NEVER FAST no matter what you do, its all about correct slow speed to high pressure ratio.

You can feel it cut, There is a nack to it doing it by feel, but there is also speed charts ect ect but i never use them.
Main thing is you need to be keeping the drill cool before she over heats and destroys the hardness of the tip.

if you dont press hard enough it will just spin and the friction will get red hot, 
 

I have seen tradies standing next to me go through 20+ drill bits without getting the hole done.

 Cheers heaps mate I'll try that many my slow wasent slow enough but I wasent pushing hard either cheers mate

Wd40 helps, and yep just go slow to feel it bite in.

FINNI is spot on. Also, SS, like brass will actually cut better if you use water as the lubricant/cooling agent

Drill bits must be sharp and slow spead, don't let anything get hot.

Start with a small pilot hole and then drill out to the required size don't try and whack a 1/2 inch drill straight through.

If you have already tried and got the stainless too hot it has more than likely work hardened the area which will make the task more difficult.

Get hold of some ROCOL cutting fluid if you can, this is about the best, but as stated water or WD40, anything to lubricate the cutting edge of the drill and to keep things cool.

Hope that helps,

Cheers

 You need Treblex drilling paste and a hard even pressure. Your drill bits need to be very sharp and you don't need any fandangled bits, normal bits will do the job no problem at all. If you overheat the bit and and stuff it then you have stuffed the hole you are trying to drill as you have work hardened the surface and yes you will go through twenty bits. Always start with a small pilot hole 3-5mm and then up the bit size gradually. Unless you have a drill press don't try to go through at once, use a stop start method with a hand drill. Trust me boys I do this a lot!

 Thanks heaps guys u save me heaps in bits got the hole through no dramas. Can't believe over the years how many bit I've killed due to just going flat stick cheers heaps matt

 slow n lots of pressure also start out with a smalk hole and work up to what size you need 

 Believe it or not we have drilled through hardened stainless steel rod using a high quality carbide tip masonry drill bit. An old engineer said we should try it and it worked well much to my surprise 

But Im sick of "crap" drill bits  - can you guys recommend very good quality gear.

Ie - "The Stella of drill bits"

P@N drill bits are good plus get yourself a bench grinder and have some one teach you how to sharpen the drills
personally think sharpening drill bits should be a basic skill set of all apprentices (it was once) , it used to drive me up the wall to see appys and tradies blunten a drill bit chuck it away and then just get a new 1 from the store

 use ROCOL cutting fluid, as Trefolex - which is an awesome product btw, is castogenic. 

 I just got a cheap ozito bit sharpener from bunnings it's got a guid were to place the bit and works a treat