Which countersink should I buy?

[micky]

The store had 3 sizes of countersink, 1/2, 5/8, and 3/4. Which should I buy?

What size do you all have?

It seems to me the biggest one would work almost wherever the smaller ones do., and more, so I should buy the biggest one.

The exception would be, iiuc, when making furniture, etc. when one wants the hole for the screw head to be deep enough to put in a peg, to cover the screw. I've given up plans to make furniture, because I had plans to make my kids take the homemade stuff after I die, but I don't have any kids.

Are there other reasons to buy the smaller countersink?

The smallest one, 1/2, is big enough for today's purpose, but it won't be big enough if I have really big screws to work with. Now I'm, re-mounting a plastic arm to a swivel chair, a nice one that someone gave me because the arm was broken off. It has 4 or 5 adjustments, more than my other chairs, but it looks like it's for a secretary, rather than the boss. I want to look like the boss. It has a red seat and red back. No boss would sit on that, right? So I don't know what I'll do with it, but I still want to fix it.

OH, yeah, each arm is shaped sort of like an O or D, so the top is the armrest and the bottom is even with the seat, and screws to a metal plate coming out on each side. The armrests each have two holes and the plates have two holes at each end. But they are not the same distance apart, so only one screw can go in each armrest. I doubt if anyone replaced both armrests already, because the plate is just the right thickness for the slot in the armrest, so that means they either made it like this!!!

Thanks.

[micky]

BTW, they're the same price.

[micky]

BTW, they are all the same price, $9.00. High speed steel.

Do they look different from those that won't go below the surface? How do I know which ones I bought tonight?

I can't afford to spend 18 more dollars on the chance that I'll need it later. It's enough that I'm going to spend 9 dollars just to do 2 holes now, on a chair I have no current need for, and maybe some other holes later.

If government agencies bought things because maybe they would need them one day, wouldn't you criticize them for wasting money?

What I'm hoping to find out is what the advantages are of smaller countersinks. And what the disadvantages are. The same for bigger countersinks. 1/2, 5/8, and 3/4.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Are you going to counterbore also? The smaller would be better. You can get those to make a pilot hole too.

I have a 1/2" countersink and have never needed larger, but YMMV.

[dadiOH]

One big enough to make a hole to fit the largest screw head you'll ever use.

Personally, I rarely use a dedicated countersink on anything other than metal. For wood, I prefer one that incorporates a bit, countersink and counter bore. I have 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2. The 3/8 gets used 98% of the time.

Like these...

[croy]

Size isn't the only consideration. The included angle should match the angle of the flat-head screws to be used.

The most common is 82 degrees, but 90 degrees is also fairly common.

It may not make a lot of difference in soft wood due to the "crush" factor, but the harder the material, the more difference it will make.

There's also the number of flutes to think about. Working mostly in metals, I've never cared for anything but the single-flute type (they don't chatter so much).

Some of the larger diameter countersinks don't cut to the very center, so you can't do small holes with them.

[Sonny]

I can't recall the last time I used a wood screw with a head larger than 1/2".

Sonny

[micky]

Thanks.

I was a little ticked off yesterday, and it showed. Sorry. It's not just this ng but others as well where people too frequently imo say "Do it right. [Spend more money]". It's easy to spend other people's money. My mother was able, to pay for all her expenses, including medical expenses (with the help of Medicare and private insurance), incuding assisted living at age 88, until she died later the same year. I hope to do that too, even if means econmizing now.

I look at yard sales all the time, but around here, very few have tools. I look at hamfests too, which are better for power tools. But in 25 years, I've never seen a countersink. I did buy one new about

20 years ago. I don't remember ever using it, but I might have once or twice. It's not where all the other drill attachments are, and I can't imagine where it is.

Thanks.

[Vic Smith]

I've done some minor "fine" wood working, A couple oak display cabinets. Brass countersunk screws. And much more rougher construction with countersunk screws. Never bought countersinks. Just use a drill bit with a diameter of the screw head. It will always give a real close fit for the countersink. What you have to watch out for is the bit taking a bite in a pre-existing hole, and it gets away from you and goes too deep. So do the counter sink with the drill bit before you drill the hole. If the hole is already there, make sure you go as slow as possible with a variable speed drill. Just take care. Always use a center punch to start the bit, even in wood. For wood you can just use a nail for a center punch.

[micky]

Thanks everyone.

Yeah. 82 is all they had at Home Depot. They had them with built in drills too, but several sections away. and I didn't see them the night i bought the countersinks.

Hmm. Thsse all had 5 flutes. I once bought a 1/2 inch size. It's not where it should be, but I'll probably find it, so I kept the 5/8" one, and used it.

It chattered, in modern desk-chair arm-plastic, but it came out all right anyhow. I put two screws in one arm, and one more screw in the other arm (Had to drill a new hole in each because the holes in the arms didn't match the holes in the chair!!!.

Put the screws in with JBWelld and it looked pretty good, but it turned out the chair didn't recline. I thought it did because the back angle was adjustable. But even at its max back, it wasn't very comfortable. It had 3 other adjustments too, which is more than any other chair I've had, but still wasn't comfortable. So I gave it to Goodwill. Unfortunately, the only way to transport it in my convertible is upside down, resting on its arms. The glue had dired for 3 days, but one arm came partly loose in the process. Well someone else broke it, and I did my best to fix it I had fun, too.

Thanks Croy.

[micky]

Good idea. You might have done this before, but I forgot. :-(

Good idea.

Well, I kept the medium sized center punch.

Thanks.

Thanks all.

[micky]

I had to look up what that was. Probably won't.

Thanks.

[micky]

Thanks. Sounds good.

[notbob]

Bingo!

Get one that's 82 degree angle, single flute, hss. Hard to find in anything smaller than 1/2" shank, but keep trying.

nb