We drill holes for confirmation

The main fastener for assembling pieces of furniture is a confirmation (Euro screw, Euro screw, Euro tie or simply Euro). It differs from other screed options in ease of installation and a minimum set of tools that will be required in the work. It is screwed in with advance hole drilling.

There are no GOST Euro screws - they are made following European standards such as 3E122 and 3E120. They have a very extensive list of sizes: 5x40, 5x50, 6.2x50, 6.4x50, 7x40, 7x48, 7x50, 7x60, 7x70 mm.

When working with the rest of the confirmations, the following principle is observed: the proportionality of the diameter of the hole for the section with protrusions and the diameter of the rod, while the height of the thread is not taken into account. In other words:

• Euro screw 5 mm - drill 3.5 mm;
• Euro screw 7 mm - drill 5.0 mm.

The assortment selection of Euroscrews is not limited to the presented list. There are even such unusual sizes as 4x13, 6.3x13 mm.

The use of confirmations without taking into account their characteristics will certainly lead to trouble. Without much effort, you can spoil a large part by choosing the wrong fastener. The choice of thread diameter is of particular importance. Thick components of the fastener tear soft materials, which often happens when working with chipboard. The length must guarantee the strength of the end attachment.

Often, home craftsmen had to deal with a situation where they have to use what is available.

This method is suitable for small-volume jobs, since it involves a lot of time. The hole is prepared in 3 steps.

1. Drilling for the entire length of the confirmation through 2 parts. The diameter of the cutting tool should correspond to a similar parameter of the Euro screw body, but without taking into account the thread (we have already talked about this). This is done so that the helical surface of the thread creates a mating thread in the material.
2. Reaming an existing hole for a flat part of the fastener that should fit snugly, but not too much so as not to tear the material. Expansion is carried out with a drill of the same thickness as the neck, while the depth should correspond to its length.
3. Machining the hole for embedding the cap into the material. This is done with a larger diameter cutting tool. Experts advise doing this with a countersink so that there are no chips.

It is much easier to work with a specialized drill for a euro tie, since it has a special stepped design, and the whole procedure is done in one pass.

In addition, the confirmatory drill has a lead-in with a pointed end, which ensures accurate entry of the cutting tool, and does not allow it to go off-center at the beginning of drilling.

The strength and quality of the assembly carried out by means of confirmations largely depends on the correct marking of the future screw holes. As a rule, 2 types of markings are applied to the parts, which will lie on the end surface of another part of the furniture structure:

• drilling depth (5–10 cm);
• the center of the future hole, when the thickness of the abutting element is 16 mm, should be located at a distance of 8 mm from the edge of the chipboard.

On the abutting part, the drilling points must be marked on its end part, placing them exactly in the center of the furniture board.

To carry out the marking of the drilling areas as accurately as possible, you can resort to a rather simple method: in the superimposed element, after the marking carried out, a hole is made (for the entire thickness of the part) through which, by attaching the first element to the second element, a rotating drill indicates the location of the 2 holes for the euro-tie.

The holes for the fastening screws in question should be drilled in strict accordance with the rules and strictly according to the instructions.

1. Prepare wood parts, clean their surface from dirt and chips.
2. Pre-mark the drilling area.
3. One of the most fundamental conditions is that the holes must be drilled strictly at an angle of ninety degrees. This is especially important for holes that are created in the transverse edges of the chipboard. Nowadays, panels made of laminated chipboard 16 mm thick are often used. In this case, with any deviation from the vertical, it is possible to simply scratch or even break the workpiece. In order to prevent this, in practice, a template is used, by means of which the cutting tool will stably enter the product at the named angle.
4. Check if the selected drill is suitable for the used standard size of Euro ties.
5. Drill for Euro screw.

Mark out (0.8 cm from the edge and 5–11 cm along the product), then make a notch at the marked point using an awl, this is necessary so that the cutting tool does not "walk" in the first seconds of drilling.

Before drilling, it is necessary to make a lining under the part from trimming unnecessary chipboard. This will make it possible to prevent the occurrence of chips at the exit of the hole being made.

When the product is drilled through, replace the underlined piece of chipboard and substitute something higher in its place so that the workpiece is in weight, and continue working.

As in all the cases described above, the main principle here is that the drill must be positioned strictly at right angles to the workpiece. Everything is much more complicated if you need to drill the end face of the workpiece. Work must be done very carefully, otherwise the drill may "slip" to the side and thereby spoil the product.

When working with the end face of the element, the cutting tool must be removed from the chipboard so that it does not become clogged with chips.

This method is particularly accurate and also the fastest. However, in order to drill a hole in several elements at the same time, they must be securely fastened before work, for which specialized clamps, clamps and other devices can be used.

There are a number of important rules and guidelines that need to be taken into account.

1. To prevent the drill from moving sideways from the very first minutes of the drilling process, it is required to make a notch in the middle of the planned hole. This is done by means of an awl, however, other sharpened objects will also work: a self-tapping screw, a nail, and the like.
2. Reduce RPM. Drilling in wood should be carried out at low speeds of the electric drill.
3. It is possible to reduce or minimize the formation of chips on the lower surface of the product when drilling through, by performing work in one of the following methods:

• we create a hole of a through type and a small diameter, then drill through it to the center on both sides with a cutting tool of the required diameter;
• to the side where the drill should come out, press the flat substrate made of wood or fiberboard with clamps, drill a hole, remove the substrate.

4. The verticality of the drill is ensured by the use of a guide for the electric drill; for workpieces with a cylindrical shape, a special jig can be used, which carries out both the centering of the drill and the verticality of drilling.

If the drilled hole is too large in diameter, you have the opportunity to restore it in the following way: drill the hole to a larger diameter, then insert a wooden chopik (wooden dowel) of a suitable diameter into it and place it on the adhesive. Let the adhesive harden and align the top edge of the chopstick flush with the plane using a chisel, then re-drill the hole in the same place.

How to make a hole for the confirmation, see below.