Having a problem with one of my parts on my frieghtliner build.
I need to drill a quarter inch hole in a piece of 7/16 dowel. Anything i try wrecks it when the hole gets drilled.
Any suggestions ?
Sharp drill meant for wood, meeting a securely held piece to be drilled.
That is to say, a forestner or brad point drill (meant for wood), rather than a twist drill (made for metal), and the workpiece should be securely held in a way that keeps it from rolling around. Clamp it in a drill vise, or cut a v in a piece of scrap and make yourself a wooden V block.
Also worth noting, that clamping advise is assuming you need to drill a cross hole. If youre trying to drill a hole in the end of a dowel, different work holding methods are needed
The brad point bits or Forstener bits that the others suggested are good ideas.
It is essential that you clamp the work so that it can't move.
If you are having tear-out problems, then support the work from behind. Drill a 7/16 hole in a piece of scrap wood. Slice down the length of the hole with a saw (like a table saw), so that you have a semi-circular support that matches the radius of the wood. If you are drilling through the side of the dowel, then clamp the dowel in the U-shaped channel so that the dowel can't rotate. The dowel now has the back-side support it needs to avoid tearout. If you are drilling the end of the dowel, then sandwich the dowel between the two halves of your scrap piece with the end of the dowel clamped just below the end of the "sandwich". Drill carefully - hopefully the sandwich will prevent a blowout.
If you must use ordinary twist drills, try the smallest drill you have, and work your way up through the sizes until you reach 1/4 inch. You may achieve success by removing small amounts at a time.
Do you want to drill the side of the dowel or the end?
What tool are you using? A drill press? A hand drill?
What kinds of drill bits do you have? Which ones are you using?
Are your drills sharp?
I tried a brad point and a forstner. Am drilling endgrain. Piece of dowel is only 3/8 thick.
Going to try drilling into a longer piece then cut it to size.
Actually a standard twist drill be best for drilling end grain, contrary to other's advice. Start with a 3/16" dril, then go to your 1/4" IF the 1/4" won't start and drill easily. The twist drills have more of a cutting action. The brad points and Forstners have a shearing action which doesn't work well in end grain. JMO. :|
Assuming you are using the lathe for this operation? ... hopefully!
Well...my go to is the "Ultra Smooth Wood Owl" bits but they only go down to 3/8"...So my next for something like this little challenge would probably be adapting a tapered counter sink bit...I done similar in the past...Might work?
I made similar pieces to act as washers for something I made a year or so back.. Now I can't remember exactly what I needed it for, but it worked.. I had the same problem and fixed it the same way.. lol
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