Question on wood bits

[Bert Kemp]

Hi,
I usually post in the engravers forum but have a question I feel I can get a better answer here. I recently needed to drill or bore a inch and a half hole in 1 inch thick board(3/4" Really) I think its pine but I can use any wood. Anyway I went to the big box store and bought a Bosch 1.5" daredevil spade bit thinking this would make a nice hole in the wood. Well this bit has a center point that is threaded and two hooks on the outer edges, when I tried to bore the hole the threaded point grabbed and pulled the bit into the wood so fast that those outer hooks just dug into the wood and stalled the drill. No Matter how slow I tried to go it would just grab and stall.
So I go back to the store and get a Forstner bit 1.5" and I'm still having trouble boring these holes. If I go slow it will do it but it takes forever and if I try to go faster it stalls the drill.
So can anyone tell what type of bit I need to cut a 1.5 " hole fairly fast with out stalling my drill, and are some bits better for different types of wood?
Thanks in advance for you help.

[lowell holmes]

Maybe a hole saw is the way to go.

Also, have you tried a flat spade bit?

[Bert Kemp]

I haven't been able to find a flat spade bit in 1.5" and the hole saws I've seen you have to buy a whole package and I really don't need all those extra hanging around getting rusty LOL

[Jay Jolliffe]

Try another store for the hole saw. I've bought the arbors & hole saw separate before. A plumbing or electrical store you'll find what you need. It also depends on how smooth your hole needs to be. They do make a 1 1/2" spade bit.....

[John Schweikert]

I've seen in my local HD that they have Milwaukee hole saws which you can buy individually as needed.

[Bert Kemp]

I'll look in HD and Lowes again.Maybe I missed them. I know they don't have the 1.5 flat spade tho.

[lowell holmes]

Amazon has both single 1 1/2" spade bits and hole saws. I order from them all the time. I get free shipping sometimes, but I got a router bit I needed in one day delivered to my door.

[Lee Schierer]

It sounds like you are using a cordless drill. Most of them don't have enough torque to turn a drill that size. I would suggest that you need a bigger corded drill for those larger holes. Just this afternoon, I bored two 1" diameter holes through a 2 x 4 the 4" direction with my drill press. I used a Forstner bit and did each hole in less than 30 seconds. I doubt my 14 volt Dewalt would have done it at all, even with a fresh charged battery. It just doesn't have the RPMs and the torque. Cordless drills are great for drilling small diameter holes and putting in screws, but they stall pretty easy once the hole gets much over 1/2"

I'm not sure a hole saw will be any faster for you using an underpowered drill.

[Bradley Gray]

+1 on more power. Put the Forstner in your drill press.

[william watts]

A Forstner bit will do the job and should turn about 500 rpm in soft wood, according to my chart. A spade bit will be cheaper and faster. A hole saw will work to, but if you have multiple holes to drill it will be a real hassle removing the drilled out plug from the hole saw.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Bert,

This link shows the type of bit I used in a different diameter to drill the holes in the studs for the electrical of my shop walls. It was very fast. I bought a set of 4 and they were a little expensive but they work well!

http://images1.mcmaster.com/Contents/gfx/small/2890a15p1-a02bs.png?ver=3484432

They carry them at McMaster Carr, Grainger and a lot of electrical supply houses which is where I bought mine.

[Bert Kemp]

It sounds like you are using a cordless drill. Most of them don't have enough torque to turn a drill that size. I would suggest that you need a bigger corded drill for those larger holes. Just this afternoon, I bored two 1" diameter holes through a 2 x 4 the 4" direction with my drill press. I used a Forstner bit and did each hole in less than 30 seconds. I doubt my 14 volt Dewalt would have done it at all, even with a fresh charged battery. It just doesn't have the RPMs and the torque. Cordless drills are great for drilling small diameter holes and putting in screws, but they stall pretty easy once the hole gets much over 1/2"

I'm not sure a hole saw will be any faster for you using an underpowered drill.


Lee I have a 5 speed bench mount drill press, but I think it does lack in power, I don't think the motor is powerful enough or something is wrong, I also have a craftsmen 1/4" corded drill, which I didn't try with the Forstner bit. I'll look at Amazon

[Lee Schierer]

Lee I have a 5 speed bench mount drill press, but I think it does lack in power, I don't think the motor is powerful enough or something is wrong, I also have a craftsmen 1/4" corded drill, which I didn't try with the Forstner bit. I'll look at Amazon

Does the motor stall or does the drill stop turning and the motor is still running. I'd check belt tension to make sure if the drill press is underpowered or whether you just have a loose belt. Take the belt cover off so you can see what is going on.

