drilling wood

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Drilling wood is quite easy as long as you have the correct tools, which do not need to be expensive! Wood can easily be drilled with Brace and Bit or similar hand powered machine. With the availability of cheap power tools it is unlikely that anyone would use a brace and bit and so a good cordless drill or power drill are preferred.

In my quest to find the best possible tools for doing specific jobs I can say that I have tried almost every type of drill bit imaginable. There are several types of wood bit available and some are better than others, in fact some are damn right useless!

Brad point bits or Lip & spur bits as they are sometimes called are suitable for drilling small holes up to about 10mm with little effort, for small neat holes with little damage to the surrounding area these drills are preferred.

Forstner bits are marketed as " a rapid way to drill large holes with ease", I purchased a set of these like the one in the picture (titanium nitrite coated) and was very disappointed with their performance! I was drilling through joists with them and found them very difficult to use and reverted back to my flat wood bits.

Expansive bits are useful as one drill bit can be adjusted to several different sizes so that you do not need to purchase a full set of bits, If purchasing one of these steer clear of the really cheap ones as it will probably not last long. Go very slowly with one of these also as they are not as sturdy as solid bits.

Auger bits have been around for many years and have stood the test of time, these bits would often of been used in a brace and bit but are still common today. A set of these can be quite heavy so consider flat wood bits instead.

Multi Angle drill bits are probably the newest drill design for a long time, these are sharp and can be used in different directions as opposed to a normal drill which can only cut going forwards. These bits make light work of rapid wood removal and are great for fitting locks etc. A good set of these would be a welcome addition to any toolbox.

Flat wood bits are probably the most common type of wood drill, probably because of their price and the fact that they work far better than most of the other wood drills except Multi Angle! For drilling through thick timber joists these are great, they don't take up much room in your tool box either.

Wood is best drilled at slow speed and care must be taken when drilling through the work piece as it is easy to splinter the piece by forcing the drill through. A good way to prevent splintering is to drill almost all of the way through the piece and when the point begins to show on the exit side, withdraw the drill and finish off the hole from that side, so that you drill from both sides and meet in between. Do not drill wood on high speed or you could burn out the bit. Never use hammer action when drilling wood.

When drilling through joists for cabling etc. a right angle drill is very useful as you cannot normally drill through joists easily as the length of a standard drill and drill bit are too long to fit between the joists, A right angle drill will easily fit as it only takes up a few inches and is ideal in confined spaces.