Choosing a drill for furniture hinges

It is not at all difficult to drill a hole for a furniture hinge if you know which attachment to use for this. Both choice and the use of a suitable drill for this purpose has its own specifics.

The hinge drill is a milling attachment, which allows you to create holes for further insertion of the corresponding elements. This part has the ability to process panels made of solid wood and plastic of the required width, as well as MDF, chipboard and laminated chipboard.

In most cases the loophole device looks like a base with a jumper and three prongs. The edge, located in the middle, is placed exactly in the center of the circle intended for the furniture bowl, after which the rest instantly create a round depression of the required diameter. As a rule, the depth of the resulting hole does not exceed 9 millimeters. Most of the furniture cups, for which a recess is formed by a drill, are 4-hinged. Most often, this nozzle is used to install cabinet furniture door hinges.

When it comes to a drill for furniture hinges, in most cases this term means its main variety - Forstner drill.

It is it that is distinguished by the most complex design with three points and requires special care from the master.

Forstner drills are also classified into 3 types:

• the first is original designs that are created by milling and "brought to mind" by hand;
• the second has a cast working part and is suitable for machine operation;
• the third type of drills is formed by casting, and the HSS cutters are fixed by welding.

A variety of drills for furniture hinges is also centering or centering, it is also self-centering. The specificity of this nozzle is the ability to accurately center and, as a result, drill an absolutely even hole for the screw and tighten it. The drills are made of high speed steel and are tightened with a screw.

Furniture hinge drills are used to create holes in which, as you might guess, the cups of the hinges themselves will be fixed. This means that the diameter of the drill must be matched to the dimensions of the furniture hinge. Standard cups are available in diameters of 26, 35 and 40 millimeters.

In this case, hinges are most often used in size 35 mm. The length of the tail section of the nozzle differs depending on the manufacturer, but, as a rule, it does not go beyond 10-12 centimeters.

On the shank of some drills, in particular Forstner, not only the manufacturer's logo is applied, but also the immersion depth scale. It happens that the kit contains a part that limits the immersion at a certain level. It looks like a removable metal disc, the diameter of which is about 4-6 mm larger than the outer diameter of the drill. To fix the stop on the shank, a screw must be screwed into its sleeve.

In general, when choosing a nozzle for furniture hinges, it is important make sure that its structure is harder than the material of the treated surface. For example, for plastic or drywall, the simplest drill made of high-strength steel is suitable. For drilling in brick or stone, you will already have to purchase a drill with tips made of hard metal alloys.

The choice of element also depends on the specifics of the work performed.... Forstner drills are typically used for wood and plastic, which is approximately 16mm thick.

4-pivot hinges with a 35 mm bowl require drills with the same diameter. For non-standard fixings, drills with appropriate parameters are required - for example, about 12 mm.

The use of a specific bit is best illustrated with a Forstner drill. To cut a hole for a furniture hinge, in addition to the cutting element, a number of other tools will be required... The main work will be done using either a hand drill or a screwdriver. It is worth immediately preparing a tape measure or a ruler, as well as an awl or its analogue. Another important tool is a screwdriver or a special bit that allows you to install self-tapping screws.

Since the cup of the furniture hinge cuts into the facade, so as not to spoil the prominent detail, you must first create markup to find the center of the future deepening. As a result, the hinge must be positioned in such a way as to match both the location of the shelves and the location of other fittings on the frame. It is customary to plan the center of the recess approximately 22-23 millimeters from the edge of the facade. If everything is done correctly, there will be about 4-5 mm between the edge of the cup and this edge, which will be quite enough. You can start drilling only after all the markings have been drawn.

To prevent the problem it is recommended to immediately install the limiter on the drill and definitely be careful.

If the master has to drill a hole for the hinge for the first time, then it makes sense beforehand practice on pieces of chipboard. It is worth changing the angle of inclination of the tool during drilling, but quite a bit. This, on the one hand, will speed up the whole process, and on the other hand, it will reduce the overheating of the drill.

For more information about drills for furniture hinges, see the video below.