7 Ways to Cool Down Drill and Drill Bit

Speed drilling can overheat the drilling tool as well as the drill bit. When the drill bit is overheated, that is not able to drill further. Therefore we should cool down the drill bit as well as the drilling machine. So this is the guide with ways and methods for cool down both drill and drill bits for an efficient speed cutting process.

The drill bit is heated at first, and then the drill is overheated. There are ways you can use to protect both from overheating as well as smoking the drill. Let’s see what the factors are for overheating the drill bit as well as the drilling machine.

First, we consider the drill bit.

The drill bit is heated due to wearing resistance. When the resistance increases, the friction also increased. Due to the friction, the heat is increased. So it would help if you reduced the friction to cool down the drill bit at first.

1. Reduce the Drilling RPM

This is my favorite way to cool down the drill and drill bit. When I was drilling at high speed, I was compelled to reduce the speed to 300-400 RPM when I feel the tool and drill bit was starting to overheat. This is really important when you drill with no water, no cutting oils. If you have enough experience, you may know this.

When I drill wood, I get used to using a cup of water and a cloth beside me with my cordless drills.

Read More – Why is My Drill Overheating? How I fixed it

2. Do not Drill Continuously

This is really important for the drilling machine. When you are drilling continuously, inner heat can be increased. Due to this, it can be overheated. When the drill is overheated, you can observe the smoke rises. Due to this, do not drill continuously.

Instead of this drill step-by-step process.

When you feel the drill is heating, let it cool. As well as do not cover the ventilation hole of the drill. When the airflow is blocked, the temperature will rise.

3. Use Drill in Low-Temperature Environment

When you use the drill outside, you must use it in a low-temperature area. Else outer heat can increase the inner heat. That is not recommended for the battery also. So use a low-temperature area with a 20-30 Celsius degree environment.

That will increase the battery life as well as tool life without overheating the tool. When you work under more temperatures area, the battery can overheat and discharged soon. You can face many problems when it does not charge properly.

4. Use a Proper Drill Bit

When we are drilling, we can feel the drill bit is overheated. If the drill bit is overheated, it can be melted. This is happened mostly in drilling hard materials such as steel. So You should select the suitable material drill bits.

The carbide bits, high-speed bits, and cobalt bits can be used for this. The most heat and wear-resistant bit are carbide drill bits. Therefore if you are able to use that kind of drill bit, you can prevent overheating.

When you use general drill bits for hard material drilling, your bit will be overheated.

5. Use Proper Drill Bit Angle

Another factor for cool down the drill bit is the drill bit angle that you use.

Drill bits are designed for cutting and removing the material. So when you are using a proper cutting angled drill bit, you can use it without overheating. You should maintain the drill bit angle 118-135 degrees. If your drill bit angle is varied with these values, you can see there is no cutting, and it can rotate freely. Due to this friction, heat is generated in high capacity.

For the wood, you can use 118 degrees.

For metal, you can use as follow;

Workpiece materialPoint angleHelix angleLip relief angle
Aluminum90 to 13532 to 4812 to 26
Brass90 to 1180 to 2012 to 26
Cast iron90 to 11824 to 327 to 20
Mild steel118 to 13524 to 327 to 24
Stainless steel118 to 13524 to 327 to 24
Plastics60 to 900 to 2012 to 26
Drill Bit angles Source: Wikipedia.com

6. Use Water as Drill Bit Coolent

When you are drilling wood, you can use a cup of water to cool the drill bit. After you drill a few holes, you can immerse the drill bit in the water. And remember to wipe out the water in the drill bit. If you drill with water on wood there will be additional friction will be generated, and the drill bit will be clogged due to water.

As well as do not immerse the high heated drill bit in the water. That will be damaged due to instant cooling. So careful.

So don’t forget to wipe out the water with a towel.

Using water is a real solution for wood and plastic. But not for the steel.

7. Use Cutting Oil for Drilling

Cutting oil, sprays should be used when drilling on steel. Drilling steel is not like wood. There should be a proper drilling angle for the drill bit. Else the drill bit will be heated. So you can use some required cutting oils for this. And it would help if you remembered you should not force the tool until smoking. If there is smoke when you are drilling with cutting oil you should lose the tool.

As well as using the low RPM for drilling holes. It would be best if you pressured until the chips come out. When the chips come out, you should maintain that pressure until the end.

I will mention here my favorite cutting oil Bostik Bladecote and Blaster Dry Lube.


Tom Mackency

Tom Mackency

Hi, I am Tom Mackency. It has been 10 years that I have been working as a professional woodworker since 2013. I am really enjoying my carrier by creating many kinds of projects in my workshop. But mostly I like for home improvement projects. Home improvement and DIY projects are the most interesting things for me. More than that, the coolest things are power tools. Those are very precious and efficient than a decade ago. So I try to introduce so many things about power tools, woodworking, DIY projects, home improvement and many more interesting topics here.


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