Boring holes in wood

[JHZR2]

We just refinished our 90 year-old pine floors, and are rearranging our furniture and entertainment equipment. The previous inhabitants of our home long-ago put a bunch of holes in the floors which we had used previously. When they were doing the refinishing we got them all plugged and filled.

Smartly arranging our equipment I think I need to have one three-quarter inch hole and 1/2 inch hole in the floors. The half-inch hole is no big deal, it's the bigger one. I'm going to fill multiple wires through one hole and there's a chance that the three-quarter inch won't be large enough. I did a dry run and a scrap piece of wood and I think I can make it work, but I'm a bit concerned about if I should need more space either when everything comes together or in the future.

I have one of the Irwin three-quarter inch spade type would boring bits. If I commit to a hole of three quarter inch, i'm concerned that I won't be able to board out larger without doing real damage to the floor. Is it possible to open these holes up larger with another spade bit or some other kind of drill bit if, say, I wanted to go from three-quarter inch to 1 inch either now or in the future?

I want to minimize the holes in the floor even though they're out of sight, but I don't necessarily want to buy an expensive boring bit that I don't necessarily need or won't use the future. Can one cleanly and easily remove additional wood after you have a three-quarter inch hole board into flooring???

 

[sdowney717]

get a half moon wood rasp file and you can easily enlarge the hole by hand.

 

[expat]

Plug the hole and then re-bore it.

A spade bit is pretty crude, and my leave a rough edge.
There are better bits available like Forstner bits or Brad points.

 

[2cool]

Why don't you just get a cheap Forstner bit set from HF? The hole will be smoother. If you have to enlarge, the plug and drill would be the way to go. I can't imagine how to hold a larger bit centered in an existing hole without a drill press; and even then it's not good (don't ask me HOW I know)

 

[jcwit]

Originally Posted By: expat
Plug the hole and then re-bore it.

A spade bit is pretty crude, and my leave a rough edge.
There are better bits available like Forstner bits or Brad points.


Dead right!

 

[spasm3]

Will it really be noticeable if you go ahead and drill a 1 inch hole? You will be the only one that knows whether its 3/4 or 1 inch.

a 1 inch forstner bit a home depot. For no more that you will use it, is should work. About 12 bucks.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Diablo-1-in-High-Speed-Steel-Forstner-Bit-FB-007/100098841#.UoF13BDgwm0

Or a set for $16 bucks.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ryobi-8-Piece-Forstner-Bit-Set-A9FS8/202078676#.UoF2wBDgwm0

 

[bepperb]

I think with a Forstner 1" bit and a good enough drill (I'm thinking corded) I could enlarge the hole in one shot without plugging beforehand.

But if it were me I'd either buy a forstner set now, or a irwin speedbor set (easier to use handheld, not able to enlarge a hole though) and not use the spade type bit, which will probably leave you with a rough edge that will make future plugging difficult. If you are doing any work running wiring the speedbor set will pay for itself in an afternoon, and that's assuming you only pay yourself minimum wage.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: expat
Plug the hole and then re-bore it.

A spade bit is pretty crude, and my leave a rough edge.
There are better bits available like Forstner bits or Brad points.


This is what I have.

Risk I have is redoing it. I'm not sure honestly how to refill it, or if I have the tools and supplies to refill.

Can I easily rebore it with one of these better bits without plugging?

What is the best approach to plugging if I were to redrill?

 

[spasm3]

To plug it i would get an oak dowel rod and rough it a bit with sand paper. Wet the edges of the dowel and the hole ( with water). Use gorilla glue and wipe off the excess as the glue expands. After it dries saw is off level with a japanese type flush cutting saw. Sand over and stain/ touch up finish to match and then redrill.

Flush cut saw;
http://www.amazon.com/Shark-Corp-10-2440...ush+cutting+saw

Its going to be easier to drill a large enough hole to start with.

 

[spasm3]

If you drill with the spade and then need to enlarge it, you could try a step drill bit. The set below has the smaller step of 7/8 inch. It will be slow going as these bits are meant for thinner materials than a floor.You might have to drill it from both sides to use one of these bits as the shank might not be long enough.

http://www.harborfreight.com/2-piece-titanium-nitride-coated-high-speed-steel-step-drills-96275.html

 

[expat]

You only need a plug to center your drill bit. Even a tapered, square, plug wedged in the hole will do the job.
If you use that spade bit, run it slowly in reverse with light pressure first.
With luck it might score a clean circle deep enough, without splintering the surface, before you drill as normal through the wood .

 

[JHZR2]

OK thanks very much. I did another test run with scrap wood, and got a fairly smooth result (didnt try the running in reverse trick as I hadnt read that). At least a good enough start that then I could file/sand it down. I also verified that 3/4 is sufficient for our needs...

Though if I have time to stop by HD Ill see if I can get the Forstner bit in a US made variant.

 

[SHOZ]

Drill it larger than you need and put a plastic bushing around the hole. It hides the rough edges and protects the wire too.

 

[Astro14]

Still pretty rough. Fully agree that this is a job for a good set of Forstner bits. Rim-guided bits can also bore holes oversize, if carefully used.

If not HD, might look for a woodworking specialty store like Woodcraft to get your Forstner bits.

 

[JHZR2]

The Diablo line from HD was Made in Austria, so I picked up a 1" bit. Will drill it soon, maybe even this weekend.

Thanks!

 

[JHZR2]

Nice hole!

 

[demarpaint]

^^ Now that's a hole! ^^

 

[spasm3]

Nice, glad you went with the forstner bit. Much smoother and straighter than a spade bit.

 

[JHZR2]

Easier to use too, much finer shavings each pass, and tougher to get caught up. Doesn't rip as much of the inside wood out.

FYI re-drilled a previous hole that had been plugged. Came to realize after the fact that the plug had fallen out halfway through. The bit was gentle enough to remove the wood and not go off center or anything funny.

 

[tom slick]

After reading all of this thread I believe you are correct... There is nothing exciting about those holes in wood