When I drill through a piece of wood, what are the things I can do to:

a. Keep the starting hole clean?

and

b. Keep the exit hole clean, and free of splintering.

I know this will have something to do with the type of wood, but there has
to be other ways.

Fast speeds on the drill? Different type of drill? Very sharp drill?
Different angle of grind on drill bit? Tape? Sandwiching boards?

Thanks. I know this is a basic question, but we all start in the first
grade.

Steve

On 6/22/2012 1:31 PM, Steve B wrote:
When I drill through a piece of wood, what are the things I can do to:

a. Keep the starting hole clean?

brad point drill bit

and

b. Keep the exit hole clean, and free of splintering.

use another piece of wood as a backer.

I know this will have something to do with the type of wood, but there has
to be other ways.

Fast speeds on the drill? Different type of drill? Very sharp drill?
Different angle of grind on drill bit? Tape? Sandwiching boards?

Thanks. I know this is a basic question, but we all start in the first
grade.

Steve

On Fri, 22 Jun 2012 13:31:15 -0700, "Steve B"
wrote:

When I drill through a piece of wood, what are the things I can do to:

a. Keep the starting hole clean?

Sharp bit. For wood, use a brad point bit.



and

b. Keep the exit hole clean, and free of splintering.


Backer board

"Ed Pawlowski" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 22 Jun 2012 13:31:15 -0700, "Steve B"
wrote:

When I drill through a piece of wood, what are the things I can do to:

a. Keep the starting hole clean?

Sharp bit. For wood, use a brad point bit.



and

b. Keep the exit hole clean, and free of splintering.


Backer board

Are the brad points those with the smaller center point that is about 1/8"
long?

Steve

Yes and no.

Dewalt sells a pilot point that fits that description.

Brad point has a point in the center out from the bit,
AND it also has cutters on the outside that are pointed to cut cleanly.



Are the brad points those with the smaller center point that is about 1/8"
long?

Steve

On Fri, 22 Jun 2012 17:02:27 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On Fri, 22 Jun 2012 13:31:15 -0700, "Steve B"
wrote:

When I drill through a piece of wood, what are the things I can do to:

a. Keep the starting hole clean?

Sharp bit. For wood, use a brad point bit.

Yes, brad point or forstner, depending on size.


and

b. Keep the exit hole clean, and free of splintering.

Backer board

Ditto, but _clamp_ the board down to it.

--
However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.
-- Sir Winston Churchill

On Fri, 22 Jun 2012 15:21:40 -0700, Larry Jaques
wrote:

On Fri, 22 Jun 2012 17:02:27 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On Fri, 22 Jun 2012 13:31:15 -0700, "Steve B"
wrote:

When I drill through a piece of wood, what are the things I can do to:

a. Keep the starting hole clean?

Sharp bit. For wood, use a brad point bit.

Yes, brad point or forstner, depending on size.


and

b. Keep the exit hole clean, and free of splintering.

Backer board

Ditto, but _clamp_ the board down to it.
Will it fit in a drill press? Can you get a good square start
otherwise if not? Run a SMALL pilot hole through the center. Drill in
from the back side with your choice of brad point or forstner, then
turn over and finish the hole from the top ( or vise versa).

On Fri, 22 Jun 2012 21:26:08 -0400, wrote:
Will it fit in a drill press? Can you get a good square start
otherwise if not? Run a SMALL pilot hole through the center. Drill in
from the back side with your choice of brad point or forstner, then
turn over and finish the hole from the top ( or vise versa).

When drilling a hole in a stationary object (not drill press
applicable) that's what I do almost every time. Works great for brad
points, forstners and especially with spade bits.

On 6/22/2012 3:31 PM, Steve B wrote:
When I drill through a piece of wood, what are the things I can do to:

a. Keep the starting hole clean?

and

b. Keep the exit hole clean, and free of splintering.

I know this will have something to do with the type of wood, but there has
to be other ways.

Fast speeds on the drill? Different type of drill? Very sharp drill?
Different angle of grind on drill bit? Tape? Sandwiching boards?

