How to drill a large hole in a log. How to drill a hole in wood
Often when working with wood and materials based on it, it becomes necessary to drill an even round hole. You can use a jigsaw or a router, but such a tool is not always at hand or it is simply inconvenient to do the job with them. A ballerina on a tree can make the task easier.
What is a ballerina on wood
Circular adjustable drill "ballerina" - a device that is designed to drill round holes of large diameter. The tool has a simple design. It is a shank with a transverse bar on which movable carriages with cutters are fixed. The rod has a marking, according to which you can set the necessary spread of the incisors relative to the center of the intended hole. A core drill is fixed in the middle of the shank. It serves as a centering element and support for drilling.
In addition to designs with two cutting elements located symmetrically, there are ballerinas with one cutter or even three. In the latter case, they are located on the base in the form of a disc with grooves.
Tool functionality
A high-quality ballerina is made of high-strength steel, which makes it possible to use the device when working with soft and hard wood species.
This tool has an adjustable drilling diameter. This makes it possible to make holes of almost any diameter. The limitation of the drilling range depends on the size of the ballerina. Manufacturers produce fixtures with the following cutter range:
- from 30 to 120 mm;
- from 40 to 200 mm;
- from 40 to 300 mm;
- from 40 to 400 mm.
The maximum drilling diameter is limited by the bar on which the cutters are attached. Minimum - shank thickness.
The ballerina drill can be used in any places where the use of a jigsaw or a hand-held router will be inconvenient. For example, this can be assembled and installed furniture, in which you need to drill a neat hole, taking into account the limited space. Another example is an uneven (curved or concave) surface. It is unlikely that it will work out smoothly and accurately with a jigsaw or a router. It will be difficult to control the tilt of the tool relative to the surface. A ballerina can easily cope with such a task.
Features of working with the tool
The working principle with a circular drill is simple. A hole is drilled with a centering drill, and then the cutters are included in the work. They gradually make a narrow groove, gradually cutting through the material in a circle to the full depth.
The materials used in working with the ballerina are varied: wood, fiberboard, chipboard, MDF, drywall, plastic. One common point - the thickness of the part should be no more than 15-20 millimeters. This parameter is limited by the length of the cutters. Usually the manufacturer indicates the maximum drilling depth on the packaging. If you try to drill thicker material, you may experience ragged edge problems.
Runout is typical for single-cut tools. This is caused by a lack of balance in relation to the longitudinal axis of the drilling. Runout will be felt especially when cutting large diameter holes. Cut holes with a drill should be at low to medium speeds. When working on a drilling machine, such problems do not arise.
Also, inconvenience during work can be caused by a laminated or veneered surface. After passing through the decorative layer, drilling proceeds without problems.
A feature of the circular drill can be considered the ability to adjust the diameter. The distance between the incisors can be set on a scale on the bar or more precisely using a vernier caliper. This is convenient if you need to make a hole without gaps for a pipe or a round piece.
The spacing of the cutters from the center can be adjusted separately. It is necessary to position the cutting parts as accurately as possible. This will eliminate unnecessary effort during work and extend the life of the tool.
How to choose the right one and what to look for
Choosing a good quality circular drill is easy enough. The main thing is to know the main points to which you should pay attention first of all, but also not to lose sight of the little things.
Construction, a very important point: a ballerina on a tree comes with one chisel or two or more. For frequent use, it is better to purchase an option with two or three cutting elements. It is easier to work with such devices and the quality of the processing performed will be at an acceptable level.
It will not be superfluous to be able to replace individual parts. Inexpensive circular drills can have a one-piece shank with a fixed center drill and rod.
Metal, strength and ability to withstand working loads depend on its quality. Quality tools are made from high-strength steel or alloys. Shank and tool holders are machine-shaped. The rod is usually stamped and made of the same metal.
Low-cost options often use soft metal or alloys that can be brittle. Under load, parts can deform or collapse. Such a tool will not last long and it will also be difficult to achieve accuracy from it.
Workmanship, the main feature is the absence of backlash and distortions. All parts must fit together and securely fastened with fixing screws.
The markings of the bar of a quality ballerina are stamped. Sometimes the divisions are highlighted with bright paint for better visibility.
Cutters, high-quality cutting elements are made of hardened tool steel. On the holders, they are fastened with rivets or using soldering. Solid cutters with holders (made of the same metal) quickly become dull and are not durable.
