Drilling Peg holes

[dnoyeB]

In my stereo cabinet I have adjustable shelves. The walls are AC Fir plywood. I was drilling in the holes with my cordless B&D drill. The plywood kept ripping around the hole.

I tried starting with a small bit, then working my way up. But once I got to the 1/4" bit, it almost always ripped the surface wood :(

I imagine a drill press would have done a much better job?

If so, ill probably pick up an ultra cheap one on ebay. What features should I ensure I have so I don't get ripping in plywood?

I wonder if I could have drilled a hole through a 2x4 and clamped it over the plywood to stop the rip? Would I have to do that on the drill press?

[Charles Spitzer]

try using a piece of pegboard as a template

[Chris Friesen]

On the front or the back? If it's tearing out the front, then the problem is likely the drill bit. For a nice clean cut, consider using brad-point drill bits, with spurs that outline the cut.

I have a set of these, they work well:

I imagine a drill press would have done a much better job?

Probably not. The drill press is most useful to get a precisely located/angled cut, not necessarily a better one.

For the cleanest cuts in ply, try clamping a board (2x4, scrap ply, mdf, whatever) behind where you will drill the hole. Then drill through with a good brad-point bit. The backer board will keep the thin veneer on the exit side from tearing out.

Chris

[cselby]

Or you could lay down a strip of masking tape, mark the holes on that, then drill. Or you could make a jig stick with the holes prespaced and do that. Or get a strip of 'peg board' that has the holes prespaced every 2".

[Morris Dovey]

| In my stereo cabinet I have adjustable shelves. The walls are AC | Fir plywood. I was drilling in the holes with my cordless B&D | drill. The plywood kept ripping around the hole.

Three FYI's:

I've gotten excellent results with a 1/4" straight bit in a plunge router.

I've also had good results using LV carbide-lipped brad-point drill bits in a 2500 RPM corded hand drill from HF. IMO, for any given bit type, higher RPM seems to give best results in wood. I bought the HF corded drill just because of the high RPM and have been pleased with the result.

The old trick of drilling through masking tape works fairly well.

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

[dnoyeB]

This is kind of what I thought so I almost got out my corded drill. But its hard to rev up the RPMs before the drill is in contact with the wood. When I touchdown the bit has been walking a little.

I was using a standard drill bit. I'm going to get a set of those brad-point bits from LV. Looks like lots of folks use LV. Good store?

Its hard to imagine a extremely thin piece of tape preventing a powerful drill from ripping strips of plywood up. Maybe there is "woodworkers" tape or something?

[Lee Michaels]

One feature of the brad point drills is that they have a nice little point to place on your mark. It doesn't wander. You can fire up the drill and ease it into your stock.

Another thing that I do is to just use some some hardboard. I put the textured side down because it doesn't slide around. I mark and drill tiny pilot holes on the hardboard. When I fire up the drill with the brad point bits, it just cuts cleanly through. The hardboard stabilizes and prtects the wood underneath.

And yes, Lee Valley is an excellent source for tools. But brad point bits should be vailable just about anywhere.

[Morris Dovey]

| Morris Dovey wrote: || dnoyeB (in [e-mail]) said: || ||| In my stereo cabinet I have adjustable shelves. The walls are AC ||| Fir plywood. I was drilling in the holes with my cordless B&D ||| drill. The plywood kept ripping around the hole. || || Three FYI's: || || I've gotten excellent results with a 1/4" straight bit in a plunge || router. || || I've also had good results using LV carbide-lipped brad-point drill || bits in a 2500 RPM corded hand drill from HF. IMO, for any given || bit type, higher RPM seems to give best results in wood. I bought || the HF corded drill just because of the high RPM and have been || pleased with the result. | | This is kind of what I thought so I almost got out my corded drill. | But its hard to rev up the RPMs before the drill is in contact with | the wood. When I touchdown the bit has been walking a little.

This problem is handled by the center spur in a brad-point bit. For twist bits you can solve the problem by using a center punch to make a small "dimple" at the center of the hole before drilling. You should be able to pick one up at your local hardware store. You can see a picture here:

| I was using a standard drill bit. I'm going to get a set of those | brad-point bits from LV. Looks like lots of folks use LV. Good | store?

LV sells pretty good stuff. I buy from them and have been happy with both merchandise and service. They have a _pretty_ catalog that requires a certain amount of self-discipline on the part of the reader. Robin Lee, LV's president visits rec.woodworking from time to time.

|| The old trick of drilling through masking tape works fairly well. | | Its hard to imagine a extremely thin piece of tape preventing a | powerful drill from ripping strips of plywood up. Maybe there is | "woodworkers" tape or something?

If the drill is sharp, the tape keeps the fibers at the surface from pulling away from each other. If the drill bit is dull, all bets are off. One of the reason I like the lipped bits is because the "lip" scores the circumference of the hole to prevent this tearing.

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

[Phisherman]

Try a Forstner bit. These slice the perimeter as they cut, unlike a twist drill.

[Chris Friesen]

A brad-point bit with lips or spurs scores the perimeter as well and clears chips better. They're also available in much smaller sizes than forstners.

For large shallow holes, Forstner bits are worth considering.

Chris