Piercing a solid billet

Method of completely piercing a solid, unpierced, cylindrical, metal billet, comprising the steps of:

• forming an initial well into one axial front end of the billet, the well having a curved bottom merging with a conical surface;
• filling the well at least partially with lubricant;
• placing the billet into a cylindrical receiver;
• and
• inserting a piercing mandrel into said well, said mandrel having a configuration of a truncated cone with a flat or slightly convex front end having a lesser curvature than the curved bottom of the well which partially but not completely fills the well upon being inserted into the well and engages the well's conical surface, and piercing the billet by forcing said mandrel completely through the billet by causing the conical configuration of the mandrel to move the conical surface of the well deeper into the billet without direct engagement of the bottom of the well by the mandrel front, thereby leaving a portion of the well filled with lubricant throughout the piercing until completed.