How to drill a straight hole in wall?
Ken Ord
all over the place, even using a small drill to start a pilot. Rawlplugs do hold, but never in the place I wanted them. Is there a nack to getting the drill bit
to stay in one spot? The best I've managed so far is to use a wood bit to get through the plaster then a masonary bit for the brick, but it's still not perfect.
The boss wants her new shelves put up level this time!
Cheers,
Ken
Paul D.Smith
way into the brickwork helps. You may still get a slight wander but it's a
big improvement on just drilling "blind". Of course you still can't
guarentee that you won't hit a mortar/brick join in which case the dril will
wander no matter what!
Paul DS.
"Ken Ord" <ken...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1103_10...@news.freeserve.co.uk...
Dave Plowman
IMHO, it's impossible to drill a hole in brick as accurately as you can
in, say, wood. Using a slow speed might help, though. And SDS drills seem
to be worse than a normal type. So you've got to make allowances in what
it's fixing - like a slot or whatever. But for shelves etc, the holes will
sort of equalise themselves out. But if you're hitting the mortar course
I'd use rawlbolts.
--
*Why can't women put on mascara with their mouth closed?
Dave Plowman dave....@argonet.co.uk London SW 12
RIP Acorn
Peter Ashby
I have a drill guide which is a little like a router base and into which
the drill clamps and can be plunged up and down, or into a wall as it is
portable. IIRC they are made by wolfcraft. I got mine a few years ago
from Homebase but Aminster www.axminster.co.uk do a couple too. I find
mine invaluable for drilling straight and square into walls. It does
help to use something like a bradawl to at least mark the
wallpaper/plaster first. Oh yes, it needs a drill with a collar that can
be clamped which excludes most cordless. Any corded with a detachable
side handle should fit though.
Peter
--
Peter Ashby
Wellcome Trust Biocentre
University of Dundee, Scotland
Reverse the Spam and remove to email me.
Dave Liquorice
> I have a drill guide which is a little like a router base and into
> which the drill clamps and can be plunged up and down, or into a
> wall as it is portable. IIRC they are made by wolfcraft. I got mine
> a few years ago from Homebase but Aminster www.axminster.co.uk do a
> couple too.
Just bought one from Machine Mart for under £30 and yes it is
Wolfcraft. Not yet used it for the job(*) I bought it for but glad to
hear that it does work.
Drilling 2 x 12mm holes through the top rail (3" thick) for the double
band hinge and 1 x 20mm through the hinge post (5" thick) for the
bottom hinge bolt. These *have* to be square and I can't get the gate
under the cheapy drill press. B-)
--
Cheers new...@howhill.com
Dave. Remove "spam" for valid email.
Dave Liquorice
> IMHO, it's impossible to drill a hole in brick as accurately as you
> can in, say, wood. Using a slow speed might help, though.
I seem to be able to get holes in the walls round here where I want
then. Not in brick either which unless your talking engineering bricks
are a doddle to drill. The sandstone isn't to bad but hit a bit of the
local limestone and boy is that tough, one day I *will* get an SDS
drill.
Anyway with bog standard plaster covered brick walls and assuming we
are hitting a brick not a joint. Have a sharp drill, masonary drills
(in fact most drills) out of the packet are not particulary sharp but
not blunt. Make a good accurate dent into the plaster, say 1/16"
across. Use a variable speed drill. Put tip of drill into mark. Take a
good firm hold of the drill with both hands. I don't use a side handle
but grasp around the collar area supporting the weight of the drill.
Start the drill as slow as you can possibly make it go. Continue
through the plaster slowly. Once you hit the brick increase the speed
otherwise the drill won't cut but not too flat out. Make sure that you
are no way going to let the drill move except forwards. Once a few mm
into the brick wind up the speed and apply more forward pressure to
drill the brick.
Peter Ashby
"Dave Liquorice" <new...@howhill.com> wrote:
> Drilling 2 x 12mm holes through the top rail (3" thick) for the double
> band hinge and 1 x 20mm through the hinge post (5" thick) for the
> bottom hinge bolt. These *have* to be square and I can't get the gate
> under the cheapy drill press. B-)
Yup, ideal for such a job. I don't own a drill press (yet) and use the
guide quite a lot. It is GREAT for drilling holes in the ends of long
pieces of wood. The stretchers on my workbench are bolted to the legs
(100mm square) with access drilled in from the side. I just clamped
everything together, got out the guide and drilled square holes straight
into the access, only 1/8 needed 'fettling'. I would have hated to try
and drill those holes free hand.
