Drilling into Imagitarium Metal stand

[knee]

This might be a dumb question but can I drill into this stand? I want to attach conduit pipes so I can hang my light but not sure if I can drill into metal.

I have an old cordless power drill but I've only used it for dry wall and wood. I'm not planning on making a new stand and want to use the one I currently have. If drilling into the stand is not an option I would greatly appreciate other suggestions to attach a conduit pipe or even PVC pipe (light isn't heavy at all) to this metal stand.

[johnnyxxl]

You can drill into anything with the right drills for your drill driver.  

[tolstoy21]

On 4/16/2024 at 5:49 PM, johnnyxxl said:

You can drill into anything with the right drills for your drill driver.  

Agreed.

Make sure you have bits rated for steel, otherwise they will either burn out or break before you get through the stand. It also helps to have a drill with decent RPMs.

[Tony s]

Yes, you can drill through it, assuming you have metal bits and enough rpm. The real question is where you want to drill through. A too big of a hole in the wrong spot will weaken your stand. Avoid holes that are greater than half the size of you rails. Vertical holes have little bearing for strength meaning hole that way won’t reduce strength. But horizontal ones weaken the holding strength. So if going horizontal through it, place it in the center of a rail (top to bottom). as small as possible. Towards the ends would be better than center. To Get it started easier, you can get a center punch. And use it to punch in a starting point. A small divet that will hold the point steady. Otherwise, the bit has a tendency to slide or skid from where you want the hole. 
 

other hanging options. Small diameter steel cable or even medium gauge steel wire. And just hang it . They also may make a conduit hanger for the diameter of your conduit with a square beam connector of the right size. At one of the home centers. Possible from something like grainger.com also. Grainger would have a ton of other fasteners as well
 

the last thing to think about. You’re going through a protective finish. It may rust incredibly fast after.

[Tony s]

The way we hang our building conduit. We use stainless or galvanized hangers of the right diameter. Then screw it to a flat surface. https://www.grainger.com/product/CALBRITE-Conduit-Cable-Hanger-Screw-36HX23  we’re usually hanging these from interior ceilings with the hole at the top for a screw  usually in livestock buildings. So we need them visible and accessible at all times. Also how we hang our wiring for grain complexes. Our conduit wouldn’t be pvc or cpvc, but liquid tight flex tubing with embedded metal for strength 

Edited April 17 by Tony s

[Tony s]

You can also get them in grey pvc with snap connection. That would eliminate the visible screws. 
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Thinking about it. The plastic screw in hanger would be easiest to do. And should be available at the home stores. 

Only needs one screw. A self tapping screw per hanger and you’re done 

[knee]

Thank you @johnnyxxl @tolstoy21 and @Tony s

Im not really sure about the rpm of my drill. I do remember that it’s not the best one because when I bought it, I opted for something on the cheaper side because I didn’t have much to go by before. If I remember correctly i got it around 2014 or 2015. It’s the RYOBI brand and the color is like yellow green. 
 

I looked at Home Depot and found one similar to it and it said that it’s 600 RPM. Assuming that I’m looking at the same drill that I have, is 600 RPM enough?

On 4/16/2024 at 10:35 PM, Tony s said:

other hanging options. Small diameter steel cable or even medium gauge steel wire. And just hang it . They also may make a conduit hanger for the diameter of your conduit with a square beam connector of the right size. At one of the home centers. Possible from something like grainger.com also. Grainger would have a ton of other fasteners as well

I’m having trouble visualizing this in my head. Where do I hang it? I have the hanging kit for the light but I do want to avoid drilling in my wall because I live in an apartment. 

[Tony s]

On 4/17/2024 at 4:43 PM, knee said:

I’m having trouble visualizing this in my head.

yeah, i was having the same problem. do you have a picture of the stand and where were you thinking of hanging the light

[madmark285]

On 4/16/2024 at 5:30 PM, knee said:

This might be a dumb question but can I drill into this stand?

Use alot of cutting oil else you will burnout your drill bit.

[Tony s]

On 4/17/2024 at 5:53 PM, madmark285 said:

Use alot of cutting oil else you will burnout your drill bit.

nah, they'll be fine. now if you were getting into 1/2 thick or greater, then maybe. definitely 1" and over you would need it. but I'd use a drill press for that anyway. but for small gauge, it's fine no oil. unless it's carbon steel, but that's not likely. carbon steel you'd also need specialized bits for anyway. this would be thin gauged box material. as long as it goes through straight and doesn't catch enough to snap, they'd be good.

good thought process on that though. sometimes my employees don't even think about that.🤣

[johnnyxxl]

I use oil for everything metal,but I worked in a machine shop for a while.

[Tony s]

On 4/17/2024 at 7:18 PM, johnnyxxl said:

I use oil for everything metal,but I worked in a machine shop for a while.

we run a farm. I've been drilling into stuff since I was 6. with or without permission 🤣. most of our jobs are on site. no oil

[Galabar]

You could also consider double sided tape along the back of the stand uprights.

 

[knee]

On 4/17/2024 at 1:47 PM, Tony s said:

yeah, i was having the same problem. do you have a picture of the stand and where were you thinking of hanging the light

This is the stand. Was planning on drilling on the back part or the sides. I do prefer the sides so I can adjust the light from left to right. 

[tolstoy21]

On 4/18/2024 at 12:25 PM, knee said:

This is the stand. Was planning on drilling on the back part or the sides. I do prefer the sides so I can adjust the light from left to right. 

Ah, Ok I see what you're up against now.

Just drill the clear parts.    😛 😉🤪🤣