Toolman

1/1" drill bit size

1 in

25.4 mm · fractional drill

Inches1 in
Millimetres25.4 mm
Nearest metric drill25.4 mm
SystemFractional (64ths)

What 1/1" means

1/1" is a fractional drill, stepping in 64ths of an inch. Fractional sizes are the coarsest of the three systems, which is why a fractional set alone cannot hit most tapping sizes and why number and letter drills exist at all.

The same hole in the other systems

Three drill systems overlap across this range and a workshop rarely has all three. The nearest bit of each other kind to 1/1":

SystemNearest sizeDifference
number#1 — 0.228 in0.772 in smaller
letterZ — 0.413 in0.587 in smaller
metric25.4 mmidentical

The closest substitute is 0.587 inches away. For a clearance hole that is nothing; for a tapping hole it moves the thread engagement by several per cent, which is the difference between an easy tap and a broken one.

What gets drilled at 1 inches

Half an inch and up is where twist drills stop being the obvious tool. A bit this size in mild steel needs a pilot, a slow speed and something to hold the work; past three-quarters of an inch most people reach for a hole saw or a step drill instead.

Either side of it

DrillInchesMillimetres
61/64"0.9531 in24.21 mm
31/32"0.9688 in24.61 mm
63/64"0.9844 in25 mm
1/1"1 in25.4 mm

Frequently asked questions

What size is a 1/1" drill bit?

1 inches, which is 25.4 mm. Fractional drills step in 64ths of an inch, which is the coarsest of the three systems and the one most home sets contain.

What is a 1/1" drill bit in mm?

25.4 mm. A metric index will offer 25.4 mm as the nearest stocked size, which is near enough identical.

Is 1/1" a tapping drill size?

Not for any of the unified threads on this site. It sits between the sizes the standard taps call for, so it is a clearance or pilot drill rather than a tapping one.

What is the next size up from 1/1"?

Nothing — 1/1" is the largest size in these three systems at 1 inches.

Other sizes

Every drill size · Tap drill sizes · Metric threads