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).

I can use a press and again, position and hole size are not that important.
Basically I am trying to create space so that some woot can fit flush with,
say, a screw head, but the wood is only about 1/8 thick(so any pilot holes
may go completely through).

Actually I would like for the holes to be square or rectangle(as I have some
other objects I need to cut "slots" in the board that do not go all the way
through.

Accuracy is not important except for depth since I cannot go through the
board and I would like it to be relatively nice looking cuts. Circular bores
have to be oversized because the things I am using are actually square or
rectangular.

I'm not a woodworker so I don't know how this is would generally be done(I
imagine it would be extremely easy with a cnc). Obviously one can use a
chisel but I'm not proficient enough to make it look decent and probably
will screw up the wood.

I've seen forstner bits and counterbore bits but they all seem to have
create pilot hole.

"Jon Slaughter" wrote in message
...
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).

I can use a press and again, position and hole size are not that important.
Basically I am trying to create space so that some woot can fit flush with,
say, a screw head, but the wood is only about 1/8 thick(so any pilot holes
may go completely through).

Actually I would like for the holes to be square or rectangle(as I have some
other objects I need to cut "slots" in the board that do not go all the way
through.

Accuracy is not important except for depth since I cannot go through the
board and I would like it to be relatively nice looking cuts. Circular bores
have to be oversized because the things I am using are actually square or
rectangular.

I'm not a woodworker so I don't know how this is would generally be done(I
imagine it would be extremely easy with a cnc). Obviously one can use a
chisel but I'm not proficient enough to make it look decent and probably
will screw up the wood.

I've seen forstner bits and counterbore bits but they all seem to have
create pilot hole.


You could just grind the center nib off of a forstner bit. That would pretty
much require you to use it in a drill press but you said you had one. Another
option would be a CNC router. Given the thinness of your material you
may also want to consider a vacuum hold down to keep it flat to the table
while drilling/machining
Art

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).

I can use a press and again, position and hole size are not that
important. Basically I am trying to create space so that some woot can
fit flush with, say, a screw head, but the wood is only about 1/8
thick(so any pilot holes may go completely through).

Actually I would like for the holes to be square or rectangle(as I have
some other objects I need to cut "slots" in the board that do not go all
the way through.

Accuracy is not important except for depth since I cannot go through the
board and I would like it to be relatively nice looking cuts. Circular
bores have to be oversized because the things I am using are actually
square or rectangular.

I'm not a woodworker so I don't know how this is would generally be
done(I imagine it would be extremely easy with a cnc). Obviously one can
use a chisel but I'm not proficient enough to make it look decent and
probably will screw up the wood.

I've seen forstner bits and counterbore bits but they all seem to have
create pilot hole.

There are centerless Forstners. (The spur is no deeper than the rim so
they make flat-bottom hole)

http://www.garrettwade.com/product.asp?pn=23C04.02&bhcd2=1264281235

--

On Sat, 23 Jan 2010 14:37:41 -0600, "Jon Slaughter"
I'm not a woodworker so I don't know how this is would generally be done(I
imagine it would be extremely easy with a cnc). Obviously one can use a
chisel but I'm not proficient enough to make it look decent and probably
will screw up the wood.

The most important part of the the cuttin you need to make is the
outside edges on your project surface. To that end, I'd suggest
cutting a through template (using a piece of sheet plastic or
something like that) in something else the exact size of the item you
want to insert. Once you have that cut to size and to your
satisfaction, then you clamp it to your actual project surface and use
that template with a razor knive or similar to cut the surface of your
actual project. If you screw up the initial cutting of the template,
it's a small loss and not affecting the actual project surface.

Assuming you don't cut the inside edges of the template, whatever
lines you do cut will be on the inside edges of your project and
relatively unimportant. You'd cut until you're satisfied with the
indent you want to create.

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.

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.

On Jan 23, 4:39*pm, "Jon Slaughter" wrote:
whit3rd wrote:
On Jan 23, 12:37 pm, "Jon Slaughter"
wrote:

A common way to sink iron a small distance in wood, is to heat it red
hot and press in to burn a socket.

How well does it actually work? I
figured it wouldn't do much more than char the wood.

I've only used the method for coarse work (like attaching handles); it
has the capacity to darken oak or maple wood, but if you
get the tool hot enough, a second's application won't penetrate
even thin workpieces. Sign shops often char the wood, then
clean up the black bits with a little sandblasting. A fine wire brush
would be useful, I suspect.