Drills & Drilling

Drills & Drilling

 The Pillar Drill
The Pillar Drill can be used to
drill wood, metal, and plastic. As
a general rule the larger the hole
you are trying to drill the slower
the drill should rotate.

When using this (or any other

machine) it is important to read
the safety notice on the wall to
make sure you understand how to
use the machine safely.

When using the Pillar Drill you must

Wear Goggles
Tie any long hair back
Tuck in any loose clothing
 The Pillar Drill
Pulleys
On / Off Switch
Depth Stop

Drill Chuck
Chuck Guard

Machine Vice

Chuck Key
The Pillar Drill

To change the speed on

the pillar drill you have
to move the drive belt up
or down the pulleys. This
works in much the same
as bicycle gears.

Low Speed Pulley

High Speed Pulley

 Screwdriver Bit
Cordless Drill

Keyless Chuck

Forward / Reverse
Adjustable Clutch Switch

On / Off switch

The Cordless Drill can be fitted with a

drill bit (1mm to 10mm) for drilling
small holes, a Countersink bit for
countersinking holes or a Screwdriver Battery Pack
bit for driving in screws.
 Drill Bits
1) Twist Drills
(Used for drilling wood, metal and plastic)

2) Reduced Shank Twist Drill

(As above but reduced shank allows larger
drill bits to be fitted in a chuck)

3) Dowel bit
(Used to drill clean holes in wood for dowel
joints)

4) Spade Bit
(Used for drilling large holes in wood)

5) Masonry Bit
(Used to drill holes in concrete)

6) Forstner Bit
(Used to drill clean flat bottomed holes in
wood. Available in a wide range of sizes 6 –
50mm)
 Twist Drills

Twist Drills are available in a wide

range of sizes. In the school workshop
they range from 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3,
……….12.5, 13mm
They are used to drill wood, metal and
plastic.
Machine Vice
Drilling Metals
When using a twist drill
to drill metal you must
always secure the work
piece in a vice. For
large pieces of metal
you can use a Machine
Vice and for smaller
pieces a Hand Vice

Hand Vice

Remember when drilling large holes

always set the drill to a slow speed. If
the holes are bigger than 10mm it is
generally safer to drill a Pilot Hole
first.
(A pilot hole is a smaller hole, say 5mm,
that will act as a guide for the larger drill)
Machine Vice
Drilling Plastic
When using a twist drill
to drill plastic you
should always try to
secure the work piece
in a vice.

Remember when drilling Acrylic don’t try

to drill too fast or the brittle plastic
could shatter.
Make sure you tighten the vice properly
or the work piece may come loose
(This is true for drilling all materials)
Machine Vice
Drilling Wood

For drilling smaller

pieces of wood you
should use a machine
vice

When drilling larger pieces of wood it is

safe to hold the wood securely with your
hand
 Flat Bits

Flat bits are

available in a
wide range of
sizes.

Flat bits are used for drilling holes in wood only.

The main advantage flat bits have over other
types of drill are.
1) They are easy to sharpen
2)They cost less.
 Forstner Bits

As shown below
Forstner bits are
available in a wide
range of sizes.

Forstner bits are used for drilling holes in

wood only. The main advantages of this
type of drill bit are.

1) Forstner Bits produce a very smooth

cut that requires little finishing.
2) Forstner Bits produce a flat bottomed
hole.
 Plug Cutters
In the workshop we have 3 sizes of
plug cutter.
6mm, 9mm, & 12mm.
These can be used to cut small wooden
plugs as shown.

Plug
Cutters
 Using a Plug Cutter
Flush Cut
Saw

1) Using
3)
4)
6)
2)
5) Use
Glue
Sand
When the
athe
Smooth
ascrewdriver
pillar
theappropriate
plug Drill
glueinisplace
and
to
dry
Machine
Forstner
break theVice
use a flush bit to
plug
cutcarefully
drillto
loose.
saw a
drill ain
hole
trim theplug
toexcess
work
aboutpiece
10mm
plug
deep is to be plugged.
that
 Hole Saws
Hole saws can be used to cut hole in
thin sheet material. (Wood, Metal
and Plastic) This tool is traditionally
used by Plumbers to drill holes in
water tanks etc. (When drilling
metal oil must be used to help keep
the blade cool and the work piece
must be clamped to the table)

Hole Saw Scrap

As you can see from the shape

of the scrap wood the hole
saw can also be used to make
wheels.
 Counter Sink Bit

The Countersink
Bit is used to
countersink holes
for countersunk
screws

The Countersink bit can be

used in a hand drill, pillar drill
or Cordless drill Countersink Bit
 Hand Drill

The Hand Drill can be used to drill small holes (up to 8mm)
And is useful for holding a countersink bit
Countersink Bit How to screw two pieces
of wood together

1) Drill a pilot hole

2) Counterbore
the top piece
3) Countersink
the top piece

4) Drive in a screw

Hand Drill Pozi Drive Screwdrivers

 Carpenters Brace & Bit

Brace
Chuck

Auger
Bit

Ratchet

The Carpenters Brace can be used to drill large diameter holes

through wood. Auger Bits are available in a wide range of Lengths
and Diameters
 Carpenters Brace & Bit

Handle

Ratchet

The ratchet mechanism allows you to drill a hole where the sweep
of the handle is otherwise restricted (in a corner or beside a wall)
 Carpenters Brace
& Bit

The Carpenters Brace is

used as shown in the
picture on the left.

Damage

One of the main problems with

this type of drill is the damage
that can occur to your work
piece when the Auger bit exits
the wood.
Carpenters
Brace & Bit

Scrap Wood

This can be overcome in two ways

1) By drilling in from both sides
2) By putting a piece of scrap wood
behind the work piece
 Expansive Bit
Auger Bits

Maximum Setting

Minimum Setting

Another type of drill bit that can be

very useful is an Expansive Bit. This
The Auger Bit has a square taper
type of bit has an adjustable cutter
shank. This can only be fitted
that can drill a wide range of
into a Carpenters Brace.
different sized holes.
 4kg SDS Hammer Drill
Masonry Bits

Masonry drills are used to drill holes in

concrete. They are generally made from
toughened steel with a Tungsten tip.

The picture above shows a powerful

hammer drill suitable for drilling large
holes in concrete.
Tungsten Tip
The End