Thanks. I know this is a basic question, but we all start in the first
grade.

Steve



FWIW, "Festool like",

Tear out on the exit side of a hole is most always a problem if you
don't use a backer board to support the wood that is being pushed out as
the point exits. Fr the cleanest starting holes, Forstner bits and or
Brad Point bits do a good job compared to the typical twist drill bit.

Now if you want the best and easiest to deal with use what I link to
below. I have several of these bits in the sizes I use. They keep
their edge for a long time and produce extremely clean entry holes.

I am working on a set of book cases for a customer and needed to drill a
dozen 3/8" holes through 3/4" thick oak veneer plywood. I drilled the
holes with my cordless and the Colt bits linked below. I used no backer
board on the exit side and the bit exited on the visible side of the
panel. Basically the exit hole had to be perfect. The holes were
absolutely clean with no tear out on the exit side.

Keep in mind that Colt makes a variety of named drill bits.
What you are looking for is the name to have "5 STAR".

Horst Miebach "Colt 5 Star" Brad-Point Wood Bits (Made in Germany)

If the name does not have "5 STAR" you may not get the best results.

A video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPGG9wCMLoc

Find them here,

http://www.infinitytools.com/COLT-7-...tinfo/101-170/
or
http://thebestthings.com/newtools/mi...drill_bits.htm
or
http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/st...n_bi ts?Args=

On 6/22/2012 7:23 PM, Edward A. Falk wrote:
In article ,
chaniarts wrote:

b. Keep the exit hole clean, and free of splintering.

use another piece of wood as a backer.

Here's a trick I use sometimes: If I'm using a spade bit, I drill until
the tip of the bit just comes through the wood. This effectively creates
a pilot hole on the other side.

Then I flip the wood over and start drilling from the other side. The
new hole meets the old hole partway through.

You get a slightly rough ring where the two holes meet, but if there's
going to be something filling the hole, you'll never see it.

This is what I do, but usually with either brad point or forstner bits. I'll
set the stop on the drill press so the center point of the bit *just* comes
through the board (but not the rest of the cutter, obviously), then flip the
board over and use that pilot hole as the starting point for completing the
cut. Works great.

--
Free bad advice available here.
To reply, eat the taco.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbqboyee/

On Fri, 22 Jun 2012 14:03:44 -0700, Steve B wrote:

Are the brad points those with the smaller center point that is about
1/8" long?

Steve, here's a pictu

http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/to...ers-Bits/Bits-
Woodworking/woodboring-drill-bits-irwin-49616

--
Intelligence is an experiment that failed - G. B. Shaw

"Larry Blanchard" wrote

Steve, here's a pictu

http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/to...ers-Bits/Bits-
Woodworking/woodboring-drill-bits-irwin-49616

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I have seen those a lot, but being a
metal worker mainly, did not find them very useful for metal.

Looks like a reason to visit the old tool department next time I go to the
store. I would imagine that drilling wood, I could get by with a set of
cheap DeWalt or comparable. (?) Or do I need to pay for good ones?

Steve

"Steve B" wrote in
:

When I drill through a piece of wood, what are the things I can do to:

a. Keep the starting hole clean?

and

b. Keep the exit hole clean, and free of splintering.

I know this will have something to do with the type of wood, but there
has to be other ways.

Fast speeds on the drill? Different type of drill? Very sharp drill?
Different angle of grind on drill bit? Tape? Sandwiching boards?

Thanks. I know this is a basic question, but we all start in the
first grade.

Steve




Sometimes it helps to reduce forward pressure to almost nothing as you're
about to break through. That way, the bit has to cut its way through the
little bit of remaining wood instead of pushing it out of the way.

Drilling from both ends works better (but isn't always practical.)

Puckdropper
--
Make it to fit, don't make it fit.

On Sat, 23 Jun 2012 10:59:18 -0700, Steve B wrote:

Looks like a reason to visit the old tool department next time I go to
the store. I would imagine that drilling wood, I could get by with a
set of cheap DeWalt or comparable. (?) Or do I need to pay for good
ones?

