fenpeppertree

How to use a depth stop with a Forstner drill bit

I have just purchased a "Rockler JIG IT® Drill Guide", but I'm thinking I am just going to have to return it because as far as I can tell it is only going to work with the "Rockler Long Shank Forstner Bits". I need a 1 1/4 inch and a 1 1/2 inch bit, but these sell for about $47 and $49 each at Rockler, which is the same at Amazon and Ebay as well because Rockler is the 'seller'. The 'jig' cost about $24 including shipping.

JIG IT® Drill Guide | Rockler Woodworking and Hardware

I would like to know if there is an economical way to stop a Forstner bit at about a 3/16" depth or if there is a more budget friendly (say less than $30) Forstner bit stop kit.

pugsl

Are you using a hand drill or a drill press. This is not a stop but black tape around bit will give you a place to stop.

marksr

A drill press has an adjustable stop but with a hand held drill I've always done like pugsl and used tape [or whatever] to mark the stopping point. How precise does the depth need to be? You could make a guide out of wood.

Pilot Dane

Like marksr mentioned if I need a guide I get a scrap board and drill a hole through all the way with the Forstner bit. Now you can hold onto your scrap board while you drill through it's hole into your work board. The hole in your guide board keeps the bit from walking and the thickness of the scrap board can be used as a guide or reference for how deep you drill.

XSleeper

Many electric drills come with a side stop... it's a attachment with a thumb screw that allows you to put a rod down at an adjustable length next to your bit. The depth of the rod acts like the stop. Never seen one on a cordless drill.

Drawback is that it's not very exact if you are one of the people who don't have an eye for / can't hold your drill perpendicular to the work.

fenpeppertree

Yes, I am using a hand drill.

I don't think I could find or even use a piece of wood that would be a mere 3/16 of inch thick, and come to think of it, how could that ever work. A piece of wood with the bit size hole through it is not going to stop. I guess you could mark 3/16 of an inch inside the cutout and drill till the mark was visible, but I would really like something more reliable and accurate.

If you know what Forstner bits are, there is no way to put tape around one, and I never really cared for that idea to much.

This project is nothing fancy, a homemade version of 6 bed risers that I would like to put 3/16" to maybe 1/4" wells into.

Thanks anyway.

Pilot Dane

No, the scrap of wood primarily is a guide so keep the bit from walking when you start drilling the hole. The thickness of that scrap has nothing to do with how deep you want to drill your hole. But, you can use your scrap of wood as an indicator for depth. If the head on your bit is 1" deep and you use a scrap that is 3/4" thick and you drill until the back side of the bit head is flush with the scrap then you've bored a hole 1/4" deep.

Yes, you can put tape on a Forstner bit. You just wrap tape around it. The problem is that it's not a physical stop and relies on you paying attention and stopping when the tape gets to the wood's surface.

marksr

You could also take a block of wood with hole drilled thru it [might need to install the drill bit shank first, then chuck up the drill] and use the wood thickness as a stop for the drills chuck - where it stops going down once you hit that piece of wood.

XSleeper

Let me expound on what Pilot Dane already said. Maybe this is where marksr is going with it too...

Let's say your forstner bit is 1/2" thick (depth). If you want to cut a 3/16" deep bore, you "could" use a gauge block of 5/16" thick wood... (8/16 - 3/16 = 5/16) Drill your hole clean through the gauge material... place that over your hole you want to drill.

When you start your bit, it will be elevated 3/16" above the gauge block.

You will know when you have drilled 3/16" deep because the top of your forstner bit will be flush with the top of the gauge block you are drilling through.

Hard to screw that up unless you suck at math... or maybe can't drill slowly or carefully.

fenpeppertree

ok, I see how that can make sense, but how would you ever get a 5/16" thick board this is the problem I see; I've never heard of one. I buy board at 1/4", 1/2", and 3/4", which is always cheap plywood because it is just for home crafting once in a great while.

marksr

I'd rip one out of a thicker board on the table saw. .... or add something extra thin to 1/4"

Pilot Dane

First, you should be able to get close enough with your scrap 1/4", 1/2" or 3/4" that you can easily gauge from there by eye. If your bit is 1" thick and you use the 1/2" thick scrap you can go an 1/8" deeper or shallower than your scrap and be able to bore holes 3/8", 1/2" and 5/8" pretty well just by eyeballing the bit being an eighth high or low. If you're eyeballs aren't calibrated than tape something of the proper thickness on top of your scrap. It can be pennies, washers or scraps of cardboard. Anything to get to the height needed for referencing your drilling depth.

guy48065

A different type of drill guide might serve your needs better.
Something like this:

fenpeppertree

I don't know if I could use this guide with my project since the dimensions are quite small (3" x 2 7/8"), but I really like this as an addition to my tool collection, and I found one at Amazon for about $32, great price, thanks. This is the one at Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/wolfcraft-452...le+Drill+Guide

It's the same thing, right?

fenpeppertree

It all sounds quite complicated and bothersome, but Peachtree Woodworking Supply Inc. has a "Forstner Bit Stop Kit" for about $25. It is out of stock right now, but it is suppose to be back May 10. I guess I will just wait and see if that pans out. Most efficient and easiest way to go I think.



Thanks for your advice, though, I appreciate the effort.