Drill Bits part 1

I work with both solid wood and "engineered" wood a LOT in my day to day work as a professional handyman. 

Drilling and boring holes is a common use, especially when working on flatpack furniture that is being assembled.  This comes up mostly in MDF,  composite board, plywood, etc... for me.  Pre-drilled holes from the manufacturer sometimes are off mark or not properly cleared.  Making holes in boards to insert hangers or mounting fasteners is also very common.
 
Because of this, I pay very close attention to not just the drill I use in a particular situation, but the type of drill bit as well.  The wrong drill bit can be the difference between a professional finish and a not pro finish.

In the case of drilling standard size holes to fit screws and bolts, standardspiral and brad point drill bits are the basics.  I call it "standard" spiral because technically,  a brad point bit is a type of spiral bit also.

A spiral bit is probably the one most people are familiar with.  These bits are the go to if I just need a hole in wood, drywall, plastic or metal.  Nothing special.

If I need to make a hole for inserting dowel pins, cam locks pins, or need to be precise in position,  I go with brad point bits.

Brad point bits leave a cleaner edge inside the hole and the point makes it easy to get the tip of the bit exactly where it needs to be.
 

A standard spiral bit needs a little more help to be pinpoint accurate.  You have to use apointed object like an pick or tip of a nail to tap an I dent at the drill point so that the standard bit doesn't wander, especially if it's even a little bit dull.

Having a cleaner cut hole interior is more important when working with engineered wood materials like plywood, mdf, and particle board.   These materials can chip or leave more debris inside the hole after the fact that blocks a pin, dowel, or insert from being seating or inserted through the hole properly.

These next two pictures show the entry and exit holes.  You can see the brad point bit was marked.  It's entry is pretty similar but on the exit and interior, the brad point is cleaner.
 
Leaving a cleaner face of the material makes your project piece easier to work with and takes less time having to clean it up before doing anything else.

The end result is really what makes it a "Pro" finish.  It not only has to get the job done, it has to look good doing it.  Paying customers do not like to put up good money for ugly work, no matter how good the underlying work is.

In a DIY situation,  you or I might not care how pretty a project looks when it's done.  We just want it to work right.  That can be fine considering we are the ones that have to live with the results.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Beware of YouTube DIY channels

 I am advising a lot more frequently that folks who are looking to do work in their home themselves try to avoid the YouTube "DIY" channels.   Not because DIY is bad or wrong or anything like that, but it seems more and more of the YouTubers are focusing on "hacks" and "tricks" to get things done and it cam end up really badly if we actually try some of that crap. Doing It Yourself, ESPECIALLY where electrical,  plumbing, and HVAC are concerned gets tricky.  Because in many places, building codes get a bit tricky.  In a lot of places, they want permits and licensed tradespeople to do specific tasks regardless of if it's a contracted or DIY project. Sure, we can just do it anyway and figure or hope no one will find out till we're dead or gone.  Happens a lot that way.  BUT... You owe it to yourself to do a project the right way.  Why?  Because you may want to sell that house someday and a mortgage inspection may show that work done and pu...
Read more

Im done with D.I.Y

 I'm not making any more "D.I.Y." content.  Instead, I'm just doing, "D.I" content instead. "D.I" being just "Do It", of course.   My point in saying so is that the algorithms on most platforms seem to have gotten stuck into niches of doing things like, "Woodworking", "DIY" (referring usually to derision or low capability things), and so-called "Pro" stuff which is usually selling something or trying to one-up someone else. Even general "How To" content gets broken into such sub categories for the most part.  Thank God we still have "This Old House", and Norm Abrams that don't patronize us. But that's kind of my point, the fact that there's not much more that has a general, "here's how to do this" than "This Old House" and "New Yankee Workshop" to point out, is disappointing to me. So, I've struggled over the past year or so to make videos ...
Read more

Non powered tools are important too

Image
Non-power tools are just as important to me as power tools.  Maybe even more sometimes. Using a drill or a saw or working on fasteners with anything from a hammer to glue gun, to a rivet gun all saves a lot of wear and tear on my body by reducing or eliminating repetitive work.  Having to do any of these things working on a floor, bent or hunched over kills your back and your knees.  Not only that but it often means your working with a reduced or partially blocked view of what you're working on. Sawhorses, tables, stands and other such tools bring the work off the ground or low area and puts it somewhere you can work better and see what you're doing better. Combine those things with clamps, braces, vises and other "third hand" types of tools and your work is improved by a lot. Sometimes you have to go where the work is, and that means on the floor, the ground, or in a low position that means you have to lean or hunch ove...
Read more