The manufacturer, when choosing any tool and consumables, preference should be given to well-known and long-proven brands and brands. The most common are Topfix, Stayer, Irwin, Strum.
Buying an adjustable rotary drill for home use, or drilling multiple holes if necessary, pays off. This eliminates the need to purchase an expensive tool that may only be needed a few times.
To perform well even such a simple procedure as drilling holes in wood products, you need the right mode and the appropriate tool. When choosing a drill for wood, you should take into account the characteristics of both the material being processed and the hole that needs to be made. On the modern market, there is a wide variety of drills designed to make holes in wood, so choosing a tool for solving certain technological problems will not be difficult.
Main types
The main parameter, depending on which the division of wood drills into different types is carried out, is the design of the working part. On this basis, wood drilling tools can belong to one of the following categories.
FeathersDrills of this type are used to make holes in wood with an average diameter of up to 25 mm. It is advisable to use such a tool in cases where not too strict requirements are imposed on the accuracy of the geometric parameters, as well as on the quality of the holes. Among the most significant advantages of pen drills are low cost and ease of maintenance.
Core tools are designed for drilling large holes. In terms of their design, wood crowns resemble a metal glass with a shank, on the working end of which cutting teeth are made. When such a drill rotates, its cutting teeth, interacting with the workpiece, cut a circle of the required diameter on its surface.
Spiral
Twist drills for wood are also called screw. Their working part resembles a screw. They are used for drilling small holes in wood. Due to the special design of the screw-type drills, when used, chips are effectively removed from the processing area. The twist drill also provides high precision and exceptional machining quality.
These are tools, with the help of which, in products made of wood, they create not through, but blind holes with a perfectly flat bottom. In addition, if you use such a wood drill with additional accessories, you can drill a square hole in a wooden product.
With the help of such tools, it is possible not only to drill wood, but also to make grooves of various configurations in wood products. Drills of this type are most often used in cases where it is required to perform complex processing of wooden parts, and in order to drill a regular hole, use a twist drill, feather or crown tool.
Milling drills are designed for drilling a round hole and its subsequent boring to the desired shape. Used when working with wood and thin metal
The shank of drills designed for wood processing is usually cylindrical, but manufacturers also produce them with other shank configurations. So, on the modern market you can buy drills for woodworking, the shanks of which can be:
- triangular, optimally suited for fixing in a three-jaw chuck (torque is ideally transmitted to a tool with a triangular shank, and even very significant loads are not able to turn it in the chuck);
- hex (it is possible to install tools with such shanks in both a standard and a three-jaw chuck, but at the same time there is a very high risk of turning the drill when exposed to serious loads);
- tapered (tools with this type of shank are used mainly for equipping production equipment);
- square (rarely used shank form, which, however, provide high stability of the tool against turning in the chuck).
Areas of use and design features
As mentioned above, in order to properly drill a product made of wood, it is very important to choose the right drill bit correctly. With this choice, it is necessary to take into account both the characteristics of the material being processed (in particular, its hardness) and the type of hole that needs to be made. That is why it is very important for home craftsmen and specialists whose work is related to the processing of wooden blanks to understand both the varieties and the functionality of wood drills.
Spiral (screw) drills
The spiral, or screw, drill can be produced with two types of working tips: conical and with special cutters. If we compare both types in terms of their effectiveness, then it is practically on the same level. However, they differ in the load absorbed by the tool during wood processing. So, in the design of the working head of a drill with a scorer, there is a jumper, which causes significant loads transmitted to the entire tool body. They are devoid of such a drawback, which, in addition, are much better centered on the surface of the workpiece. The cone head enters the material immediately, and the drill does not drift away. Meanwhile, twist drills with cutters, due to the peculiarities of their design, allow you to create holes in the tree with higher accuracy.
Drilling wood with a spiral tool allows you to get precise and accurate holes with even edges and a smooth surface of the inner walls. You can use tools of this type for drilling wood of any species and almost any hardness, as well as materials made on its basis (chipboard, MDF, plywood, etc.). If the drill is buried in the workpiece at a low speed, there will be no need for frequent removal of the tool from the hole being created to remove accumulated chips.
