19mm Drill Bit

[Baldhead]

I need to drill a series of holes in a bench top to accept 19mm bench dogs, do I buy a forstner bit, flat bit, hole saw or auger type?

I will be drilling through 6mm MDF, 19mm ply and solid oak.

TIA

Baldhead

 

[wallace]

I'd go for flat bit. Probably the cheapest and quickest

 

[Glynne]

I've just drilled some holes in a 40mm thick beech bench to accept holdfasts.
I used a 3/4" forstner (didn't have any 19mm bits apart from a spade bit which I didn't fancy) along with the simple jig that Richard McGuire (Englsih Woodworker) suggests.
Works really well and the holes are vertical.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

A standard SHARP auger. I did mine with a piece of gash 4" x 2" with a dead vertical hole (drilled in a press with a forstner) as a guide.

 

[custard]

I've just done the same thing with a 65mm maple bench top. I used a Famag Bormax (Forstner style) in a simple jig to get it straight, then a Bormax extension to reach the last 10 or 15mm when the hole was pretty much self jigging. Clean as a whistle, dogs and other accessories slotted straight in with no hang ups. I sharpened the bit twice during the job and could really feel it cutting faster. To finish the job off I used a 45 degree chamfer bit in a router with a 19mm bearing on the end, just easing the edges of the dog holes stops holdfasts spelching.

Here's a photo, unfortunately most of the dog holes are hidden behind the Moxon vice but you get the general layout.

 

[ColeyS1]

Custard, nice bench !!!! What colour did you paint it ? Looks great

Sent from my GT-I9300

 

[custard]

Custard, nice bench !!!! What colour did you paint it ? Looks great

Sent from my GT-I9300

Thank you. The paint is Farrow & Ball "Pigeon" left over from a kitchen build. I'm currently making a low drawer unit that fits under the bench for planes, and a wall unit behind the bench for wooden moulding planes, all in the same colour.

 

[Stevesd]

I drill through oak a lot (I make stuff with new railway sleepers) and I use either a wood beaver drill (you need a beefy drill though), or a multi-angle bit which spare the drill but go through very well. My experience is that they both cut much better than my forstner bits in the hard wood, at least with a hand held drill.

 

[OPJ]

I'm a big fan of the Armeg Wood Beavers (you can buy them from Axminster). They're an auger-style bit and they race through the wood without dulling; even leaving a clean cut on the exit side of the hole! They're good for use in hand-held drills but I wouldn't recommend one for pillar drill use as they do literally pull their way through.