What I did was to buy a very good 6 piece set of the most common sizes.
Then I went to HF or the equivalent and bought a cheap 25 piece set. I
use the cheapies most of the time, but the good ones get used on the
critical stuff.

Or, just buy the cheap set and get good ones one at a time as you need
them.

I can definitely tell a difference in quality of cut, but a lot of times
you don't need the high quality

--
Intelligence is an experiment that failed - G. B. Shaw

On Sat, 23 Jun 2012 10:59:18 -0700, "Steve B"
wrote:


"Larry Blanchard" wrote

Steve, here's a pictu

http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/to...ers-Bits/Bits-
Woodworking/woodboring-drill-bits-irwin-49616

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I have seen those a lot, but being a
metal worker mainly, did not find them very useful for metal.

Looks like a reason to visit the old tool department next time I go to the
store. I would imagine that drilling wood, I could get by with a set of
cheap DeWalt or comparable. (?) Or do I need to pay for good ones?

Steve


For one or two holes buy the cheap ones - mabee. If you want them to
be good for the next job too, it may be worth buying decent bits.

I have an old set of brad point bits I got from Woodcraft a long time
ago, and those really cut nice and clean. On my recent "garage cabinet"
project I was drilling holes for shelf pins and discovered I had broken
off one of the outside points somehow and it wasn't cutting as clean.
So, I ran around to all the hardware and home improvement stores I could
find, and the only brad point bit available was an Irwin. I hated that
bit as it plugged up the flutes and had to stop to clean it out twice
for each hole. I threw it in the trash. Avoid the Irwin!
I got a Colt Five Star bit from Woodcraft and that works very well.

John S.

On 06/23/2012 12:59 PM, Steve B wrote:
"Larry wrote

Steve, here's a pictu

http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/to...ers-Bits/Bits-
Woodworking/woodboring-drill-bits-irwin-49616

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I have seen those a lot, but being a
metal worker mainly, did not find them very useful for metal.

Looks like a reason to visit the old tool department next time I go to the
store. I would imagine that drilling wood, I could get by with a set of
cheap DeWalt or comparable. (?) Or do I need to pay for good ones?

Steve

On Jun 22, 4:31*pm, "Steve B" wrote:
When I drill through a piece of wood, what are the things I can do to:

a. *Keep the starting hole clean?

and

b. *Keep the exit hole clean, and free of splintering.

I know this will have something to do with the type of wood, but there has
to be other ways.

Fast speeds on the drill? *Different type of drill? *Very sharp drill?
Different angle of grind on drill bit? *Tape? *Sandwiching boards?

Thanks. *I know this is a basic question, but we all start in the first
grade.

Steve

Spur point bit, cone-tipped bits are for metal. Backer
board to also keep your bench / drill press table from
getting chewed up. Higher drill speed (or slower feed)
makes the bit take out thinner chips and thus leave
a smoother cut.

If you're not finishing the wood or gluing in a
dowel, paraffin helps the bit cut smoother and
cooler.

"Father Haskell" wrote in message
...
On Jun 22, 4:31 pm, "Steve B" wrote:
When I drill through a piece of wood, what are the things I can do to:

a. Keep the starting hole clean?

and

b. Keep the exit hole clean, and free of splintering.

I know this will have something to do with the type of wood, but there has
to be other ways.

Fast speeds on the drill? Different type of drill? Very sharp drill?
Different angle of grind on drill bit? Tape? Sandwiching boards?

Thanks. I know this is a basic question, but we all start in the first
grade.

Steve

Spur point bit, cone-tipped bits are for metal. Backer
board to also keep your bench / drill press table from
getting chewed up. Higher drill speed (or slower feed)
makes the bit take out thinner chips and thus leave
a smoother cut.

If you're not finishing the wood or gluing in a
dowel, paraffin helps the bit cut smoother and
cooler.
================================================== ===========================
Drill just so the point breaks through.
Flip it over and use the center hole to guide the bit.