Struggling drill into hardwoods

[Alex Shiells]

Has anyone had any problems drilling into hardwoods? I normally build with softer woods and sheet goods but over the weekend I put together a hardwood face frame and found that I got some wood burn and struggled to set some pocket holes into the wood. 

 

Any tips or tricks that you can share?

[al heitz]

1) How sharp is your drill bit? Time to replace it?

2) Was it working good the last time you used it? I have done some really stupid things like trying to drill holes in reverse - took a lot of "push" on the drill, but got through the wood...and then I realized I had just used it to back out some screws and forgot to change the direction of the twist.

 

[John Schaben]

First - I'll second Al's question about the bit condition.

Second - cordless drill = not enough rpm.

[al heitz]

... or just need a recharge on the cordless.  Always get that second battery.

[Alex Shiells]

None of the above, not in reverse and I do my drilling with a conventional cord drill to get the RPM up on the drill. I thought it might have been a dull bit however it tried it on some pine right afterwards and it worked great.

 

I also spoke what a fellow wood worker here that uses the same wood species (Saligna) and he has the same problem with a brand new bit. To over come this he first uses a normal metal bit to cut the initial hole and then follows it up with the Kreg bit.

 

Could it be that the wood is just that hard?

[Ken Darga]

I purchased a set of wood boring bits---( not cheap).

When I go them home, I made a close inspection of the sharpness of the cutting edges of each, using a magnifier.

WOW!---was I surprised to find each bit had ''burrs'' on the cutting edges.

It appeared, to me, the grinding was done by inferior grinding tools/equipment.

NO WAY were the bits sharp to meet my standards.

After sharpening each bit, using diamond steel files, they cut very smooth.

 

I revisited the dealer, discussed the matter of the bits ''out of the package'' condition.

We opened and examined each set of bits---all had the same inferior (not sharp) cutting edge.

The salesperson, packed them all up, and was preping them to return.

 

[Donald Rice]

I have the same problem drilling pocket holes in red oak. I switched from a cordless drill to my dewalt corded drill which has more touque. I half drill the hole then cleanout the shavings and finish the drilling. I "think" is due to cutting across the grain ?

[Antoine boyd]

Since I also work with steel, I also know that with hard things I must drill at slower speeds.  When you see your piece burning, it's time to adjust your speed to a much slower speed.  And of course sharpness.   When you burn your wood, it's time to either get a new bit or sharpen the one you have. I have a special bit sharpener that has paid for its self many times over.  New bits may look sharp and you may think they are sharp, but put a magnifying glass to them and you will see that they are not.

[Alex Shiells]

Hi Donald,

 

I started doing exactly the same thing. I thought that maybe the dust clearance was getting blocked due to the type of wood. Perhaps it is because of the flat seat head of the drill bit? I tried drilling with and against the grain with little difference.

 

What is a proper solution though? The two step drilling or two bit drilling takes up tons of time in a project.

 

[Alex Shiells]

Good point. I need to maybe check the bit out under a magnifying glass to make sure it is sharp enough. I am not sure though if you would be able to sharped a Kreg bit though? I did try slow the speed down but did see that much change. It might be due to the flat area in the bit that starts to rub flush. I def going to check it out tonight. Thanks for the idea.

Antoine boyd said:

Since I also work with steel, I also know that with hard things I must drill at slower speeds.  When you see your piece burning, it's time to adjust your speed to a much slower speed.  And of course sharpness.   When you burn your wood, it's time to either get a new bit or sharpen the one you have. I have a special bit sharpener that has paid for its self many times over.  New bits may look sharp and you may think they are sharp, but put a magnifying glass to them and you will see that they are not.

[Antoine boyd]

spur bits and spade bits cannot be sharpened in the conventional way because of the tip.  In these cases, I use a dremel tool and carefully run across the flat areas very lightly. Also, a diamond stone works as well.

[Antoine boyd]

Metal bits work with wood, but have the tendency to want to ride the wood and burn. Also, they tend to drift off center when entering the wood.  Where there is soft/hard wood, the bit tends to drift to less resistance, soft wood. Try using a brad or spur tipped bit. Using an awl to center the drilling points helps to center the spur tip.  I enter the surface slowly so that it causes little drift.  Once that is established, then I make depth cuts of abut 1/2" at a time, never pulling the bit out all the way.  if you do, you may risk widening the opening.  Another thing you may want to try is to wax your bit before using it.  This reduces friction. I use MinnWax..  If you are drilling large holes, try stepping up using smaller bits at first. The drawback to that is everytime you step up to a larger bit there is a tendency for the larger bit to drift.  To help with that is to first establish the final hole size and go in a short distance using a spur bit.  This will make a center mark for you to go by for the smaller bits.  Hope this information helps.

Alex Shiells said:

Hi Donald,

 

I started doing exactly the same thing. I thought that maybe the dust clearance was getting blocked due to the type of wood. Perhaps it is because of the flat seat head of the drill bit? I tried drilling with and against the grain with little difference.

 

What is a proper solution though? The two step drilling or two bit drilling takes up tons of time in a project.

 

[John Schaben]

I dunno if they still do but Kreg used to have a free bit sharpening pollicy. Not sure what all it involved though.

Alex Shiells said:

Good point. I need to maybe check the bit out under a magnifying glass to make sure it is sharp enough. I am not sure though if you would be able to sharped a Kreg bit though? I did try slow the speed down but did see that much change. It might be due to the flat area in the bit that starts to rub flush. I def going to check it out tonight. Thanks for the idea.

Antoine boyd said:

Since I also work with steel, I also know that with hard things I must drill at slower speeds.  When you see your piece burning, it's time to adjust your speed to a much slower speed.  And of course sharpness.   When you burn your wood, it's time to either get a new bit or sharpen the one you have. I have a special bit sharpener that has paid for its self many times over.  New bits may look sharp and you may think they are sharp, but put a magnifying glass to them and you will see that they are not.