DW

"Dan White"

13/01/2005 10:51 PM

Sizing pilot holes for hardwood

Hi. Dumb question probably, but I have to screw into some hard maple and
was never sure about how to match up a pilot hole size with the screw. Is
there an easy way to know how to match the two? I'm concerned mainly about
drilling too big a pilot so that the screw doesn't bite enough, and vice
versa of course.

thanks,
dwhite


This topic has 4 replies

Ss

SawDust

in reply to "Dan White" on 13/01/2005 10:51 PM

14/01/2005 4:29 AM

Hi Dan,


Just do a search with google "probably any search engine" for pilot
hole sizes or drilling charts. You should get several nice charts
which you can easily print and keep for reference. That's what I
did.

Now if I can only figure out what I did with them.....

Pat







On Thu, 13 Jan 2005 22:51:21 -0500, "Dan White"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Hi. Dumb question probably, but I have to screw into some hard maple and
>was never sure about how to match up a pilot hole size with the screw. Is
>there an easy way to know how to match the two? I'm concerned mainly about
>drilling too big a pilot so that the screw doesn't bite enough, and vice
>versa of course.
>
>thanks,
>dwhite
>

DW

"Dan White"

in reply to "Dan White" on 13/01/2005 10:51 PM

16/01/2005 9:28 AM

"SawDust" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi Dan,
>
>
> Just do a search with google "probably any search engine" for pilot
> hole sizes or drilling charts. You should get several nice charts
> which you can easily print and keep for reference. That's what I
> did.
>
> Now if I can only figure out what I did with them.....
>

Good idea. thanks.

dwhite


> Pat
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Thu, 13 Jan 2005 22:51:21 -0500, "Dan White"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >Hi. Dumb question probably, but I have to screw into some hard maple and
> >was never sure about how to match up a pilot hole size with the screw.
Is
> >there an easy way to know how to match the two? I'm concerned mainly
about
> >drilling too big a pilot so that the screw doesn't bite enough, and vice
> >versa of course.
> >
> >thanks,
> >dwhite
> >
>

Jj

"Jim"

in reply to "Dan White" on 13/01/2005 10:51 PM

14/01/2005 8:19 AM

Dan:

A tried and true method is to hold the drill bit up to the screw shank. For
hardwoods, the drill bit should be the same diameter (as close as possible)
to the shank diameter (the part between the threads). For softwoods, I like
a drill bit slightly smaller than the screw shank. If in doubt, do a quick
test.

Here's a link to our recommendations to help get you started:
http://www.mcfeelys.com/wadb.asp

HTH

Jim Ray, President
McFeely's Square Drive Screws
www.mcfeelys.com


"Dan White" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi. Dumb question probably, but I have to screw into some hard maple and
> was never sure about how to match up a pilot hole size with the screw. Is
> there an easy way to know how to match the two? I'm concerned mainly
about
> drilling too big a pilot so that the screw doesn't bite enough, and vice
> versa of course.
>
> thanks,
> dwhite
>
>

DW

"Dan White"

in reply to "Dan White" on 13/01/2005 10:51 PM

14/01/2005 6:45 PM

"Jim" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Dan:
>
> A tried and true method is to hold the drill bit up to the screw shank.
For
> hardwoods, the drill bit should be the same diameter (as close as
possible)
> to the shank diameter (the part between the threads). For softwoods, I
like
> a drill bit slightly smaller than the screw shank. If in doubt, do a quick
> test.
>
> Here's a link to our recommendations to help get you started:
> http://www.mcfeelys.com/wadb.asp

Sounds good. Thanks.

dwhite

>
> HTH
>
> Jim Ray, President
> McFeely's Square Drive Screws
> www.mcfeelys.com
>
>
> "Dan White" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Hi. Dumb question probably, but I have to screw into some hard maple
and
> > was never sure about how to match up a pilot hole size with the screw.
Is
> > there an easy way to know how to match the two? I'm concerned mainly
> about
> > drilling too big a pilot so that the screw doesn't bite enough, and vice
> > versa of course.
> >
> > thanks,
> > dwhite
> >
> >
>
>


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