Advice for creating a 2 3/4" counterbore

[Peter Schussheim]

Greetings friends,

I am in the process of building a workbench using the Benchcrafted "classic" plans, which include their leg vise hardware. As part of the hardware installation for the vise, there is a need to create a 2 3/4" counterbore around 9/16" deep for the vise screw bushing. Unfortunately, I don't have either of the recommended tools, which are an appropriately sized drill or a power router. For reference, the installation instructions are provided here on page 20.

I've found a forstner bit that would work but it is around $140 and I suspect I won't use it after this build. My other idea is to use a smaller diameter forstner bit to drill small holes that make up the proper diameter for the bushing. I would be most appreciative for advice on how to go about this.

thank you,
Peter

[Bill Dufour]

Do you have a drill press? Without that I would drill overlapping holes with a forstner bit and clean up with a chisel. IR may help to drill a hole clear through a scrap of wood and clamp or screw this to the workpiece as a guide after most of the holes are drilled. Drills tend to jump over into overlapping holes.
My experience drilling to depth is marking the drill with tape, ink or a lock collar is they all shift. Most accurate way is to slip a pipe or scrap of wood, of the correct length, with a hole through it over the bit. This prevents over drilling.
Just realized make that drill guide of the needed thickness and it will do both for you at at the same time
Bill D

If you have access to a drill press a flycutter would work well.

[Rob Luter]

I might use a 2 3/4" hole saw to establish the outside diameter and hog the insides out with the Forstener bit.

[Jay Rasmussen]

Can you make a pattern and use a router with a guide bushing?

[Jonathan Jung]

Second the use of a router using a template made with a hole saw, if a forstner bit is not available.

[Jim Becker]

I'll plle on...router and template is the way to go here and even if one focuses primarily on hand-tool woodworking, a basic, variable speed router is nice to have for "those times" when it's more cost effective overall than buying something like a $140 forstner bit and doing "non fine woodworking" tasks. You might even find a good used one on one of the various online marketplaces local to you.

[Tom M King]

If you absolutely don't want to buy a router, buy a Harbor Freight hole saw and clean out the inside with chisels. There are plenty of bits cheaper than the 140 dollar one.

[Peter Schussheim]

Thank you for all the replies and suggestions. I just did a test using a similar diameter hole saw on a piece of scrap and based on those good results, I will use a hole saw to cut the perimeter and remove the waste with a chisel. I agree that having a router on hand would be far more useful than buying a specialty forstner bit for this job.

Again, all of the responses are much appreciated.

[Tom M King]

One thing about woodworking, there are Many ways to do the same job.

[Dan Cameron]

Thank you for all the replies and suggestions. I just did a test using a similar diameter hole saw on a piece of scrap and based on those good results, I will use a hole saw to cut the perimeter and remove the waste with a chisel. I agree that having a router on hand would be far more useful than buying a specialty forstner bit for this job.

Again, all of the responses are much appreciated.

Peter, you can buy a hole saw kit for under $10 on ebay that has 8 different sizes from 3/4 to 2 1/2. Use these in succession after your 2 3/4 hole saw to save a whole lot of chisel work.

[Peter Schussheim]

Peter, you can buy a hole saw kit for under $10 on ebay that has 8 different sizes from 3/4 to 2 1/2. Use these in succession after your 2 3/4 hole saw to save a whole lot of chisel work.

thanks Dan, that is a great idea!

[John Lanciani]

What's your location? I have a 2 7/8" forstner bit that you are welcome to borrow.

[Rich Engelhardt]

If you have access to a drill press a flycutter would work well.

I'm with Bill. That's what I'd grab.

[roger wiegand]

A 2-3/4" forstner bit is $34 at Woodcraft. Probably cheaper at Harbor Freight. I'd just buy one and move on. Don't know how old you are, but I've used my cheap big bits multiple times over the last decades, enough to make them worth having. For the commonly used sizes it's well worthwhile to buy a high quality bit, but a cheapie will do the job quickly and well for once in a while applications, especially if you learn how to sharpen one.

[Curt Harms]

I too would go for the Forstner bit, I think it would leave the cleanest hole bottom unless that doesn't matter. MLCS has a 2 3/4" for $30.95 with free shipping. Prices do increase with size. I bought a set of 16 - 1/4" to 2 1/8" from those guys years ago. I'm sure they'd dull quickly in a heavy use environment but for occasional use they're fine.