When designing and manufacturing screw drills, much attention is paid to their geometric parameters. This, in particular, includes the angle of inclination of the helical groove, as well as the ratio of the dimensions of the elements of the working part in the cross section. The angle of inclination of the helical groove and the degree of roughness of its working surface affect the efficiency of chip removal during machining. The cross-sectional geometry of the working part determines the strength characteristics of the drill.
The most vulnerable in terms of breakage are long wood drills, the diameter of which does not exceed 3 mm. The risk of breakage increases with the wrong selection of drilling modes, as well as with careless use of the tool. All wood drills that are long should be handled with great care. A long drill, with any cross-sectional size, is used to create holes 20–30 times deeper than their diameter.
The Lewis auger drills are also classified as spiral drills, which are used to make deep holes of significant diameter in wood. The structural elements of which such auger drill consists are a massive spiral (auger) encircling the central rod of the tool.
In order for such a drill to be immersed in the workpiece at a given point, there is a threaded tip on its working part. Since the outer surface of the auger is finished to a mirror finish, the inner walls of the hole to be made are also perfectly smooth. Another distinctive design feature of this woodworking tool is the small slope angle of the groove through which chips are removed from the machining area.
The spiral type tool for drilling wood is available in a wide range of working diameters. If it is necessary to drill holes of large diameter, you should carefully consider the choice of equipment with which the drill will be used. In these cases, it is necessary to use a low-speed device, and not a conventional drill, which is not designed to work with a large diameter tool.
Pen type drills
Inexpensive pen drills can be used for large, deep holes that are not too demanding on dimensional accuracy and quality. They are produced in the range of diameters 10–60 mm and various (including considerable) lengths. If the pen drill is not long enough to make a deep hole in the tree, it can be extended using a special extension. However, when using such a device, which allows you to increase the processing depth by another 30 cm, you should be extremely careful, since the junction of the tool and the extension is not very rigid.
When drilling holes in wood with feather drills, you should also not exert strong pressure on the tool, which is a rather fragile structure.
Forstner drills
Only a Forstner drill can handle such a difficult technological task as drilling flat-bottom holes in wood products. Its cutting edges are located on the rim and side surface. Thanks to this design, the fibers of the wood being cut are trimmed before the main blades of the drill come into contact with them, which contributes to obtaining a hole with even edges and a smooth inner surface.
The article will be useful to a person who is planning this work for the first time and who has a "bitter" experience of labor intensity.
I ran into a problem - to drill a thick wall, consisting of several layers, namely: a concrete block 200 mm thick, a sleeper 240 mm, plastered 80 millimeters on each side, plus an "air cushion" of 100 millimeters is provided between the block and the sleeper , not less. Somewhere I can be wrong with the dimensions, but measuring the thickness in the doorway, the wall was 730 millimeters.
There is nothing terrible, as it were, work and work, to throw the water supply into the room attached to the house and that's all, but the difficulty lies in drilling various materials, plus drilling is available only from one side, from the extension.
In fact: plaster, block, sleeper, plaster. In addition to a punch, you will also need a drill with a drill for wood.
Orders of such a plan are quite rare, once every five years, so to speak, and the tool, accordingly, will need rarely used.
To drill holes for twenty polypropylene pipes (diameter \u003d 21 mm) I need:
1. a drill for a hammer drill with a diameter of at least 22 mm (or better 25, do we remember that polypropylene expands on hot water supply?), And a length of at least 300 mm, here is the thickness of the plaster and concrete block. Have you ever drilled a tie with a drill? .. you go nuts ..;
2. drill for wood, of the same diameter, at least 650 mm long, here I take into account the thickness of the plaster and block conventionally drilled with a drill, plus the "air cushion" and plus the sleeper itself;
3.a drill for a punch with a diameter of 12, a length of more than 730, here is the full thickness of the wall, (remember, yes, it is only possible to drill from one side? Yes, and towards each other the holes of horseradish will coincide with two will be different).
Drilling a wall immediately with a large-diameter drill is very laborious and time-consuming, it is much easier and faster to drill with a thin one, and then expand the hole with a larger one along the guide. I use this method up to several passes with different drill bits in ascending order, depending on the required diameter in the end. The "old-fashioned" method is very effective, you save physical strength, and what is important in my case is the time - work at first glance "the cat cried", just take out two pipes, BUT the wall ...
So, went to the store, not familiar with the prices for the tool I need? The price tag for drills for a hammer drill, along with the length and increase in diameter, is growing not just proportionally, but catastrophically, however, the same is true with regard to screw drills.
