Rebating a hole in my decking to fit lights

[jameswhiteley]

Hi

Is there such a thing as an 'adjustable circular rebate and hole cutter tool' that I can use to fit my new deck lights? If not, how should I go about this (see below) as I have searched high and low for the correct tools.

In the deck, I need a 74mm hole cutting straight through the deck board and a 90mm hole rebating in to the top of the deck board and this should be 12mm deep.

The light also has a 'lip' on it that sits above the deck (making the diameter of the fitting above the deck equal to 100mm).

Hope this makes sense....

Cheers

James

[louie]

A hole cutter = hole saw. 74mm = 2.91" so a 3" hole saw would probably do the trick.

and I think you mean rabbet. 90mm = 3.54", 12mm = 0.47" For this, I would use a router with a circular template.

[Jeff Wisnia]

I'm afraid I haven't heard the term "rebating" applied to a project like like you're describing, but Webster's gives this daffynition:

to reduce the sharpness of : BLUNT

So, I'm guessing maybe you're describing either a 90 mm counterbore in a

74 mm hole or a beveled edge on the inside diameter of that 74 mm hole.

Either way, if I had to do it with what I have on hand I'd grab my router, make up a couple of circular templates out of thin plywood or Masonite with a sabre saw and route that hole and it's counterbore (or bevel.)

It's possible you could use a single point circle cutter like this:

In a hand brace if you sharpened the bit to the correct shape and the the counterbore/chamfer first, then reset the tool smaller to make the through bore.

Don't even think about using one of those tools in a hand held power drill, it'd likely leap out and mar your decking. You might be able to use one of those under power if you took a small drill press, removed the table and flipped the base around and somehow fastened it to the deck maybe with some machine screws through the spaces between the deck boards and a piece of strapping underneath, but that's a long walk for a short slide.

HTH,

Jeff

[RicodJour]

Yep. Easily done, too.

You need to buy two hole saws of the correct sizes (not sure how common those sizes are in your neck of the woods as I'm not Metric) with the appropriate mandrel. Drill a pilot hole where you want the light to be centered. Use the larger hole saw first, and cut to the

12mm depth necessary for the rebate (in the US, the term is rabbeted). Then take the smaller hole saw and cut the hole right through the deck board. use a sharp chisel to clean out the rebated area between the two hole saw holes and flatten the bottom so the light sits flush with the deck surface. Done. R

[Goedjn]

[jameswhiteley]

Thanks for all your advise everyone.....I'll let you know how I get on. Cheers