/diy/ - Do It Yourself

Can I use a diamond hole bit to drill through a broken steel stud?

Typical story.. tried drilling through broken stud. Broke pilot bit in the middle of the stud. Have broken 3 other bits trying to get through it. Using a Cobalt bit, it has held up but only managed to get about an eighth of an inch down over several hours of drilling (yes, with oil, tried varying speeds). That bit has probably dulled but I don't know a good way to sharpen Cobalt bits, or if the time spent is even worth it.

My thought is even though these are made for glass, diamond should just chew through 304 steel just fine without the drama of going through the M2 HSS. If I can get all the way through, the core will just fall out and I can can try the use a screw extractor on the shell, or if that fails, drill, tap, and helicoil (basically, the original plan before busting the bit).

Has anyone pulled this off before/will it work, or would it be a waste of time and money?