Dave Liquorice
> Yup, ideal for such a job.
If the weather is good tomorrow I might be able to do the gate then.
Any breath of wind and I don't fancy trying to maneuver a 13' timber
field gate onto the pins though...
> I don't own a drill press (yet) ...
Well worth it. Makes it so easy to drill accurate holes that are both
positionally correct, at the required angle and repeatable. I have a
B&Q Performance Power jobbie (aka Nu-Tool) cost about £40 and the
table can tilt, not that I've ever tilted the table.
I'm seriously thinking of getting a cross vice for mine but can't work
out how you put the thing on the table with the jaws running side to
side without one of the handles against the column.
Dave Plowman
> band hinge and 1 x 20mm through the hinge post (5" thick) for the
> bottom hinge bolt. These *have* to be square and I can't get the gate
> under the cheapy drill press. B-)
I've got one of the el cheapo pillar drills from B&Q - similar available
from others at about 40 quid. I got a chunk of steel bar from George King
metals in Colliers wood to replace the pillar and extend the maximum bed
to drill height by 2 inches. Cost a tenner. Now it's only used for
relatively light use, but a similar model with this depth was a great deal
more. Of course, you're still limited to the 2" depth of travel, but it
makes it a great deal more versatile for the things I do.
--
* Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary *
Brett Jackson
with a slow rotation speed to make an indentation being careful to put very
little pressure on the drill (use your second hand to rest against the wall
holding the collar of the drill), then increase the speed of the drill
slightly until you hit the brick. As we have engineering bricks the drill
bit seems to 'skid' about the surface of the brick until it takes. Do the
same again to get through the brick ensuring that you don't put much
pressure on the drill until you're sure it's indented the brick. I find
that using hammer action all the way is actually easier than switching it
off to start. Once you've got a pilot the rest is easy.
This method also seems to work wonders on tiles.
PS. If you have engineering bricks, an SDS-Plus drill will make a huge
difference!
"Ken Ord" <ken...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1103_10...@news.freeserve.co.uk...
Dave Liquorice
>> These *have* to be square and I can't get the gate under the cheapy
>> drill press. B-)
>
> I got a chunk of steel bar from George King metals in Colliers wood
> to replace the pillar and extend the maximum bed to drill height by
> 2 inches.
The bed to drill height isn't the problem, the biggest depth is 5"
(that is a problem with only 2" of drill depth but I can think of ways
around that). The problem is the gate, it's a 13' timber field gate. I
can just about pick it up and move it if I'm in the middle. I could
take the pillar drill to it but getting it square would still be a
problem.
I think this portable drill stand will be useful for other jobs
anyway.
M. Damerell
1. There are drills specially designed for pilot holes: a much smaller
point than usual. I dont know if they are any use on engineering bricks.
2. If you get desperate, you could drill a 1/2" hole in approx position,
fill with Polyfilla or similar, then drill the actual hole into that.
Phil Addison
<ken...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>There's probably a really simple answer to this... when drilling into my walls (1920's house brick with 1cm of plaster on top) I find the drill bit tends to wander
>all over the place, even using a small drill to start a pilot. Rawlplugs do hold, but never in the place I wanted them. Is there a nack to getting the drill bit
>to stay in one spot? The best I've managed so far is to use a wood bit to get through the plaster then a masonary bit for the brick, but it's still not perfect.
There's a vital clue in the next line :-)
>The boss wants her new shelves put up level this time!
It's not really about drilling *a* hole in the exact right place, but
about levelling a shelf, isn't it? The way to do this is to fix one end
only first. Drill the one end as best you can - it *will* drift a bit.
Then fix that end of the shelf, but before fully tightening the screw
put a level on the shelf and level it. Prop the free end up with a
batten or a swimbo or something. Then tighten up the end you just fixed.
