I have a strip of maple molding that I want to attach to the floor between my kitchen and dining room. I first tried nailing it but all the nails bent. Next, I tried drilling it but the drill bits got nowhere so I got a new set of cobalt bits. The cobalt bits broke. I only got about 1/16″ into the maple.
How would you do this?
Thanks,
BillyBob
Replies
Any good standard twist bit, if it is sharp will drill into maple, though it may be slow, if you have a reversable drill make sure you are drilling in the right direction.
Robert
Also, drill a bit. Remove back out the drill to pull out waste, then go back at it.
And as the previous poster suggested, make sure the bit is turning clockwise when you drill.
Mark
Checking the direction of the bit was the first thing I did. There wasn't much waste to clean out because the bit wasn't going anywhere.I'm using a cordless hand drill with a freshly charged battery. I feel like I'm drilling into steel.
hmmmm, sounds like rock maple. Got any bradpoint bits? The only other thing I can think of is a nailgun (finish of course).
I have drilled a bit of rock maple with bradpoints and haven't had any problems. Curious!
What are brad points?
http://www.traditionalwoodworker.com/default.php?cPath=269_273
What rpm you using? I've never heard of such problems in all my 30 years of woodworking. Cobalt is harder than HSS. Should drill with no problem even with carbon steel standard bits.
Could it be the angle? If the drill is resting on the floor and the angle is steep, if the hole is close to the floor it could be the angle snapping the bit. ?????????????????????????????????
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Very unusual. I work with rock maple a lot and have never encountered that before.
Anyway, have you tried taking a scratch awl and mallet and making a starter hole for the drill bit? I would also suggest brad point bits. If you have a drill press, you might try using that on the slowest setting and see if that helps.
I'm drilling straight down with a 1/16" bit. Using maximum speed but don't know the rpm. Initially, I wasn't using much pressure but as the hole was not happening I began to use more pressure. Didn't seem to make any different. Eventually, the bit snapped. The bit was new and unused.
As soon as I heard the symptom I knew you were using a tiny bit. I'm assuming you don't have a drill press (otherwise you wouldn't be hand driling this, right?) Going up in size even a 64th would help. If not, buy some cheap bits from your big box store, drill with ho pressure other than the weight of the drill, and be patient. Been there.Pete
It's not that hard to snap a small drill bit when drilling by hand into hard material, as any flexing of the bit can do it. I would make a guide out of ½” material with a couple of drywall screws poking slightly out the bottom to steady the guide. That should minimize bit flex.
I have no idea why a sharp drill bit can’t penetrate maple. Perhaps instead of rock they sold you petrified maple?
As you can see from the URL, maple is hard, but not the hardest by far…
http://www.thevirtualshowroom.com/HWD/SldWd/SWMisc/hardwood_hardness_chart.htm
Think outside of the box... Use construction adhesive since you are never going to remove this strip of wood!
SawdustSteve
Think outside of the box... Good idea.. Get me in trouble often if I don't...My first thought on the original post is what I did LONG ago.. I was drillin' hard wood... Nothing worked.. Before reversible drills..I was using one of my metal lathe drills with backwards flutes!
One of the reasons I'm using a tiny bit is I'd like to use a tiny fastener, either a nail or screw. My worry is going to the bigger size will make this already not-so-good-looking piece of wood, worse.I'm not sure of the correct term for this piece of wood. It is the threshold between the floor of one room and a slightly raised floor of another. We bought preformed wood at HD. I cut it to size with a chop saw and didn't have any problems there. I thought it would be piece of cake to put a starter hole in it. I will try all of the suggestions posted.Many thanks for your patience and generosity of knowledge!
Sharpen the bits to a sharper angle point and use a bar of soap or bee's wax to lube the bit.
Cordless drills are not half as strong as a corded drill. I used to predrill hard mouldings with the same nails (Cut off the head)
Probably will drill two holes per nail (Nails are cheaper than drill bits. Steinmetz.
Would it make a difference if I used a nail gun?
BB, the piece is called a transition piece
Nail guns might split the maple (especially near the ends)I would tape the piece snugly to the floor,THEN, predrill all the way through and into the flooring ,THEN, nail one nail in .
Drill #2 hole next and repeat etc, etc.
Using a nail set, tap the finish nails below the surface. Steinmetz.
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