Clean-edged holes?

[GrahamRounce]

Hi folks - is there a standard technique for making clean-edged holes (no splintering)?

I would like to make perfect professional-looking holes (say 3mm - 5mm ish dia, 10mm-ish deep) with no splintering at all. I'm thinking of maybe a kind of hollow tube with sharpened rim - hit it with hammer to make clean circle, then drill... a pain lining up the drill exactly, though.

Or is there a tool that does it all in one?

Or some other way?

Thank-you!

Graham

 

[brianhabby]

Would a forstner bit do what you want?

regards

Brian

 

[jasonB]

Lip & Spur bit also known as a brad point bit, fostners don't go that small. If its for shelf studs then I use a 5mm TCT dowel drill either in the router or cordless, gives a good clean hole in veneered boards. For 3mm magic wires I just use a brad point bit.

You could also plunge cut with a router

Jason

 

[pren]

I'd say for 3-5mm holes, the key is a sharplip and spur drill bit, mounted in a drill press. Run it quite fast and plunge gradually.

With larger holes, a Forstner bit would be perfect. The outer edge of the bit acts as a knife, cutting through the fibers of the wood on the peremeter whilst the inner part shaves away the waste within its diameter.

AFAIK, they don't forstner bits in the size you're after.

HTH.
Bryn

 

[RogerS]

Lip & Spur bit also known as a brad point bit, fostners don't go that small. If its for shelf studs then I use a 5mm TCT dowel drill either in the router or cordless, gives a good clean hole in veneered boards. For 3mm magic wires I just use a brad point bit.

You could also plunge cut with a router

Jason

Jason..how do you line up the router to plunge exactly where you need it? In my experience, there never seems to be an easy way to do this.

 

[GrahamRounce]

Quick responses, and good!

A dowel bit, a brad point bit, and a lip-and-spur bit are all the same thing...? To avoid confusion, I suppose...

Anyway, I'm happy now. Thank-you all.

 

[joiner_sim]

Just a little tip, put some scrap underneath or behind the piece you intend to drill the hole, no splintering as you jut go stright thru to the scrap piece.

 

[jasonB]

Roger, if using the router you need to do it with a template and guide bush in the router, for shelves I use a 10mm bush with the 5mm bit.

Graham, Lip & Spur and Brad point bits are the same thing, Dowel drills are shorter and have a slower spiral so they are not pulled into the work, most are designed for use in production machines and have a standard 10mm shank. But Trend and Wealden do make them with shanks to fit the common router collet sizes

http://www.wealdentool.com/acatalog/Onl ... el_51.html

Jason

 

[eggflan]

Just drill from both sides of the timber , half way through then flip over and do the other half , if using a spade bit you go through the first half until the point is just showing on the other side then go in from that side and hey presto no splinters 8)

 

[woodbloke]

Quite a good tutorial on sharpening lip&spur bits on the other side - Rob

 

[CNC Paul]

Graham,

I use these, they give a very clean hole

http://www.festool.co.uk/mediandoweb/in ... N_KAPITEL=

6th and 8th item down.

 

[joiner_sim]

Just drill from both sides of the timber , half way through then flip over and do the other half , if using a spade bit you go through the first half until the point is just showing on the other side then go in from that side and hey presto no splinters 8)

I like to use the spade bits for that very reason.