All The Gear, No Idea? How To Drill – Wood

There are a lot of different kinds of timber used for construction and carpentry, and various types of drill bits to make the holes, but what are the best ones for each application?

Before you start, consider the material and type of hole you want to cut which will help you select the right tool for the job.

If you’re landscaping and drilling deep holes, Auger Bits are effective with their coarse screw points in hard and soft woods with wide flutes to clear chips.

For larger holes, or drilling many holes fast, Spade Bits are perfect for drilling in timber and light building materials.

For clean smaller holes, Brad Point Bits ‘W’ shape provides accurate positioning to prevent wandering, whilst its Spur cutting edges ensure clean holes without fraying – perfect for dowels.

Then there is your standard Jobber Drill which is a great all-rounder if you’re just drilling basic holes.

Before you start drilling, make sure you have all your Protective Equipment on hand,
such as eye and ear protectors, a dust mask, and gloves if you have them.

For stability use an auxiliary handle which should come packed with a lot of power drills.

Make sure the drill is tightened correctly and doesn’t move in the chuck. Use a clamp to secure your workpiece so it doesn’t move around.

Drilling into soft woods with smaller diameters, you can set your drill to a high speed, but when you’re drilling hard wood and with larger diameters you will want to drill slower, so your drill bit doesn’t overheat or burn your material.

To make the drilling process easier and to not overheat the drill bit, intermittently pull out of the hole to clear the flute of chips.

Drilling through wood can sometimes lead to blow-outs and rough splintered holes, if you’re going for a clean finish there are a few things you can try:

• Use blue carpenter tape on both sides of the work piece to stabilise the wood grain
• Before you drill all the way though, drill until the tip just reaches the end, and then drill from the other side.
• Using some scrap wood on the bottom can also help keep the wood from splintering

Drilling holes for screws or don’t want to drill all the way through the material?
Use a depth stop or place some tape on the drill bit as a guide so you know when to stop.

If your drill becomes blunt, replace the bit – old drills will be harder to work with or could break.

When drilling on an angle, start by drilling straight to prevent wandering.

Don’t drill in too deep, just enough so your drill has a point to bite into.
Change to the angle you want and proceed drilling.