Here are some screenshots of the price tags:
Okay, huh? And this is in our province! I wonder what is the cost in regional and capital cities?
An alternative to a long twist drill is a first one, a condition of suitability - you buy an extension cord, one is missing, you take two, since it is easy to connect together. I did just that, I already had one extension cord.
As a result, I received the required tool for a reasonable price, but you cannot explain to the customer that the tool is expensive, he is not interested, to put it mildly. Visibility is just two half-inch pipes pulled out, and how you did it, your problem. The bottom line is that an identical order, as I wrote above, will probably fire in the next five-year period, and the tool will be idle.
Step by step how I drilled:
1. from the side of the attached room, drilled with a 12 mm drill with a perforator, plaster and block;
2. expanded the hole with a 25 mm drill;
3. drilled a sleeper with a 25 mm perforated drill;
4. then again installing a long thin drill drilled through the plaster at the exit;
5. drill 25 mm., On the other hand, towards the expanded diameter.
Output:
In order to (one-time, or not one-time) drill a concrete wall, say a meter thick and 32 in diameter, it is not necessary to buy an expensive drill, but one meter 12-16 mm in diameter is needed. The second in ascending order, albeit 25, but already half a meter long, and the next passage is thirty-second, but again half a meter, you drill towards them. This is me, for example, to convey the idea in an accessible way, variations on occasion.
And one more thing: with feather drills, with a gradual increase in diameter, the option does not work, you drill immediately with a wide feather, the price for them is penny in comparison with drills, and I have not met wooden walls of great thickness.
Two useful additions, naturally based on personal experience:
First:
Being engaged in the installation of pipes, in addition to the water supply system, if necessary, I also install the sewerage system. It is no secret that the diameter of the pipes here is larger, from 40 to 150 millimeters, I do not have a drilling rig with diamond bits, so I fulfill orders using the same perforator.
I proceed as follows: I mark a circle of the required diameter on the wall, drill holes along its perimeter with a thin long drill, then, according to the same principle that I have covered above, I expand the diameter of each of the holes to the maximum available in the arsenal. Then, replacing the drill with a spatula, and switching the hammer mode to chiseling, I get rid of all that is superfluous. So ... I agree that the work is not pleasant, but this is just one of the disadvantages of editing. It should be borne in mind that this process is relevant with a small wall thickness, say a maximum of 300 millimeters, with a much greater thickness, you put the customer in front of the fact: ordering a drilling rig is a device, as noted above, using crowns with diamond tips. The operation is not cheap, but with all the "breadth" of choice ... the customer pays, then we go in with the installation.
Second:
Let's say you do the first step on your own: you drill a concrete wall, trying to get a hole in diameter of 140 millimeters, and you have a "surprise" in the form of reinforcement (usually in the walls of panel houses) .. You can't take it with a drill, electric arc welding will help you lack, a grinder, which is problematic to use, access is difficult, you have to pant, creating access ... in short, I do not advise you to bother.
Exit: cut by welding or gas cutting. There's no such thing? Find it! As in that saying: "Better to lose a day, but then fly in five minutes!"
Questions, additions: in the column - comments, and I have everything for this today, with respect
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We continue to deal with the equipment with which you can work with wood. In general, a tree can be drilled with different drills, in the last article we analyzed the efficiency, figured out how and where it is recommended to use it.
There are a great many types of drills for wood, and very often it happens that they are ideal for some work, but not at all for others. Therefore, a home craftsman must understand how and how to drill a tree. Today's article will be about a twist drill, also called a spiral drill.
It is on wood and will help out in cases where it is necessary to drill a deep hole. For example, you have a blockhouse through which you need to stretch a water pipe or bundle of cables. And only a twist drill can handle thick wood. Of course, nothing prevents you from trying to use the usual one, however, as I said, it is inconvenient for them to drill and it is not a fact that they will be able to do the work to the end.
As you can see, the tip is made in the form of a thin thread, which helps to perfectly screw in the drill at the initial stage of drilling. Chips are ejected at the expense of the helical edges (like any drill or bead), so drilling is easy. The shank is most often 6-sided, so the tool is securely mounted in the chuck of a drill or screwdriver.
It is necessary to work with such a drill at low speeds, therefore it is best to use with speed control or a powerful screwdriver with a high tightening torque.
