Lining Up Counterbores
I'm sorry to admit that I've gotten ahead of myself
more than once when working on a project. The trouble usually occurs when the
end is almost in sight. I'm anxious to get on to something else and make a mistake.
Just the other day, I drilled
the through holes for some carriage bolts, and then realized I needed to counterbore
the holes so the washers and nuts sat below the surface of the wood.
 I tried
to drill the counterbore with a spade bit, but it chattered and skipped, and the
counterbore wound up slightly out of line with the bolt hole. If I'd had a Forstner
bit in my tool box, I could have used it to correct this problem, but all I had
was the spade bit. Fortunately, the workpiece was a short length of 2x4 and was
easily replaced.
The second time around, I did what I should've done
in the first place: start with the counterbore. That way, you can use the centerpoint
of the larger hole to center the bit when you drill the through hole.
|
 I've got stop collars
for my most commonly used twist bits, but for spade bits, I just stick a short
piece of masking tape at the proper depth. (If you don't have tape handy, you
can mark the bit with a felt-tipped marker, but tape is a lot easier to see.)
Hopefully, these simple tips
will serve as a handy reminder that there's a proper sequence for doing things.
Follow that sequence, and you'll get much better results. (And get your projects
done quicker, too.) |
