Drilling bench dog holes?

[dadiOH]

spring for new router bit(s) or make a jig, you can do it with it a drill and router bits you most likely already have. As an example, lets say you want to wind up with a 3/4" hole...

1. Drill a hole with a 1/2" drill bit. It doesn't matter if it isn't completely vertical as long as you are close.
2. Use a 3/8" router bit with a 1/4" shank with the depth set to less than the depth of the hole and run it around the hole using the shank as a bearing. The part you cut is now 3/4" and vertical.
3. Turn the workpiece over. Use any router bit less than the diameter of the hole with a shank the same size (eg, 1/2 & 1/2, 1/4 and 1/4) and run it around the hole using the shank as a bearing on what you cut in #2.

[Larry Jaques]

Just _short_ of the working stroke.

I hate that the Canuckistani Ducat is so high now. I got them for a whole lot cheaper last decade.

-- To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure. -- J. K. Rowling

[Larry Blanchard]

Oh. I made my own to save money and they're just plywood shapes (various) attached to a dowel. So I tilted the holes in the bench.

[Bob]

I had a similar size benchtop, same materials and thickness. I hiked it up on my drill press using a roller ball support stand on either side of the drill press. Then I used a 3/4" forstner bit to drill all the holes. I used a couple of Bessey cabinet clamps to clamp it to the drill press table before I drilled each hole. It sounds cumbersome but it actually went pretty fast and smooth once I got the benchtop loaded on the two stands.

Bob

[tiredofspam]

Yikes, my slab is over 250 lbs. I could not imagine doing that. I had enough trouble getting it down the stairs.

I used a router with a 3/4 > >> My 1-3/4" thick solid laminated maple work bench is exactly that, solid.

[-MIKE-]

What am I missing here? Is this really rocket surgery? What's wrong with a hand held drill and a Forstner bit? Don't bench dogs work with the friction of being pushed from the side? To my knowledge, you shouldn't have to pound them in and out, so who needs a perfect hole?

Or am I wrong? There's always a first. :-)

[DGDevin]

With my itty bitty drill press it would be easier to clamp the drill press onto the bench and drill the holes that way.

[ed_h]

$30 drill guide and a sharp spade bit did a fine job on my table of 3- inch white oak. Clamp a backup piece to the bottom to prevent exit tearout.

[Larry Blanchard]

Out of curiosity, why a Forstner bit? Don't dog holes go all the way through?

I've never used a Forstner bit in other than a drill press. Seems I read somewhere they weren't safe otherwise.

[Nova]

By design using a Forstner bit will give you an indication that the hole is started perpendicular to the table top. Once started the design of the bit will aid in keeping it perpendicular.

I use Forstner bits in a hand held drill frequently. I've never had a problem... although you have to keep a tight grip on the drill when using the larger bits.

[Leon]

Plunge router? Tape it in place and put tape around any openings that duse would escape with the exception of where you attach you Festool Vac. Use a

3/4" straight bit.

[Lew Hodgett]

------------------

Already covered.

See my previous posts.

Lew

[-MIKE-]

Ok, a spade bit. I figured the entry hole would be cleaner.

Poppycosh. (I've never used that word, until now.) I use them all the time in a hand held drill.

[Lew Hodgett]

------------------------ A brad point drill bit is easier to control in a hand held drill as well as providing better chip clearance.

Lew

[-MIKE-]

You guys crack me up. Please change original to, "What's wrong with a hand held drill to drill bench dog holes."

[FrozenNorth]

I've drilled the holes for Euro style hinges with my cordless Dewalt, worked perfectly and I can still count to ten.

[Upscale]

Was is a carbide spiral cutter or a steel one? So far I've only been able to find steel ones (1/2"shank). Considering the number of holes I'd like to drill, I'm concerned that a steel one will wear out or at least lose it's edge before I'm finished.

[Bill]

Nothing, if you don't mind a few imperfections. Since I have way less experience than most around here, I think I would try a plunge router and a fence. Not sure how deep one could drill that way, though. After that, I'd clamp down a wooden "mouth" to hold down the wood, to prevent tear-out. If thick enough, it might serve as a jig to guide the drill too.

Bill

[Upscale]

The only reply I can give to that is the dog holes have the potential to be drilled on an angle, as slight as that may be. With a router, you're almost guaranteed that the hole is going to be vertically cut.

[Upscale]

Yup, that's going to be my preferred method as suggested by Lew. It won't be too difficult for me to make a simple enclosure with the CT22 attached to house the router while I cut the holes. I already have a 3/4" carbide router bit, but it's single flute and I've long intended to buy a double flute bit, so this is my opportunity. A pieced of hardboard used as a template guide will round off the process.

I briefly considered using a brad point drill or perhaps a spade drill, but since I'm unable to lean over the drill to put weight on it as well as to easily eyeball a decent vertical entry point, my plunge router seems like the obvious choice.

Now, all I have to do is to convince my best friend to let me "borrow" my plunge router back from him. :)