DIYbanter - View Single Post - Drilling on the Lathe

(Arch) wrote:

Some machinists think there's a difference between making holes with
the work rotating and the bit steady (boring) and the bit rotating and
the work steady (drilling). I don't know why other than boring is
better for making large holes. Anyone?

I know it works from the days before plywood when I nailed #3 sheeting
on roofs, but I don't know why dulling the tip of a nail helps to make
it go straight and not split the lumber. Somebody?

Dull nail crushes the fibers. Pointy nail pushes them apart. I've got some
new old timey square cut nails around somewhere and they almost never split
the wood.