"I Love Lucy" wrote in message
ink.net...
This will no doubt win the stupid post of the month award, but I'm
serious. I have a little plastic case of drill bits, some are missing and
some fit more than one slot, several are duplicates. It doesn't say
(can't see that well) what size they are on the bit, but above the slots
in the case the size is molded in there.

The last time it was a window box, and picked to small a drill bit and had
trouble getting the screws in so I took my drill bits to the hardware
store to buy some more screws (dropped a couple and could not find them in
the dirt) and ask which bit to use, little things in the house no big deal
but I'm doing to do some bolting, screwing and drilling through two
thicker layers of wood. Right now it happens to be attaching stakes on a
stepladder plant stand, a screen door trellis, and also some supports to
reinforce the door. Next project, who knows what I'll run into.

I have noticed if I don't choose the right size drill bit, it is hard to
get the screw in and you get it so far in and the slot or plus (phillips)
starts getting stripped, sometimes because I didn't drill the hole deep
enough and sometimes because I used too small a bit.

Do you just eyeball it and guess? For my knitting needles and crochet
hooks, I have a little template that I can poke the thing in and find the
exact size. Do they have something like that for drill bits? Maybe I
could use that somehow. Poke whatever I've got in there and follow with a
drill bit until I find a good fit.

Maybe I answered my own question here. Buy the bolts and use the knitting
needle thingy.
Here ya go:
http://images.meredith.com/wood/imag...screwchart.pdf

You should note that a lot depends on whether you're drilling in soft wood
or hard.