Drill help

[Curly Sue]

I am trying to drill a hole in kitchen counter material (laminate). I have an old cordless drill that my father gave me. It did not work for this task; I tried different drill bits (I want to use the largest) and they stopped turning after a couple of turns into the wood beneath the laminate. I didn't continue because I didn't want to burn out the motor. I thought maybe the batteries weren't charging enough to give sufficient power, so I bought a corded drill. The same thing happens!

Do I need a special type of drill bit to go through this material? My Dremel tool works fine but the bits are not large enough.

What I'm trying to do is make a couple of holes close together to get a saber saw blade started.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Sue(tm) Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

[m Ransley]

Try a new sharp bit

[Edwin Pawlowski]

You got through the laminate OK, but the board beneath is the problem? Are the bits sharp?

It is possible that the laminate is grabbing the drill bit. This type of thing happens when the material is thin and catches on the edge of the drill bit. Happens with sheet metal often. Be sure you have a very sharp bit, use a light feed and let the drill turn at full speed.

You could try cutting away a bit of the laminate with the Dremel tool and finish with the drill.

[Curly Sue]

I had some success using the new drill and the old bits. I had bought a new set of "titanium" bits, thinking that the old ones weren't sharp enough. But when I used them with the old drill it didn't help. Then I used the new bits with the new drill and it didn't work. But I just tried the old ones with the new drill with sucess.

It might be that the old drill wasn't powerful enough and the new bits are (cheaper?) and not sharp enough. But I also noticed that the new bits are made of shiny, smooth metal (including the part that goes into the drill) and the old ones (that work in the new drill) are kind of roughed up on the shank and the drill holds them better. The new ones would slip out of the drill sometimes. I couldn't tighten it securely enough.

I noticed that the bits that are screwdrivers have square shanks. Why don't the bits that are drills have square ones too, instead of round shanks? That would allow the chuck to grab them better.

Sue(tm) Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

[Joe_Stein]

Actually, you can buy non slipping drill bits, but they're harder to find and more expensive. Joe

Curly Sue wrote:

[barry martin]

Sue:

CS> I am trying to drill a hole in kitchen counter material (laminate). I CS> have an old cordless drill that my father gave me. It did not work CS> for this task; I tried different drill bits (I want to use the CS> largest) and they stopped turning after a couple of turns into the CS> wood beneath the laminate. I didn't continue because I didn't want to CS> burn out the motor. I thought maybe the batteries weren't charging CS> enough to give sufficient power, so I bought a corded drill. The same CS> thing happens!

The problem is probably as someone else suggested: the bit is getting caught on a burr. I've had similar problems drilling a large hole through hard wood with a cordless drill; don't recall if it happened with a corded one or not but you have so doesn't matter if I had the problem or not!

Was the corded drill one with variable speed? It's possible to bog down the drill at lower speeds.

A couple of things you could try: - Use a smaller bit to drill a pilot hole and then try drilling with the desired size. (If you want a «" hole use the ¬" bit for the pilot hole.)

- If you were able to drill partway through try drilling up from the bottom. (If the hole is going to show might not be a good idea: the top edge may flake causing an irregular edge.

-- Try putting the drill in reverse to smooth out the burr. The bit will bounce quite a bit.

- ¯ barry.martinþATþthesafebbs.zeppole.com ®

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