Hi all. I am making some angled holes. I am using my drill press table set to 30 degrees, the drill press is on its slowest setting (620rpm), and I am using a 2.5in forstner bit. I know I need to be patient but its taking forever to make a single hole; right now I am only practicing on 3/4in scrap. I am applying slow even pressure the best I can, but the bit still binds up.
Anyone have any hints or tricks to make this process easier and faster? I was wondering if I should cut a smaller flat hole and then try to go over it with the right size angled cut.
How deep are you cutting the hole? 2.5" is quite a bit of material to drill.
Now my question would be are you going to drill all the way through the board? If this is the case, I would use a hole saw instead of a forstner bit. A hole saw will have quite a bit less friction so it wont stall as easily.
If you are making a pocket (not drilling all the way through), then I would do the following:
The next way I would do it is to make a jig by cutting a 2.5" circle and use a router to follow the circle and cut into your part which is placed at a 30 degree angle with respect to your jig. I am going to have to learn how to get drawings on the web so I could show you how this could be done.
Definitely a forstner bit is not suited for that type of task. Doing this Saw Horse I used a jig in hardwood, about 2" thick with a hole in the desired angle…....I used a regular "hole saw" with good and clean results. also a "Plug" cutter could work at your drill press.
I forgot to mention: When I was doing the firt hole at the jig, I used a larger guide bit on the Hole-saw, so it guides the 2.5" sawing. Let me know if you need more specific drawings
Is the bit spinning in the chuck? I actually modified my bits with flat edges so they would not spin in the chuck while cutting. This seemed to improve my cuts when using larger bits.
I did a little experiment. I used the bit straight on the wood and it made a nice round flat hole with no binding or stopping. Then I took out some smaller hole saws I had. For what ever reason (I am guessing the teeth are making the difference) the hole saw works much better on the angle. Thanks for all the help!
You might try putting a 30 degree wedge of scrap of the same wood species on top of the piece you are drilling, so that the bit is in contact 360 around the bit.
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