Table of Contents
What I want to accomplish
- Drill the hole in the centre of the top board.
What I've done
This damn hole
I need to cut a 1-3/8“ (35mm) hole in the centre of the top board. This is scary. I bought a set of rubbish forstner bits and was very disappointed in their performance.
Lots of test holes.
The only good results I could get were using a drill press. This wasn't going to work in the centre of the playing surface, it needs to be hand-drilled.
Rubbish.
I found that the point would wander in the soft wood and the bit would drive across the surface a small distance before biting, leaving a shallow groove which would ruin the board. The drill press worked because it rigidly held the bit in place so it could only travel downwards. Further complicating matters was that the board already has a 12mm hole in the centre, so there's nothing for the forstner bit to centre itself on.
My solution was to use the drill press to cut a hole through some hardwood and screw it to a long bit of wood to act as a jig for cutting the centre hole.
Clean hole.
The jig.
Tah-dah!
I didn't get a shot of the jig set up because this was easily the most terrifying part of the build. I could easily have ruined the board, but didn't! The hole is nice and crisp. I am very happy.