What did you use the forstner bit with? Are you using drill press or just normal cordless/corded drill?. Before owning a drill press I used the cordless (18v) drill and it couldn’t go further than 5mm. Now that I have a drill press using the same forstner bit to make hole is very easy. I think the main point is to have the forstner bit perpendicular to the wood and try to apply even pressure.
The forstner bit that you’re referring to is best to make a hole on the ‘end grain’. I’m not sure if this is as effective as the normal forstner bit … I’m using the normal forstner bit without the jagged teeth on them. If you can try to get carbide tipped forstner bit if you’re making hole in hardwood, those carbide tipped holds sharpness longer than normal steel.
Ouch drill press, I want one but cannot fit anything else in my garage at the moment. I’m using an old wired drill and was trying to make a hole in the top of a piece of oak, not the end grain. I wanted to recess buttons. The bit does not have carbide tips and I’m not sure if it’s HCS or HSS (though I hope it’s HSS for the price I payed).
I think the forstner bit that you bought would be just fine…the hard part would be keeping the even pressure on the drill and has to be perpendicular to the wood…
With drill press and using the SAME forstner bit (normal hardened steel and I used it before on the corded drill) … it only took me no more than 20 seconds to drill a 19mm hole…
Unfortunately, you have already drilled you 30mm holes and thus removed your guide hole so you’ll have to just eyeball it.
Ideally, you first want to drill a hole in the center of where your button will be with small bit 1/8" or 7/64" all the way through the wood. Then on the back side I use a 1 1/2" Fornster bit and go to my desired depth making sure to not go all the way through the wood so my guide hole stays. Then I flip the piece over and use the 30mm Forstner bit to drill out the rest of my hole. This will give you the top part of the panel a 30mm hole and then and recessed hole on the back for the button screws.
As for the lexan/plexi top. I’m sure people will think different, but I can’t stand plexi. Working with Lexan is like butter with a hot knife and plexi like being kicked the balls. It’s really that night and day for me personally, plus I also think Lexan just feels better on my hands for the final result.
If you have a router, don’t bother with trying to cut the lexan/plexi to the exact measurements of your control panel or 30mm button holes. You run the risk of cracking or chipping. Simply cut the lexan/plexi 3/4" or so bigger than your control panel, use a light adhesive to hold the lexan/plexi to the control panel, put a flush trim bit in your router and route around the edges for a perfect top piece. For the buttons, just drill a hole big enough to fit the flush trim bit through and do the same thing for the 30mm holes. Doing this won’t run any risk of cracking or hurting your lexan/plexi.
I’m glad I found this thread as I can do quite a bit of good here. I’ll tackle the drilling question first. This seems to be the most common question I get all the time. And it is also dominating this thread. I use three drill bits to make the holes.
Side buttons 24mm
The first is a 1/8" standard twist bit. I use this to drill a pilot hole all the way through the piece of wood. Next I use the larger of two forstner bits. If I am drilling for a side button I drill 1/3 the way through from both sides of the board using the 30mm bit. Then take the 24mm forstner bit and finish the hole. This works fine if you are working with a flat piece of wood. If you have already glued up the sides of your case take the larger forstner bit and dirll 2/3 the way through from the outside. Then use the 24mm bit to finish the hole.
Top buttons 30mm
First thing you need to do is get a template for the layout you want. These are avaliable on slagcoin.com for all kinds of layouts. Print out this template and use it to mark the center point for the buttons and joystick. I use an awl to punch through the paper into the MDF and/or Plexiglas. If you are making a lot of these make a more perment template using a piece of hardboard or plexi.
Use the 1/8" twist bit again to drill your pilot holes. Then from the underside use a larger forstner bit 1 1/2" minimum, 1 3/4" better. Watch the speed on these large bits. You need to go slower or you will burn the wood and possibly ruin your bit. Drill from the underside until about 1/4" of materal remains, don’t count your plexiglas unless it is thick. Flip the top panel over and useing the 30mm bit finish the hole.
Don’t push too hard while drilling the last bit. Let the drill bit do the work. If the bit seems to stop working pull the bit out of the hole and clear the chips/dust. If you push too hard you rick the chance of blowing out in the back side. This happens more often as the bit dulls.
Sharpening Forsnter bits.
I buy my forstner bits from Woodcraft.com. The carry CMT bits in both 30mm and 24mm. The 30mm bit has teeth that makes cutting easier, the 24mm doesn’t. Since the 24mm bit doesn’t have teeth I use a triangle file and cut teeth into the sides. Look at the 30mm bit for examples of what the shape of the teeth should be. To sharpen the teeth on a forster bit I use the small diamond hones like these.
Don’t let the bit get real dull before going to the hones. After every 15-20 holes I touch mine up. It takes less time to touch up an edge then it is to try and regrind a new edge in a worn out bit. When using the hones try to maintain the factory angles on the teeth and cutting blade. These angles are the optimum setting for the bit to work at it’s best.
