whit3rd wrote:
On Jan 23, 12:37 pm, "Jon Slaughter"
wrote:
I'm in need of making about a 5/16 counter bore into hard wood only
about 1/16th deep. Exact measurements are not needed but it should
be fairly flat with no pilot hole(or something that is no more than
1/32nd deep). ... the wood is only about 1/8 thick

Actually I would like for the holes to be square or rectangle

This is a lot like making a hinge mortise, can be done in the
same way. A small (Dremel tool) router and some kind of guide
is one approach. Either a Forstner drill (makes flat-bottom holes)
or a machinist's end mill (not perfect for wood, but easily available)
can do the round-hole case. Some hand-chisel work is easily
done to clean up the corners.

A common way to sink iron a small distance in wood, is to heat it red
hot and press in to burn a socket. Practice on scraps, of course,
and keep a water bucket handy.

My father mentioned something like this. How well does it actually work? I
figured it wouldn't do much more than char the wood.

I'm going to run to the hardware store and see what kinda bits they have.
But if I can use the heat method and get about 1mm to 2mm penetration
without it destroying the wood then it would probably work out very well for
most of the things I need to do.