Clamp the work; it must not move.
Use HSS brad points.
~500 RPM.
If you're surface tearing , you're feeding too fast.
Start the hole slowly, let the cusps shear the first mm or so . Then make a mess of it if you have to plunge with the speed of an orange squeezer.
Clean walls, clean entry? Then feed at the cut rate of the drill.

 

Thanks Pat, I thought maybe it was my choice of bits.
I noticed that a lot of you tube videos show those flat boring bits. I haven’t used one of those in 20 years, but then I’ve never used MDF until just recently.

 

Hi Johnny - I punched the holes in my MDF bit holders with a plunge router and spiral upcut. I probably missed the desired spot by a fraction or so on some but hey, it's just a bit holder. Holes are clean and square though.

 

Hi John,
Well that’s an idea too. I haven’t really used my plunge router much.
I just built a new drill press table and thought I would use it for the very first time.

 

Hi

forstner drill bits work the best for me,drilling holes MDF is like drilling holes cardboard, the forstner bit will cut the outside edge of the hole b/4 it removes the stock from the center of the hole..

===

 

Hi Bob, when I tried the forstner bit, it would only go in a little and stop. If I pulled it out and cleaned out the thin wafers it would start moving again, but it would also pull up the sides of the hole each time I pulled out the bit. The bottom bust out even with a sacrifice board underneath so I put it up after only one hole. I also tried a regular ½” twist drill and although it still raised the edges a little, it seemed to work better then the forstner.

If you are having success with the forstner, then I’m wondering what is going on with mine. Could it be the MDF that I got? I've only bought one sheet in my whole life so I don't know if there is a difference in the stuff.

 

Sharp anything will drill through MDF with no problem. Clamp it down effectively with a good, solid movable sacrificial board underneath. I use tons of the stuff and use regular drill bits, forstner bits & spade bits - I've never had a problem with holes that go all the way through - and go well into the sacrificial underboard. Remember to never reuse the same hole in your sacrificial board - which is where most people have problems.

 

I found a almost new brad point that was only used once and drilled half the holes or possibly all the ½” ones anyway. (I’m still trying to decide on how many ¼” holes I need).
I’m not that happy with them and I’m convinced that I got a bad piece of MDF. I’m just going to clean up the edges with a ¼” large cone shape sanding stone so I can get the bits in the holes. With the edges mushroomed up the bits are hard to push in.

I think I mentioned this before when I built my tabesaw sled and my drill press table that I was never going to buy this stuff again.

I only have one more project with this MDF and that’s replacing the top of a Black&Decker Workmate and drilling dog holes. I retrieved the Workmate out of a dumpster 6 years ago that looked like it was pulled out from the bottom of a pool. I replaced the top with an old piece of plywood just to see if it could work for me and it turned out to be a very handy portable bench, I use it all the time and I’m using it now so I’m going to put a new top on it with the little bit of MDF that I have leftover and drill holes for the bench dogs. I never had the bench dogs before manly because the plywood was so crappy and weathered that I didn’t want to waste my time.

The holes are going to be ¾” and I’m not sure if I even want to try the forstner bits which are the only thing I have in that size. I might build a jig to use my plunge router like John mentioned

 

wish I knew enough about this forum to put this info in the right spot, but I don't so dumping it here

Finished redoing my Work Mate top that I mentioned earlier. Took the dimentions down

2 pieces 29 by 5 inches by 7/8
2 pieces 29 by 1 1/4.by 7/8

Will send a pic as soon as I am eligible
Anne at annewatson_9775@msn.com

 

I'm with you, Johnny; I won't use MDF if I can possibly avoid it.
I'd rather pay more for plywood.

 

Hi Dan,
Well I’m going go ahead and finish my router drawer, but I’ve decided that I’m not going to use it for my workmate.
I was looking online to see if they still made the workmate and I see that that they don’t use MDF anymore, so that must be a sign. Then I dropped my piece for my router bits and put a big ding in the side. It didn’t even have any weight to it and I can imagine what would happen if my workmate were to tip over.

 

Gotta ask, what is this love affair people have with MDF? It is the crappiest product in woodworking if you ask me and should be avoided if at all possible costs. I know you can save some money ( a little) but ply wood is a much better choice.

 

I can’t really answer that except to say it was flat, straight and looked easy to cut. I bought it because everyone in the videos were using it to make jigs, but I’m no longer impressed. I bought a 4x8 sheet of it and am just trying to get my money’s worth and am not willing to trash it just yet, but close.

 

Just rebuilt my workmate wich sits outside under a roof using some scrap maple from a student desk, Finished it (both sides) with some leftover exterior varnish. I used the old tables to mark and drill the necessary holes. Tomorrow if the weather is nice will get it mounted up. I am going to assemble it a little differently so I can set one of my routers in it and add an on/off switch thing like you use with computer setups.
The router has an add on plate of plastic the width of the workmate, so it works fine for smaller projects.

Later
Anne

 

Hi Anne, that sounds interesting and I’d like to see it when you are done.

When I pulled mine out of the trash the table was so bad that I could barely get dimensions of off it, so I have no idea of where to put the holes and will just have to experiment with it a little. There was something that I wanted to change, but I can’t think of it at the moment.

This is a little embarrassing, but this is what mine looks like now. The plywood was from a piece that I used to keep the dogs in the yard, so it was pretty well weathered before I cut it.

