Drilling into end grain

Re: Drilling into end grain

Jeremy Osner

>It's pretty easy to do (assuming the grain is fairly straight) because the grain guides the bit. When I have done this I've used a power drill and twist bit, I'm not sure what would be proper with hand tools -- I guess a brace + auger bit but you'd have to figure out some way to hold the wood where you can get proper leverage -- I did not really have to worry about this with the power drill.

Re: Drilling into end grain

Jim in Burlington Ontario

>Use your drill press to drill a hole the same size as your auger bit about 3" deep. Then you'll have a guide for your auger bit(hopefully you have bit's and brace)

Re: Drilling into end grain

Tom MacGregor

>If you're using power make sure the bit is sharp, keep the speed down - especially for larger holes - and pull out often to clear the chips. With a twist bit a smaller pilot hole around 3/16" to 1/4" can help keep it straight. When drilling freehand I sometimes set or even duct tape a square near the hole as a reference to improve my aim.

Re: Drilling into end grain

Jeremy Osner

>I think a better reference than a square in this situation, is just to sight along the length of the board you are drilling into -- as you look down the drill it should be collinear with the board. This gives you a much longer reference line than a square would, and its accuracy does not depend upon you holding or taping the square correctly.

Re: Drilling into end grain

John Lucas

>Mitch

If your drilling by hand with an auger make sure it's really sharp. the threads on the lead screw clog easily if the the cutter slows down at all.

I like spade bits if I'm power drilling by hand.

Re: Drilling into end grain

Bob Hackett

>The only auger I know of that will not follow the grain is a shipwright`s or barefoot auger.These bits have no lead screw and cut like a pod auger as they have only one cutting edge.They are rim guided and require a starting hole.Once they are started they travel dead straight and do not follow the grain.These were the weapon of choice when drilling the shaft holes in wood boats.

If you are only going less than 5 inches into endgrain then a common twist drill(a sharp one) in a drill press will be the tool of choice.In the larger sizes these are quite ridgid and if the work is clamped solidly then they will drill true.

Mainely,Bob

Re: Drilling into end grain

SteveC

>And if you really want a barefoot auger, then just cut off the lead screw and file the stub down. That's what 90% of the boatwrights augers that I have seen are.

Barefoot augers

Bob Hackett

>There`s a big difference between a true barefoot and what you suggest.The biggest difference would be the single cutting edge and the way it`s configured.If you look at the real thing and note how it works the concept of how it cuts is more like a pod auger than a conventional auger.It starts cutting from true center where a modified common auger would compress and push the fibers of the wood to the side as the leadscrew does.Without the leadscrew to pull the modified auger feeds twice as hard as a real barefoot.The combination of the increased feed pressure and the deflection of the wood at center makes a modified auger far less acurate and more likely to travel from it`s intended path.When drilling a steeply angled hole thru a 6" thick or better mother plank you want all the accuracy you can muster.

Mainely,Bob

Re: Barefoot augers

SteveC

>I won't disagree with anything you said in the slightest however, out here in the upper left corner, I have seen a lot more modified common augers than I have true barefoot ones.

Re: Drilling into end grain

William Duffield on the Cohansey

>Why is high precision necessary in this application? The hole has to match the hole in the leg only where it enters the end of the tenon. When you have drilled it deep enough, use the drill bit itself, or if it's not long enough, use a dowel, inserted in the hold to line up a straight edge on the side of the stretcher, and use that straight edge to figure out where you will drill or chop the holes for your nuts and washers.

Get a cheap dowel jig...

Mark Harrison -- in Sydney, Australia

>The dowel jig will make this real easy with a sharp drill bit.

Re: Drilling into end grain

Adam Cherubini, NJ

>Is there any particular kind of drill bit that is best suited for drilling into end grain?

Electric hand drills make drilling inaccurate holes very easy. I have one, but find I lack the technique required to make a good hole. Sometimes my holes aren't even round (no I'm not kidding).

There are special auger bits for boring end grain. Most familiar to cabinetmakers is the nose bit, which looks a bit like a shell bit that's been dropped. The largest I have, indeed the largest I've ever seen, makes a 1/2" dia hole.

For larger holes I usually reach for a framing auger or ship auger. My ship augers have lead screws and up-turned lips. I believe they are Scotch pattern (see Salaman). There are tricks to boring accurately with them.

When boring horizontally, clamp a large square to work, and sight down at the shaft and the square. That gets you square side to side. For up and down, slide a loose metal ring onto the shaft. As you turn, the ring will move toward you (hands to low), or away (hands too high). I know its a simple trick, but it really does work. Make sure the workpiece is level before you start.

I have trouble boring vertically. You could try suspending a plumb bob from the ceiling, but I've had trouble doing that. Now I clamp two squares to the work. The first time I did this, I figured I could go back and forth between the squares. Now I get a helper (my wife) to sight one plane, while I sight the other. This goes much faster and I get much better results.

In the picture below you can clearly see what happens when you screw up. It took me half a day to fix this. Since my wife started helping me, I've been spot on.

Adam

The Stanley #59 is my choice.

Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)

>

Re: Drilling into end grain

Hank Knight

>Mitch, I just did this using a drill press and a power drill with a brad point bit. I don't see why the technique wouldn't work with a hand brace and auger bit. I first drilled the hole through the leg perpendicular to the grain using the drill press - no problenm here with the bit following the grain. Then I clamped the stretcher in place (I used a mortise and stub tenon for the joint). Using the hole in the leg as a guide, I drilled the hole in the end grain of the stretcher with the power drill. The hole in the leg acted as a guide and kept the bit from wandering in the end grain of the stretcher. I actually had to make two passes at the stretcher because my bit wasn't long enough to go through the leg thickness and give me the depth I needed for the stretcher. But the starter hole in the end grain was deep enough to guide the bit straight on the second pass. I didn't have any trouble with the bit wandering. If you're using bench bolts with barrel nuts, be careful drilling the holes for the barrel nuts. I tried to eyeball the intersecting hole. BIG MISTAKE - they have to be perfectly aligned or the threads won't line up. There's a simple jig you can make to position the holes correctly. I strongly recommend using it to get the alignment right. Good luck. My apologies to the Hand Tools Forum for the my gruesome description of the slaughter of a number of helpless electrons.