Now you can drill the other end using the hole in the bracket as a
guide. Press the bracket hard against the wall so it doesn't move as you
drill. The result should be pretty near level, but if not, loosen off
the screws slightly and tap the ends up or down, ideally with a soft
faced mallet, till they are level, then tighten up again. There is sure
to be enough clearance in the holes to allow a little adjustment. (If
not, drill 'em out a bit bigger or file a slot in 'em).
All the other stuff said already, about using pilot drills and so on,
will help minimise the final error that you have to correct with the
mallet.
--
Phil Addison
UK.D-I-Y FAQ http://www.diyfaq.org.uk/
Ken Ord
it being pulled over forward without fixing permanent brackets between it and the wall (been suggested I use a chain and a big wall bolt - the unit can be moved
but not far enough forward to fall over)?
Ken
Phil Addison
<ken...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>Ah ha... we have a winner! Thanks for the other suggestions though as I always like an excuse to buy new DIY kit. Now, how best to secure a wall unit to stop
>it being pulled over forward without fixing permanent brackets between it and the wall (been suggested I use a chain and a big wall bolt - the unit can be moved
>but not far enough forward to fall over)?
Nah.... Just put a length of thin batten under the front edge so it only
rests on the front. The back will be slightly off the floor and the top
will rest against the wall. It won't *stop* it being pulled over, but it
will need quite an effort to tilt it. I suppose you should fix the
batten to the unit and the floor if there is any risk of it sliding.
All this assumes you are talking about some sort of tall display cabinet
rather than a kitchen wall cupboard? Those have to be screwed to the
wall obviously (init?).
BTW, could you fix your line wrap to 72 characters or thereabouts. We
try to keep this place tidy :-)
And try not to make us guess the question next time!!
Colin Ord
If this is for shelves, use a file to lenghthen the bracket screw hole into a slot for vertical adjustments. If you need horizontal adjustments, just add a little
sideways notch when you've got the height worked out.
Dad
> .
Jon Laughton
through to the brick the drill should stay pretty much on course. I have the same problem in my house: the small stones in the soft plaster matrix send the drill
everywhere. Even if you could fix the drill rigidly, the plaster would still disintegrate round it. The only solution I have found is to mark where you want the hole
to be, "pretend" drill it (at which point the drill wanders all over and the plaster disintegrates), then knock out a coin-sized area of plaster around the disaster
site and fill with Polyfilla or the like. When it's set, repeat the process and you should have no problems. Tedious, but less frustrating in the long run.
---------------
Ken Ord wrote:
--
Jon Laughton
Jeremy C B Nicoll
M. Damerell <uha...@rhbnc.ac.uk> wrote:
Or do something similar in reverse: if the hole does end up all over the
place, or if what you drilled into has an unexpected cavity in it, I've
found that a hefty squirt of silicone sealant into the hole, followed by
putting the screw in as tight as you can (ie not very), followed by
propping the shelf or whatever up for 24hours can result in quite a firm
grip. But it is vital that there's no load on the screw while the
sealant dries around the treads.
--
Jeremy C B Nicoll - my opinions are my own.
tony sayer
<Jer...@omba.demon.co.uk> writes
And if you *really* want it to stick try some car body filler paste,
especially good for screws into wood that have stripped the wood. If you
want to get them out again, that's another matter!...
--
Tony Sayer
The Natural Philosopher
It works better if you use somehing more like car body filler. I have
used this often when faced with crumbling plaster. Actually, bonding
plaster works as well - anything to lock teh rawlplug in postition. Nut
I like P38 best, cos it onbly needs about 10 minutes to set hard enought
to take load, and will be rock hard in a few hours. I can be impatient :-)
>
The Natural Philosopher
tony sayer wrote:
Grease he threads first, or use a plastic lug :-)
>
stuart noble
Phil Addison wrote in message ...
>All the other stuff said already, about using pilot drills and so on,
>will help minimise the final error that you have to correct with the
>mallet.
oversized hole. If a no.10 plug fits what should have been a no.8 hole, put
the no.10 in and a no.6 inside that.
Cut-to-size plastic plugging is good for this type of thing because, being
stronger and having no lip, you can usually drill straight through with a
5mm bit and hammer it through the bracket hole.