I’m not exactly sure how long I’ve had mine, but this thing really has been worthwhile. I used it along with a sawhorse to cut all my rafters and roofing for my woodshed. Why I may even paint it after it gets a new table. :yes4:

 

Through holes end up cleanest if you use your drill press and flip the piece to finish from the opposite side. Brad points and Forstners make a small pilot hole that's easy to line up when doing that.

 

I finished my router bit drawer, but now I’m hesitant to remove the bits from their packages, because then I don’t know what size or brand they are. The drawer is ok for now, but I plan to remake it because I had some other ideas while I was building it and it was too late for changes.

 

very nice! a little label maker could help keep them identified. i got mine from staples and it cost about $15

on topic, i use a drill press whenever possible and a wood boring bit, and i and come at it from both sides to the middle, i have found that that keeps the tearout to a minimum. a pilot hole helps keep them lined up.

 

I understand, many people use it, I just don't get it myself but if I had a sheet of it I guess I would try to make some use of it. Good luck.

 

Well after drilling all the holes with the brad point and running the drill through a couple of times, I am having a heck of a time getting both the ¼” and the ½” in an out of the holes. It seems to be worst today after being in the drawer overnight. I might have to make a tool to pull them out so that I don’t cut myself or damage the bits.
I don’t know what’s going on here, but I made a bit holder out of a 2x4 years ago and I never had a problem getting the bits out.

 

Drilling a fraction size over 1/4" & 1/2" will solve your problem. 1/4"- 17/64" & 1/2" - 33/64". You can also wrap sandpaper around a dowel to ream the hole larger if you do not have the bits.

 

Hey Folks, several things here: MDF is a great product for some things, so is plywood and either one is straight and flat if stored correctly - conversely, either one is bowed and very near worthless if stored wrongly. When my kids were learning to ride their bicycles they had numerous falls - it did not mean that their bicycles were defective! It simply meant they lacked experience. Woodworking is like fishing, anyone learns the skills based on experience. You cannot learn to ride a bicycle by reading a book on the subject.
Personally, I have never subscribed to the practice of removing a drill bit while it is stationary - I have, however; been known to change the drill to reverse rotation (with hand-held drills) to remove bits!
Backer boards do not do anything helpful unless there is some force clamping the backer board to the workpiece - otherwise the workpiece "rides up" the drill bit and "blowout" still occurs. Often a simple "hand hold" will work - but often this is not enough.
Certainly "bad pieces" of MDF may occur - bad "anything" can occur - this is unfortunate, but is still a "fact of life". I knew a guy that had a bad wife one time!
I still recommend sharp cutting tools. To prove this to some of my employees - who were having similar problems [drilling MDF], I showed them that I could drill a perfectly round hole through a phone book. It was then that my guys began to trust me on this - they lacked skills gained thru experience - I cannot think of any materials that cannot be cleanly drilled with the correct combination of drill, drill bit, feed speed, and (most importantly) clamping or sandwiching - which is exactly what the name implies.
Since this is the ROUTER FORUM, I submit that a plunge router can be the perfect tool for drilling in some materials! GOOD LUCK! I hope this helps. BE SAFE...

Oh yeah, one other tidbit. The WorkMate is a handy idea, but the best thing to do with those things (IMHO) is to remove the wood and replace it with TREX or VERANDA - these are recycled plastic / wood composites that are the new and improved materials for exterior deck construction. DOG HOLES - You have got to be kidding - there is no such thing as a right or wrong place for these - put them anywhere you want them...

 

...Certainly "bad pieces" of MDF may occur - bad "anything" can occur - this is unfortunate, but is still a "fact of life". I knew a guy that had a bad wife one time!
I still recommend sharp cutting tools. To prove this to some of my employees - who were having similar problems [drilling MDF], I showed them that I could drill a perfectly round hole through a phone book. It was then that my guys began to trust me on this - they lacked skills gained thru experience - I cannot think of any materials that cannot be cleanly drilled with the correct combination of drill, drill bit, feed speed, and (most importantly) clamping or sandwiching - which is exactly what the name implies...

Thanks Otis, I do believe that I have a bad piece of MDF. I had trouble with my table saw sled pealing when I tried sealing it with Boiled Linseed oil. Here is a photo of white paper slid into between the layers of the MDF. I should have used color paper or wrote on it because its deceiving.

I bought a magazine today with ideas for Workbenches and they mention using MDF for the top more than once as a good choice, but they have on top of layers of plywood or particleboard. It does make a nice flat top and after viewing the photos I’m reconsidering it.

..... DOG HOLES - You have got to be kidding - there is no such thing as a right or wrong place for these - put them anywhere you want them...

The thing about the dog holes is that I didn’t want to get out of range of my clamping travel, but now that I think about it, I guess if I have a lot of them it probably will not matter.

 

johnny, re the dog holes, if you want to put your in the same locations as they were from the factory, i can snap a pic of my workmate and do some measurements for you if you want. let me know.

re buying dril bits:

http://www.buydrillbits.com/products/hss/gp2.php?c=SM-USA-FRAC

 

Test on scrap first.

 

johhny
just saw your post buddy
if you clamp your work piece and use a 1/2 inch AUGER BIT in a drill on a medium speed you should have no problems
sorry if you already solved the problem
just thought id pitch in bud
stuart
england

 

Thanks Stuart! I will keep that in mind. I haven't used any MDF for a while, but I just did some major clean up and found some nice pieces that I had forgot about. They are a little different in makeup and I'm not sure if it just aging or another type of MDF

I don't know just yet what I'm going to use it for, but now that I'm aware of them, I'm thinking about it.