cost per hole, not cost per tool. Our technical team will run that comparison against your actual cycle.

Cutwel supplies hole making tools to precision engineers across aerospace, automotive, medical, energy, toolmaking, fabrication and general subcontract machining. The material drives the substrate, the coating and the point geometry.

• Aerospace and defence: Titanium, nickel superalloys and aerospace aluminium in airframe structures, engine components and stacked assemblies. Exotics and HRSA geometries such as YG-1’s dream drill INOX resist the heat and work hardening that is common on those material types.Composite drills control delamination and fibre pull-out, and carbide reamers finish fastener holes to tolerance.
• Automotive and motorsport: Cast iron, aluminium alloys and hardened steel in engine and gearbox housings, chassis parts and volume batch work. High feed carbide drills take the cycle time out, indexable drilling covers larger diameters economically, and boring systems hold bore size and position.
• Medical: Stainless, titanium, cobalt chrome and engineering plastics in implants, instruments and orthopaedic components. Micro drills cover the small diameters and micro boring and finish boring hold bores to the micron.
• Oil, gas and power generation: Duplex and super duplex stainless, nickel alloys and hardened steels in valve bodies, subsea components and turbine parts. INOX geometries resist work hardening and extra long series drills reach depth on forgings and heavy sections.
• Mould, tool and die: Hardened tool steels in cavities, bolsters and die inserts, including deep cooling line drilling. Hardened steel carbide drills drill material other tools cannot touch, extra long series reaches the depth, and flat bottom drills handle inclined faces and blind features without wandering.
• Structural steel and fabrication: Plate, beam and section work, often on site rather than in a machine shop. Mag drills clamp to the workpiece and annular cutters cut large-diameter holes faster than a twist drill of the same size.
• General and precision subcontract: Mixed materials, short runs, one-off through to batch. HSS, cobalt and HSS-PM drills cover manual machines and lighter setups, general purpose carbide handles most CNC work, and drill sets keep the common sizes on the shelf.

Whatever the sector, our technical team will match the substrate, coating and geometry to your material and machine. Speak to us about your application or browse the hole making range online.

Yes. The website carries the popular ranges from our core drilling brands - YG-1, Korloy, Kennametal, Dormer Pramet and our own Cutwel Pro range - but a much wider range is available to us. Behind the online catalogue we have a supply network covering additional manufacturers, diameters, lengths, geometries, coatings and specialist hole making tools that we can source to order.

That includes the sizes that fall outside a standard listing. Imperial and number or letter diameters, non-standard reamer sizes, long and extra long series drills beyond the stocked depths, and reamers or counterbores ground to a specific tolerance rather than the nearest standard.

If you cannot find what you are looking for, contact our technical team and they will find the exact tool you need. We can also cross reference and quote an alternative where you are working to a brand we do not supply.

Send us your enquiry online or speak to the technical team about what you need.

Cutting data is published on the product page for each series as a downloadable PDF. Search the series or part number, open the series page and click Download Cutting Data under the key features. The coloured squares above the links give the ISO groups the tool is rated for - P steel, M stainless, K cast iron, N non-ferrous, S heat resistant alloys and titanium, H hardened material - so check your material falls inside them first.

The sheets are laid out by material across the top and diameter down the side. Depending on the tool, you will be given some combination of four parameters:

• Vc - cutting speed at the periphery, in m/min
• n - spindle speed, in RPM
• f - feed per revolution, in mm/rev
• Vf - feed rate, in mm/min

Where n and Vf are listed against your diameter, they go straight into the machine. Where only Vc and f are given, or your spindle will not reach the speed quoted, work it out from n = (Vc × 1000) ÷ (π × D) and Vf = n × f. Note that drills are fed per revolution rather than per tooth, so f does not divide by the flute count as fz does in milling.

Published figures assume a rigid setup, a correctly spotted start and adequate coolant. Reduce them for long series tools, marginal holding, interrupted entry and holes beyond 3xD, and plan a pecking cycle where you are drilling deep without through coolant. Where you have none of those conditions, the figures are a ceiling rather than a target.

If you cannot find data for a series, or want the parameters worked through against your machine and material, call our technical team on 01924 869 615.

Yes. Alongside our standard drilling range, we supply special and bespoke hole making tools made to your requirements. We work with specialised global and local manufacturers who cover the full spread of complexity. At one end are simple modifications to an existing tool, such as altering a length, changing a shank, adding a chamfer or point angle, or grinding a drill or reamer to a non-standard diameter. At the other are step and form drills, subland tools and multi-diameter reamers designed from scratch in HSS, powder metal or solid carbide.

Hole making is where a special often pays back fastest. A single tool that drills, counterbores and chamfers in one plunge removes two tool changes and two operations from every part, and on a repeating batch that recovers the tooling cost quickly.

The service is not limited to cutting tools. We also supply custom tool holders, bespoke machine tool accessories, work holding systems and special gauges, so a whole setup can be specified together rather than piece by piece.

Our technical team will take you from concept and tool design through to machining the final part, advising on the best route and working with the manufacturer to keep delivery on schedule. In many cases they will also tell you when a modified standard tool will do the job faster and cheaper than a full special.

To start an enquiry, call the specials team on 01924 869 665, email specials@cutwel.net, or use the enquiry form on our Custom & Special Tooling page. Send the material and the hole you need to produce, and we will come back with the options.

Yes. Our regrinding service restores worn tools to a sharp cutting edge, which extends tool life and costs less than buying new. Most drills can be reground several times, depending on diameter, wear and remaining flute length.

On hole making tools, the service covers drills and reamers in both HSS and carbide. We also regrind end mills, slot drills, ball nose cutters and routing tools, so a mixed batch can go through together. The service applies to round shank tooling, and the brand or manufacturer makes no difference - we are happy to regrind tools that did not come from us.

Regrinding is worth most on the larger diameters, where the cost of a new solid carbide drill is significant. On the smallest tools the economics rarely work, and a badly chipped or heat damaged tool is usually beyond recovery.

Recoating is available alongside the regrind. Our standard is a TiCN coating, suited to hardened and stainless steel work.

To get started, fill in the enquiry form on our Tool Regrinding & Recoating page with as much detail as you can, and the team will come back with a guide price and turnaround time.

Yes. Our technical team are time-served engineers who spend their days on exactly these questions, so you are not paying for advice or waiting on a callback from a manufacturer.

For tool selection, we match the substrate, coating, point geometry and drill length to your material, your hole and the machine you are running. That includes the honest answer for what you need. Often the recommendation is a cheaper tool than the one you asked about, or a modular drill rather than solid, or an HSS cobalt drill because the machine will not hold a carbide one.

For problems on the machine, we work back from what the tool is doing to why. Hole size, position, straightness, finish, chip control and premature drill failure usually come down to cutting data, spotting, coolant supply or toolholding rather than the drill itself, so a different tool is not always the answer. An oversize hole, a drill walking off position, a chip that will not clear - each points somewhere specific, and it is rarely the tool.

We can also review a drilling operation you are already running, to see where cycle time or cost per hole can be taken out.

Call 01924 869 615, or send us a drawing and a description of what the tool is doing.