Help - Drill Bit Not Making "Clean" Hole

[Wade Samuelson]

Hello,

I have decided to make a cribbage board (one piece projects make the joinery much easier! :rolleyes: ). Anyway, I ran a photo copy of another cribbage board to use as a template for all the holes. I plan to just drill right through my paper template. I was just doing some tests on a piece of pine to see if this was a workable deal and ran into an unexpected problem: Almost all of the holes have a tiny piece of scrap still attached (I can post a pic if this doesn't describe it well enough). Rather than a nice clean hole, I have tiny bits of these sawdust-sized pieces still attached at the lip of the hole! I can pick at them with a finish nail, but sometimes they tear out and I am not left with a perfect circle

What causes these unwanted fragments? Dull bit? Dull drill press operator? Any solutions? Thanks!

[Corey Hallagan]

What kind of drill bit are you using Wade? It does sound like the drill bit is dull if it is tearing on entry. Not sure what size of bit you are using, but a 1/8 bit is usual for cribbage board holes. Do not plunge quickly, just nice and easy entry and hold the board firmly any movement will make a bad hole.

Corey

[CPeter James]

Drill the holes and then plane the board down.

CPeter

[Wade Samuelson]

Drill the holes and then plane the board down.

CPeter

Well that would work great....if I owned a planer! (Do you think my wife will fall for the ol' "If I'm going to build this, I'm gonna need to go buy a..." trick?)

I am using a 1/8 bit and it's a somewhat well-used craftsman bit. In my test though, I was drilling fairly quick--punching into the wood rather fast. I'll try slowing it down. Maybe I'll splurge and buy a new bit too!

[Corey Hallagan]

Wade, with a good drill bit and a nice and easy plunge you should not have any problem getting a clean hole.

Corey

[Martin Shupe]

Try using "blue tape" on your board and drill through it. That may help.

[Richard Wolf]

I think you should splurge for the new bits. I would try some brad point or bullet point bits. Lot cheaper than a planer.

Richard

[Brian Hale]

Wet the board before drilling

Brian

[Ron Jones near Indy]

Do you have the drill running fast enough? Small bit + soft wood = high speed.

[Mike Kelly]

With a twist drill bit you will get that fuzz all of the time in soft woods especially. Brad point bits will help to eliminate the problem. Sandwiching another board on top of your game board and clamping it tightly should give you a clean entry hole too. If you drill through, you will get the same problem on the bottomside. Putting a backer board there and clamping down will help too

[Joe Horne]

It sounds as if you may be using a regular "twist" drill bit. If that is the case, that would yield the results you are getting. Get yourself a Brad Point bit, that will make a very clean cut, as that is what they are designed to do. Make sure the drill speed is fast enough, and make light entry cuts and you should be fine. If you get a bit of the "fuzzies" around the hole, you can always lightly sand, or scrape with a cabinet scraper to clean that up. Good luck............that is a LOT of holes, but a very neat project.


(You can always use the time proven "I need a (add appropriate new tool here) to get this job done dear".........it has been know to work........sometimes!) ;)

[Chris Giles]

Wade,

A test piece isn't a test piece unless it's this same type of wood as the finished product. A harder piece of wood(maple, cherry, walnut or the like) and a brand new brad point drill bit run in a bit slower into the stock will give you good results. Also check the rpm of your drill press. A small bit like this should run at the top speed range. Did you consider an exotic like cocabolo or rosewood?

[Mike Swindell]

I would buy a few brad point bits from Lee Valley, they're sized in 1/64 increments. Problem solved.

[Corey Hallagan]

I didn't know they make brad points any less than 1/4 myself. I will have to pick some up, nothing works as well as a brad point for sure. Learn something new everyday.

Corey

[Wade Samuelson]

First of all, let me say that the experience here is amazing!

I plan on making my first couple boards out of pine because (1) I have pine on hand, and (2) it's cheaper to "go to school on."

I went back out and found another bit (not a brad point, but I plan to acquire one of those tomorrow). I slowed down my entry speed into the wood and it worked A LOT better! I didn't use tape or wet the wood, because I was back out in the shop already when those suggestions were made.

I have found that even on a drill press and using a fence, I am still getting some movement of the bit. I hope the brad point bit will fix that.

Anyway, I look forward to making more progress. Thanks again for the help!!

[Jules Dominguez]

The brad point bit should stop the movement and make a clean entry. Go slow until the outer diameter of the hole is cut. (This helps even with twist drills, but won't totally prevent them from raising the wood.)

I recently bought a "Drill Doctor" for sharpening twist drills, and it does a great job, but even sharp twist drills will raise the wood at the entry of the cut. I normally clean it off with a chisel. That's easy and foolproof if the hole is near the edge of the board and you can put the chisel perfectly flat on the board with the bevel up. If not, care must be taken not to make scratches with the corners of the chisel.

Some drill bits are made with what I think is called a "split point" and are alleged to not walk and don't need a counterpunch for a hole. The "Drill Doctor" will renew a split point or put a new one on a bit that didn't have it originally.

[Andy Hoyt]

Another thing to check is to make sure your drill press quill has no play in it.

[Norman Hitt]

Golly, this brings back memories, as I made a bunch of those boards for presents when I was in High School, (over 50 yrs ago). :D I made them out of Mesquite scraps I collected when cutting fence posts on our farm. I always ripped them to width and then cut them a little long, and screwed another board on top, (one screw close to each end), which was my template for the holes, and it also eliminated any splintering or tearout around the holes. After the holes were drilled, I cut cut it to length, taking a little off of each end, which got rid of the screw holes.

I used a product called Liquid Aluminum to fill the "marker lines" that were cut across the surface of the board, and then when it was hard, I filed it flush with the surface, and it looked like silver, for a nice effect on the dark wood. I made the marker pegs from "Real Ivory", (which was legal back then) :rolleyes: that came from a chunk that was given to me by a family friend that had brought it back from Africa.

[Vaughn McMillan]

Wade, my first thought (before reading the whole thread) was "he needs a sharper bit and slower feed speed." I see I wasn't the only one thinking the same. I'll also add another plug for the Drill Doctor (no affiliation, just a customer). Over the years, I've acquired (inherited) drawerfuls of drill bits, but most were dull and worn out back in the 50's and 60's and still are today. I've gotten in the habit of running any twist bit through the Doctor before using it, and now I'm spoiled by using sharp bits every time.

- Vaughn