Drilling the wood

Drilling a 50mm hole.

Before drilling the hole into the centre of the wood it is essential that it is marked out accurately. This should be a very visual appealing project and if the hole is not in the centre then it will not look right. The block is placed onto the desk and a rule is used to mark from corner to corner, a sharp pencil is used to give an accurate mark. A bradawl is used to mark the centre of the hole, this will allow the drill bit to find the correct position to be drilled.

When the centre has been marked, the wood needs to be set up in a machine vice which is securely fixed to the drill bed with bolts. When drilling the hold make sure you drill slowly and do not stop, keep a constant pressure on the drill at all times, if you do not do this the drill bit will heat up and the wood will burn. There will be a lot of wood shavings at this stage and they can block up the the hole, it is necessary to contilually lift the drill up a little to allow the shavings to clear. DO NOT LIFT THE DRILL BIT OUT OF THE HOLE. The size of the hole being drilled is 50mm and a forstner bit is being used.

Large holes – Holes up to 100mm in sheet materials, such as wood, plastics and soft metal, can be made with a circle cutter, which has a twist drill at the center and a cutting blade at the end of an adjustable arm

You are drilling to a fixed depth in this, as you are “drilling blind” into a block of wood and you do not want to come out the other side. Adjust the drill stand to drill the correct depth, or fit a depth stop to the drill bit. This can either be a special stop, which is on the drill or a piece of insulation tape wrapped around the bit to mark the depth you want to drill to.