[Myk Rian]

Just don't make the belt too tight, or you'll be replacing spindle bearings. You want to roll the belt off the pulley with just a little effort

[John Downey]

Just don't make the belt too tight, or you'll be replacing spindle bearings. You want to roll the belt off the pulley with just a little effort

I'm pretty skeptical of that. The whole point of a bearing is to take large loads, far larger than a little belt tension is going to give you.

I was also taught to never roll a belt off a pulley, but I don't really know that there is anything to that. Seems like belts wear out regardless.

Back to the OP though, it sounds like you want a clean hole, so it's going to have to be a forstner over a hole saw or spade bit, especially in soft woods. You should be able to do it with a corded drill and some patience, but be careful with big bits and a hand drill, they can grab and wrench your wrist pretty easily. I would have guessed any drill press would be up to a 1 1/2" hole, but you never know.

[glenn bradley]

Lee I have a 5 speed bench mount drill press, but I think it does lack in power, I don't think the motor is powerful enough or something is wrong, I also have a craftsmen 1/4" corded drill, which I didn't try with the Forstner bit. I'll look at Amazon

+1 Lee and Bradley hit on my feeling. I spin 2-1/2" Forstners without trouble. The problem I see is this; even with the threaded spade bit which is all about fast (as opposed to clean) the drill motor stalls. The hole is out of range for your drill motor. You can get around this with a hole saw if that leaves an acceptable result but it will not be fast. You can get clean with a Forstner but, it will have to be of good quality (not BORG junk), well honed and it will also not be fast. Since this hasn't come up before (or maybe it has so take this all with a grain of salt) I doubt that you want to go out and buy a more powerful drill press for this task. A good 1/2" corded hand drill would probably meet this and other needs for under $100. You could also rent a more powerful hand drill motor at the BORG for this task.

[Myk Rian]

I'm pretty skeptical of that. The whole point of a bearing is to take large loads, far larger than a little belt tension is going to give you.
The quill/spindle bearings are selected to take a vertical force. Not so much lateral.
It is much easier to adjust tension by rolling it off a pulley, with a little effort, than it is to figure out:
How many pounds of force do I apply, to get the belt to depress 1/4" BS?.

[John Downey]

The quill/spindle bearings are selected to take a vertical force. Not so much lateral.

What stuff! Yes the bearings inside the quill are a special kind of item, but the uppermost one that will take the brunt of the mild belt tension is a regular ball bearing. On my Rockwell it is the same part number as used for 18" planer infeed/outfeed rollers.

Lets not confuse belt tensioning with the traditional adjuration to not side load the quill bearings by using the DP as an overhead mill. The quill bearings are not intended to take the heavy side loads of milling, but the uppermost spindle bearing certainly is intended to take the mild load of proper belt tension. If the belt slips under normal use it is either glazed or too loose.



It is much easier to adjust tension by rolling it off a pulley, with a little effort, than it is to figure out:
How many pounds of force do I apply, to get the belt to depress 1/4" BS?.

I have little enough trouble adjusting belts in the normal way, but as I said, I don't think it makes a huge difference whether you roll the belt off or not. I was taught that it was a poor practice, but so is drinking beer, no doubt, and I certainly do that regardless :D

I avoid rolling belts out of habit formed by early instruction and once having a fingertip caught between the belt and sheave when doing it the wrong way on a Chinese machine with no tensioning mechanism. More painful than damaging, but a handy reminder to do it right whenever possible.

[Myk Rian]

I don't care about the longevity of the belt, and I'm not going to argue about it. But I am not going through the trouble of loosening the belt tension, change it to the next speed, then re-tension it. One setting is all that is needed. Ya just have to learn to keep your fingers out of the way.

[John Downey]

I don't care about the longevity of the belt, and I'm not going to argue about it. But I am not going through the trouble of loosening the belt tension, change it to the next speed, then re-tension it. One setting is all that is needed. Ya just have to learn to keep your fingers out of the way.

No worries, to each their own :D

[Brian Gumpper]

Do you back up once in a while and clean the hole out? It's hard to just go full bore all the way though because the chips pack in the hole which not only prevents the bit from working properly but builds up heat which will dull the bit.

[Bert Kemp]

Well it must be a weak motor in my drill press as its the motor that stalls and not a slipping belt.I'm not a wood worker per say. I bought a cheap Harbor freight 5 speed drill press basicly to use as sander and not a drill.It works great for that, I use round scotch brite pads in it for sanding small pieces of wood. Now I need to drill a couple holes 1.5 inch for a quick project. Well anyway long story short I went to Lowes today and found a 1.5 spade that worked, yes its a rough hole but I sanded all the edges and inside the hole and its fine I guess. LOL More work but its done.
Thanks for all the help and advise .

[Myk Rian]

If yours is the 8", then it has 2/5hp. Situation explained.