# Drilling 35mm hinge cup holes w/o a drill press



## jstewart

I need to install some Blum hinges that require drilling a 35mm hole in some cabinet doors, but I don't have a drill press. I've noticed that the warnings on most 35mm forstner bits say to only use the bit in a press or with a drill guide attached to a hand drill. I also don't have a drill guide (and don't want to buy one since I will probably spring for a drill press sometime in the late summer or fall this year). Can somebody tell me how dangerous it is to use a forstner bit in a hand drill? Is it a safety issue or simply an issue of the resulting quality? (These cabinets are just garage storage cabinets, so quality isn't my #1 concern in this case.)


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## dennis

First make sure your will is current. Clamp the door down. Hold drill with both hands, braced against your body so the spinning drill dosn't twist your wrist. It should be OK.


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## mrtrim

set up a video camera first , itll make a great blog lol


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## dalec

I had to purchase a 35 mm forstner bit for a single hinge remounting and do not have a drill press. It was as far as I could antiicpate a one-time use for the forstner bit. I was repairing/replacing a hinge on a friends cabinet door and did not want to mess it up. After some thinking, I decided to be do it right and to buy an inexpensive guide from Rockler. The guide cost $12.

I believe I could have done the job without the guide, but feel the guide allows for a margin for better quality drilling and in hindsight, additional safety. The forstner bit is very much like a router bit, sharp edges that can take a big gouge out of something or someone.

If you are going to drill more than a few holes, I think the guide will give you some improved control which may make all the difference.

Take care using the bit.

Dalec


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## mrtrim

i think you can buy a plastic one holer from home depot for about 5 bucks . stitches are probably 100.00 ea .


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## DaveHerron

You could clamp some wood guides around the hold to start the hole.


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## gizmodyne

This is the rockler guide. Seems like a good bet. You could make your own by drilling into a 1/4" scrap and then attaching an edge guide or vise versa. Though this is for a router, if yoy could use the one hole to guide the other.


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## motthunter

If you have a good hand, you can actually do it with a good hand drill. I have done that in a pinch when my old press was smoking instead of drilling.


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## dalec

John's suggestion about using or making a guide is great. The guide would bring some added safety along with a way to replicate your drill bit placement for consistent alignment.

Dalec


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## JohnGray

For a guide why not drill a 35mm hole in a 2×4 or some scrap in the drill press and then clamp it over where you want the hole and use the hole drilled in the board for a guide. If that makes the bottom of the guide hole to hard to see for lining up drill the hole a little past the edge of the guide so you have a better view.


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## GaryK

John - I thought of that, but how would he drill the 35mm hole in the 2×4 without a guide or drill press? 

Got a chicken/egg thing going on.


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## tenontim

I use forstner bits all the time in my cordless drill. Forstner bits don't take a very big bite while they're drilling. Like some one else said, just make sure the piece is clamped. If you have an electric drill with the additional handle, you can do it that way, for more control.


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## jstewart

I actually shelled out for a drill press. I put it to use just last weekend, drilling the hinge cups in 4 doors. They all came out perfectly. I like the drill, but I really love the Blum 35mm 120 deg full overlay hinges. They had so much adjustability that making a mistake was almost difficult.


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## kshipp

I also have used the forstner bits in a hand-held drill. I have Porter-Cable bits and I didn't find it to be a problem at all. I think the biggest problem is keeping the straight but you can look at how much of the bit is sticking out of the wood and make sure that is even around the bit. Of course clamping the workpiece is a good idea and be careful.


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## FredG

jstewart,

Free hand Forstner bits. Expensive, but they do exist.


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## niki

If you have this kind of drill stand….





















Regards
niki


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## motthunter

a really cool option. You also can spread peanut butter over the area you want drilled then let a mouse chew out the whole. The challenge is to get a mouse with an eye for accuracy… Don't get a one eyed mouse as they have a problem with depth perception.. You don't want the whole to be too deep.

I like this idea you show. I can see other applications for it.. Thanks.


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## niki

I'm installing "Euro hinges" only 13 years (3 kitchens, a few toilets and bathrooms cabinets and a few wardrobes with some 6 feet long doors) and never had a problem of accuracy…

The only accuracy needed is the 22.5mm from the edge (and even that, is not an "Iron rule") if the material thickness is more than 18 mm, you have to add it (as you can see it written on my jig because I use the Euro hinges also with 1" or 1¼" oak cabinets.

The hole depth should be at least 12mm but it can be more…usually you have 18mm thickness so you have 6mm (almost ¼") for "Ooopses".

The holes location is not important at all, I can put them anywhere (the standard is 100mm from the top or bottom edge) and because of my installation technique the door will always be straight with the frame or whatever I want….

This is all the beauty of the Euro Hinges, you don't have to be super accurate, everything is "adjustable"...

The "Big guys" are using the "System 32" but not everybody can afford it…I think…

BTW - nice idea with the peanut butter and the mouse 

niki


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## LoneRider

I have used another product from Rockler that I really like:


I used to be extreemly loyal to Woodcraft, but I am about 55/45 now being really impressed with the guys at the local (~30miles away) Rockler.

chgeers,
Tom


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## niki

Mybe you can buy this DP $57.50
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000L15GP2?smid=A1ZVZKE57N64BJ&tag=nextag-tools-tier4-20&linkCode=asn

As for using a hand drill, you can see a short video here…I don't agree with his method of screwing the hinge to the door…I use a different method that ensures that the hinge will be at 90° to the door…
http://www.seehawk.co.uk/handyman/blog/2007/07/install-concealed-hinge-eg-cupboard.html

niki


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## mbike1356

there is a little plastic guid home depot sells for about 5 bucks. It works just fine it locates th position of th brad point for the forstner biy. Make sure your door is clamped securly and use a sharp bit. work slowly and practice on ascrap of wood, just take precautions for safety. This ain't rocket surgery,


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## hasbeen99

I've got a fair number of 35mm hinges to install on my current project, and I'm also lacking a drill press. I like many of the ideas suggested here-thanks! I'm especially intrigued with the router jig.


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## boboswin

Look around for one of these guides.

You can rig a jig to the end of it for your hinges.

Bob


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## PPK

I know this post is pretty much ancient, but you are all overthinking it. I've used a super fancy automatic machine by Blum that clamps, bores and releases with the push of a couple buttons. Now that I don't work at a cabinet shop anymore, I have a plain old cordless drill with a 35mm (1-3/8") forstner bit. I don't use a guide at all. Just mark the hole location, drill till the top of the bit is flush with the wood, and move on to the next hole. The hinge drops in perfectly. I have never wrenched my hands, never bored thru the other side… nothing. Lol… Also, I own the jog pictured above. Not worth the $30…


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## firefighterontheside

I do the same. No problem. How am I gonna put a big cabinet door on my drill press anyway?


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## 000

When I first started out I didn't know anything about forstner bits. I used to rout them out with a hole cut out in a board and the router would go around inside the hole.
Talk about being green, that was when you learned the hard way before the internet.


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## PPK

Lol, gotcha. Forstner bits are great. Unless they are dull. Then you might as well be turning a stick on a log to start a fire old fashioned way… they only are good for generating heat!


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## CharlesNeil

i have the one Lone Rider shows from Rockler, it does do well


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## muleskinner

I must be doing something wrong because I've been drilling out Euro hinges for several years freehand with a forstner bit, a battery drill and a home made disposable templet. Never considered it to be anything but the practical way to do it.


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## Loren

You can make a router pattern. Rockler also sells
a relatively inexpensive solution for a hand drill.

I would recommend you get a drill press though. Drilling
these holes and many others is much easier with one.


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