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  1. #1
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    Default Drilling for 25mm dowel

    G'day all
    I am a bit of a newbie to woodwork and lacking some knowledge. I am making a simple frame for a friend of mine who does weaving. It involves inserting a number of 25mm dowel pegs into a rectangular frame. I don't own a drill press and I am hoping to get some advice on the best way to drill the holes (by hand)so the dowels fit tight. I am have tried both an auger bit and spade bit but both seem to create a hole that it sloppy. It does not seem to matter if I use a cordless drill or brace and bit.

    Thanks in advance

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  3. #2
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    Default

    How tight a fit are you after? Do you still want the holes to be removable by hand?

  4. #3
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    Drilling by hand often results in less than ideal holes.

    However, as you have a brace try using an adjustable bit. This device allows you fine tune the diameter of the hole.

    Irwin adjustable bit
    Nothing succeeds like a budgie without a beak.

  5. #4
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    Another approach is to successively grind away a small amount on the sides of a spade bit and trial drill the hole.

  6. #5
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    When using a brace it can help to clamp a bit of scrap wood on top that you drill through first and this holds the auger bit nice and steady as it goes through the work piece. Might also be worth measuring you auger bit and dowel with some calipers to see if the width is a good match as what is advertised on the packaging can just be an approximation.

  7. #6
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    I've always done this with a good quality Forstner bit , e.g. Colt

    Useful trick if you're buying shop-made dowel material (e.g. Bunnies) - drill a hole using your bit of choice in a piece of scrap timber, take it along with you, then rummage through their stack of dowels until you find a length that is a good fit in the test hole. There's a surprising variability against nominal diameter.....

  8. #7
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    Default

    And a '25' mm bit might really be a 1" bit... Which is 25.4mm [emoji849]



    Russ

  9. #8
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    Default

    Hmm, I will have to check that. )

  10. #9
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    Default

    I will be gluing them but still want them to be tight fitting so they are all straight (plumb) on the frame.

  11. #10
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    Cool Thanks for these tips

    Thanks to everyone for the the various tips and advice. I will be chasing up an adjustable bit and using the scrap piece to keep the bit steady. In the meantime, I am going to drill the holes at 22mm diam, scribe a line around the dowels at the depth of the hole, and pare the dowels to that gauge line until they just fit the 22mm hole. Bit labour intensive but I think it will get the job done.

  12. #11
    Join Date
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    They're a bit pricey but the TCT forstner bits from Timbecon are really excellent. They're out of 25mm but do have 24mm in stock which would align with your plans to pare down the dowels.

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