But it is best, if possible, to use a slow-speed drill with a speed of up to 800 (I recommend a rebir drill).
The most common use of such equipment is considered to be the fastening of logs. We are often visited by workers who collect log cabins and they buy "spirals" with a diameter of 25-28-30 mm and a length of 450-600 mm. As you know, in order to fasten the logs together, you need to drill them from above and insert iron reinforcement into the hole made. It is very important that the hole is drilled deeply, which is why a long drill is needed.
The length range is as follows:
- 220 mm
- 450 mm
- 600 mm (most popular).
To make holes in a tree with a diameter of 30 mm to a depth of 600 mm, you need a very powerful power tool, so we recommend using a drill of at least 1000 watts (and that is hardly enough), as well as screwdrivers with a torque of at least 36 Nm. Of course, the most preferable option is a low-speed drill, which has a power of 1200 watts, for such work you cannot imagine better. It is very powerful and can easily roll such a thick drill through solid wood.
The prices for such "consumables" are rather big, at least, it is much more expensive than Forstner's pen and drills. For example, 22 * \u200b\u200b600 costs around 300 rubles. And the thickest come with a price tag for a piece of rubles. They are taken only when you need to drill a hole in the log house for a sewer pipe, etc.
However, if you consider that the drill is powerful and heavy, it performs specific work, then you should not bother about the price. Because all the same, nothing else can drill through 3 logs at once.
Drilling a hole with a feather drill
At first glance, when there is a question about how to drill a hole in wood, most people do not have doubts: just think, wood is not metal and it is easy to drill. Yes, this is partly true if you want to make not a hole in the wood, but a banal hole. And in order to properly and efficiently drill a hole in wood, you need to heed the advice of the craftsmen for the processing of wooden structures, who are also called wood modelers.
Rules for drilling holes in wood
The rules are definitely simple, but following them will help you save your time, nerves and consumables in the form of wooden blanks and ready-made parts. So, what you need to pay attention to:
- Before drilling, you need to accurately mark the place for the hole.
- Choose the right cutting tool. This refers to drills for working with wood, countersinks, pen drills with a drilling depth stop and ring cutters of the required diameter.
- When drilling, the tool (basically a drill) must be kept strictly vertical.
- Use drills designed for a specific material only.
- Wooden parts must be firmly fixed in a vice.
- The cutting tool should press firmly but with even pressure.
Drilling techniques in wood
Screw head hole countersink
Let's start drilling simple holes for a screw or. Usually these holes are small in diameter and it is not difficult to drill them. The only thing that needs to be done is to countersink the hole before drilling, that is, to unfold the surface of the wood under the screw head. To do this, firmly fix the wood and make a recess in it with a countersink slightly larger than the height of the screw head or self-tapping screw. After that, firmly pressing the drill of the required diameter to the surface, drill the hole you need.
There are situations when you need to drill a "blind" hole for a finger joint. To do this, you need to use a feather drill with a stop, which is put on the drill according to the size of the drilling depth.
It is more difficult to make holes in large-diameter wood, since the use of conventional cylindrical drills cleaves the surface of the material, spoiling its appearance. To successfully cope with this task, pen drills and annular cutters are used.
Drilling with feather drills
Drill bit
For a successful pen drill, hold the wood firmly in a vise and press the tip of the drill bit against the surface of the material. Then drill (at low speed) the hole until the tip of the drill appears at the bottom of the wood. Stop drilling and remove the pen drill from the hole, then turn the wood over, hold it in a vice and drill the hole on the other side. This will prevent the bar from splitting when drilling.
Drilling with an annular cutter
Annular cutter for wood
An annular cutter is used for drilling holes in wood with a diameter of more than 38 mm. Drilling begins with a small-diameter pilot drill that is structurally connected to the cutter in one piece. This lead serves as a guide for the annular cutter.
Here are some tips from professionals to help you when drilling holes in wood:
a) for vertical drilling, you can set the square parallel to the drill;
b) if you often have to do carpentry work, purchase a special stand for a drill, which allows you to hold the tool strictly vertically and controls the depth of the holes;
c) be sure to use a vice when drilling to avoid wood splitting;
d) so that the outlet does not have chips, place an unnecessary block under the wooden part and drill them together. This is especially applicable when making holes in a thin board;
e) if you do not have a drilling depth gauge, wrap the drill in the place of limitation with bright electrical tape or molar tape.
