Sizing pilot holes for hardwood

[Dan White]

Hi. Dumb question probably, but I have to screw into some hard maple and was never sure about how to match up a pilot hole size with the screw. Is there an easy way to know how to match the two? I'm concerned mainly about drilling too big a pilot so that the screw doesn't bite enough, and vice versa of course.

thanks, dwhite

[SawDust]

Hi Dan,

Just do a search with google "probably any search engine" for pilot hole sizes or drilling charts. You should get several nice charts which you can easily print and keep for reference. That's what I did.

Now if I can only figure out what I did with them.....

Pat

[Jim]

Dan:

A tried and true method is to hold the drill bit up to the screw shank. For hardwoods, the drill bit should be the same diameter (as close as possible) to the shank diameter (the part between the threads). For softwoods, I like a drill bit slightly smaller than the screw shank. If in doubt, do a quick test.

Here's a link to our recommendations to help get you started:

Ray, President McFeely's Square Drive Screws

[Dan White]

dwhite

[Dan White]

Good idea. thanks.

dwhite