I have been building a couple of tall bookcases with cupboards below. I used melamine coated chipboard from B&Q.
To prevent drill bits travelling to far into the 18mm boards, I employed collars with grub screws. There were hundreds of holes.
It was some time before I discovered that the collars had slipped up and the bits protruded where they weren't wanted.
So I need to hide the holes in a way that looks a lot better then the plastic covers seen on vehicle number plates.
Any ideas?
How good a match to "white melamine" are the various shades of ColorFill that's sold for worktops?
What exactly is the problem? You seem to indicate that the drill holes are too deep but what are you inserting into them that now need hiding and what were you going to use if the holes were drilled to the exact depth.
Are you indicating that the drill bit has gone all the way through a
18mm melamine coated board and come out of what would have been the side without any visible holes?If it's this latter case just be careful with any filler that sanding it flat afterwards may/will dull the surface of the melamine and make it more obvious where a hole has been filled. When filling it's better to find one that can be put on very thinly in layers . Bulk fill the hole and wipe flush with a damp cloth, mainly to remove any filler left on the surface of the melamine. Leave to dry and probably shrink back into the hole. Refill the shallow indent and wipe flush again - repeat as necessary
Where a drill bit has broken out you may need to GENTLY countersink the hole before filling as a drill breakthrough may/will have left a jagged protruding edge around the hole.
I've had some success with filling such holes and then with a small artists paintbrush over paint the fill with a thinned gloss paint using a small dot at a time method. This has made a near invisible repair BUT I've had the patience to do this on a few holes and not the hundreds you suggest that you have.
What colour melamine?
If it is white, the one of the many two part wood fillers would probably do the trick.
If coloured or wood grain effect, then you would need to either touch in the filled bit with colour (you can get wood toning pens for the purpose), or you can also get wax and shellac sticks designed for filling holes in wood colour things.
another option is put something decorative on the holes, eg paint a little flower.
I asked them for a colour chart, and they said they don't have one. I have no idea how you are supposed to pick the shade you need?
pop to B&Q? though they seem to have it on clearance ...
I did not use collars, found some tube, and cut it to the length between chuck and the depth needed on the drill. Then it does of course not slip. Been caught that way before.
Incidentally, is the make up of some chipboard a source of alergies?, I notice when ever I cut it or drill it I get sore eyes and a runny nose. Brian
That works fine, but in use - the drill bit can be pulled out of the chuck, so it protrudes further. Thus, you end up with a deeper depth of hole, despite the tube. This can be more of a problem, with the chuck keyless chucks.
The resin that bonds the chips together is typically a Urea-formaldehyde derived product. This is a known respiratory irritant. Machining it releases formaldehyde into the air, and relatively low concentrations can cause watery eyes, nose irritation, wheezing etc.
I've seen people on you tube putting a flap of masking tape on the drill. It wont work for idiots, but for good UK DIYers, it should be fine.
I use bits of cable sleeving for the range of drills that they'll fit and care is needed to avoid going in too far as the sleeving is very easy to move. Works well if one is careful.
In message <sdsrpptrqhov.4nm85q66tpe7$. snipped-for-privacy@40tude.net, PeterC snipped-for-privacy@homecall.co.uk> writes
Masking tape is ok providing you can see when to stop.
Probably ok for a couple of holes but the material that comes out of the hole starts destroying the tape so you will tend to drill deeper the more holes you drill without replacing the tape.
A terminal retrieved from an old mains socket and clamped to the drill with the terminal screw works well.
No, it doesn't. The tape is flapping in the breeze
so you will tend to drill deeper the
No, you wont.
Panto mode - yes it does. With tape there is no hard stop and either sawdust (spirals of wood) or brick dust need to come out of the hole. When this makeshift marker gets close to the wood/wall this debris either degrades something like a masking tape or pushes the tape further up the drill shank. OK for few holes or where you have a large margin of error where maybe a 5mm doesn't matter.
It's the tiny bit of tape that's wrapped around the drill bit that is pushed up by the debris at the edge of the hole which results in the flappy bit also being moved. If you watch some of the Youtube videos you can actually see the build up of debris under the (sticky) tape where it wraps around the drill bit.
Using insulating tape (lx tape) works for me.
I've used masking tape on a drill bit a number of times and it works reasonably well. You just have to keep an eye on what is happening as the bit goes in. And, once you know the tape is correctly positioned, wrap several layers around which will increase the lifetime of the hack. And if the arisings mess up the tape, well, just replace it.
My pillar drill has a travel stop and my hand drill has an adjustable rod with clamp screw so either can stop the drill bit over penetrating.
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