With some practice and dilligent honing you can make these bits last a while before needing to purchase new ones. You can also have them professionally sharpened. Look in your phone book for industrial tool suppliers. Most of them offer sharpening services for less than the cost of a new bit. More detailed information on use and care of forstner bits can be found all over the web. Here is a good one at Woodcraft.com
After you cut the square out for a joystick, and your ready to route whats the best bit to use? i want to be able to use a 32 and jlf joystick so i pretty much measured both plates, and i just route abit then measure with a ruler how deep i should be? then if im not there get adjust and route abit more?
I’m partial to a small double flute bit because it keeps the edges clean and since you’re routing such a small amount of wood you do not need the stock removal of a single flute.
The way I make my straight lines is first trace you mounting plate on to the wood. Then with the bit in the router, set it on your line where you cut will be and then clamp a straight edge (I use a square to make sure my line is perfect) so that you can move the router along the straight edge while pressing up against it as a guide.
As for the depth; per Slagcoin, standard mounting height is 23-24mm between the bottom of the ball top and the top of the control panel. So how far you route down is entirely dependent on the thickness of your lexan/plexi. Just mock up how the top of your panel will sit and measure from the bottom of your ball to the lexan/plexi until you have 23-24mm. Then measure below to see how deep you need to go.
You can use the forstner bit to cut the plexi/lexan. However if the bit is not good and sharp the resulting hole is not all that clean. I prefer to drill with a 1 1/8" spade bit to cut the initial button holes and a 7/8" bit for the joystick hole. The spade bits I use have a tooth on the edges. It is these two teeth that cut the plexi nice and clean. Plus these are real easy to sharpen with a file. Then I mount the plexi and MDF panel in the case and followup with a sanding drum mounted in a dremmel tool. This leaves a nice clean edge on the hole and the protective coating comes off much easier.
On the first page there was a question about a square hole. If you dont have a mortising machine, its probably easiest to drill a hole or 2 and remove the waste/square the holes with a hand mortise chisel. A nice sharp chisel will last you a long long time.
Dont be fooled by the hollow mortising chisels for drill presses, they have to be used in a mortising jig setup on a drill press or in a mortising machine.
Thanks Michael, I originally bought 24mm and 30mm holesaw but after I saw your guides, I went out and bought 24mm and 30mm spade bits. Hopefully everything works nicely.:tup:
Oh yea, did you use drill press or hand power drill? Any handy tips for using a hand drill? coz I bought one
For those of us that are without a drill press, this might help. It’s pretty situational (need enough surface area around the hole to use it) but it’s better than nothing. It could probably be used to turn a high-powered corded drill into a plunge router with a little brain power.
edit: Don’t use this per Kaytrim’s post below; I still need something like this, but I’ll be using clamps to keep it from going crazy/slicing my face off.
You’re DEFINITELY going to want to use a drill press for doing those holes. It is way way too hard to get them straight with a regular hand drill… trust me… I’ve tried lol.
If you plan on making these to sell I would highly recommend getting a drill press. If you are just making a few for yourself and friends then a hand drill is cheaper.
I have used both hand drill and drill press. The drill press is the best for accurate straight holes. Forstner bits are designed to work with the drill press and give you a nice clean straight hole with a flat bottom. The hand drill will work if you hold the wood in a vice like I have pictured above. However the hole will not be a perfect 90 degrees to the face of the wood. If you drill the 1/8" pilot hole first it will help guide the forstner bit and keep things lined up closely.
This is a cheap guide and could work if you are careful. However **DO NOT **use this in place of a router. You are asking for some serious trouble and possible injury. If you need a router then buy a router. If you can’t afford a router then use a medium sized forstner bit to drill out the area. Then follow up with a razor sharp chisel to clean out the rest of the waste material. Don’t overlap your holes too much or you could end up like I did in Feb of '08.
I was drilling out the bottom side of a piece of maple with a large forstner bit. I was overlapping my holes too much and the bit grabbed the wood pulling my thumb into the spinning bit. This was on my drill press that did this. Here is what I did after the accident. I made a larger table for the workpiece and added clamps. This way my hand never get’s close to the spinning bit.
The board you see in the picture is the maple that caused my injury. You can see the overlapping holes where the joystick will go. Here is the finished product if you are interested.
did you cut off your thumb lol.
thanks for uploading the pictures…im going for drill press then. Since I have bought the spade bits, do they work well on drill press?
Whats the difference between spade bits and forstner?
Im new to woodworking so be nice to me:)
What happened is I sliced my thumb open from the knuckle to the tip and divided my nail in half in the process. Woodworking can be and is a dangerous hobby. The question is not if you will get hurt but when. The first full week in May has been setup as wood worker’s safety week. I did a post on my blog about protecting your eyes and lungs. There were a large number of posts on woodworking blogs all over the net.
The difference between the two styles of bits is better described by the type of work they do. Spade bits are typically used in construction and home improvement. Forstner bits are used in furniture making and other fine woodworking. You can also compare these to sandpaper. A spade bit would be like 80 grit while a forstner bit would be more like 220 grit.
