What kind of cutting oil should I use for drilling steel?

I have a number of holes to drill in material 1/4'; %26amp; 1/2';. What is the best cutting oil to use for this?


And, is it better to drill a half inch hole, or use smaller bits and work my way up to half inch?


Thanks for any suggestions.


George.What kind of cutting oil should I use for drilling steel?
george i have been working with steel for the last 30 yrs and im going to let you in on something I found a long time ago I use dish washing


liquid soap the green stuff in a bottle it's cheap and works just as well. more importantly is the speed at which your drill bit is turning watch the point of your drill bit as it cuts the steel and adjust the rpm so that you have spiral cuttings coming off.What kind of cutting oil should I use for drilling steel?
ok George here is my opinion on your drilling dilemma. To answer your first question, water soluble oil is your best bet for drilling mild steel as it doesn't leave an oily film on your work. If none is available, then regular cutting oil will do. Now, if you are using a drill press, and you have sharp bits, then you may not need to work your way up to a 1/2 inch hole. If you are using a handheld drill you will defiantly have to work your way up. Either way, you would want to drill a pilot hole equal to the size of the tip of your 1/2 inch drill bit. Probably about 1/8 of an inch.
In addition to Dustin's good advise let me add that for a starter use what is called a dotting punch to mark the sot where you want to start the hole and to make starting the hole.