Plunge router to drill perfectly straight hole?


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Old 09-18-19, 05:23 PM
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Plunge router to drill perfectly straight hole?

Can I use a plunge router to drill a perfectly straight hole for a 8-32 machine screw? The hole has to be perpendicular to the side of the cabinet which is made of plywood.

If a plunge router won't work, what other power tool would u recommend to drill a perfect hole.
 

Last edited by BurgerKing; 09-18-19 at 06:24 PM.
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Old 09-18-19, 06:28 PM
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Plunge router could definitely work. The hard part will be finding an appropriate size bit and holding the unit steady on a vertical surface.
 
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Old 09-18-19, 07:22 PM
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Pretty sure that something like this would be accurate enough.

https://www.amazon.com/Big-Gator-Too...=fsclp_pl_dp_5
 
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Old 09-18-19, 08:29 PM
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Curious to know what material you will be drilling.

A plunge router would be used on softer material like wood or plastic and a machine screw with a fine thread would be more suited to being used in hard metals.
Soft metal like aluminum or brass is better threaded with a more coarse thread for a 10-24 screw.
 
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Old 09-18-19, 08:39 PM
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I'm drilling into the plywood that makes the cabinet. Then I'm putting a machine screw through the hole and a hex nut on the other end.
 
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Old 09-19-19, 03:17 AM
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A #8 screw is tiny, like 5/32 dia, just use a drill and align with the surface!
 
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Old 09-19-19, 03:34 AM
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Ok.
A hole for a screw is normally made slightly larger than the screw passing through it which should make up for a hand guided hole.
 
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Old 09-19-19, 04:20 AM
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Most router collets are for 1/4 inch bits. Finding a collet or a sleeve for a #8 screw clearance hole drill will be difficult.
 
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Old 09-19-19, 04:22 AM
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Unless you are taping a hole in metal I wouldn't be so concerned about being exactly square. If you are just passing a machine screw through wood I'd drill it by hand doing my best to keep it square. If it comes out not exactly perpendicular you can wiggle the drill bit in the hole to make it work.
 
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Old 09-19-19, 05:23 AM
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I get wanting it straight, but a drill will work just fine. For precisely locating it you can stick a piece of painters tape on there and then lay it out with a mechanical pencil, and use a brad point bit that you can press right into the crosshairs before starting it, but I'd still do it with a standard drill motor. Pinpointing a spot with a router isn't that difficult on a flat work area but sounds like quite a bit of extra effort for what you want to do by the time you add blocks and shims to get the base to set flat and in the exact location.
 
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Old 09-19-19, 08:17 AM
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The 2 machine threads hold the hinge from one side, go out the other side, hold another identical hinge, secured with a nut.

The hole must be level. I drilled for 2 pair of hinges already and it was hard. I want to invest for a tool for the remaining like 20 pair of hinges that I have to do. Any recommendations?
 
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Old 09-19-19, 09:15 AM
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I have a device this this...

https://www.amazon.com/Milescraft-13...s%2C175&sr=1-9

... that worked quite well for me when i needed to drill some perpendicular holes.
 
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Old 09-19-19, 05:23 PM
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Seeing what you have now, and being close to what I had imagined, I still think that you have already invested in what you really need... a drill. Not sure what Aces posted because I can't get the link to open, but a guide like Sleeper posted would go a long way for you. But you really just need to do a few more by hand and I'd almost bet that you'll be totally at ease drilling them. Shucks, do you know or even have an accurate way to measure the opposite sides and see how close the holes really are to start with? With it through bolted like that you're basically creating a clamp, so they're not going any place, and nobody will be the wiser. Yeah, you'll know, but that's the case a lot more often than you might think because even any of the pro's here have had to fudge from time to time and if anyone tells you otherwise they're fibbing, at least a little bit.
 
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Old 09-19-19, 06:11 PM
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I would just build a jig out of hardwood on a drill press to guide the bit in straight. Then clamp it to the side and use a cordless drill.
 
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Old 09-20-19, 04:37 AM
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Yes, a drill jig is my suggestion as well. Perpendicular isn't terribly important but getting the spacing and location of the holes correct is.
 
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Old 09-20-19, 04:48 AM
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You could also drill halfway through from either side. If the hinges are aligned, that should work fine. Since you are using a machine bolt and nut, the hole you drill should be 1 size larger than the machine threads.
 
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Old 09-20-19, 07:12 AM
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Just Google "perfectly perpendicular drill tool": and you will get store bought, DIY tools and videos on doing this.
 
 

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