a drill bit type, hole saw, looks like a cup and can be bought at hardware as they are used in two common sizes for installing locks. The drill bit, mandrill, in the center is longer than the cup with teeth around it. Mark your spot. Use a large strong drill. Tell your arms to get ready. Start to dril the marked dot with the mandrill, and when one side of he cup touches the wood, slow down and while slowing try to get the opposite side of the cup to touch.. Or if you like, drill the center hole a bit and place the hole saw mandrill into it. Place vice grips on the bit of the hole saw (out of the electric drill) and twist till you have scored the wood well. If it's a big hole you can drill a series of small holes at the 12 o'c point of the circle you've marked and place a jugsaw or saber saw (which ever allows the best turning through thickness) and follow the circle. The other way as I started, is to just ride it throughvery slowly. It won't turnor allow it's length to turn in the wood. Just be sure you are level when you start, by keeping the hole saw flat. Check it from time to time, measure the depth on each side cut. That will allow it tiem to cool too, don't touch the saw!! Really. Then go through till the mandrill is through. Stop the drill and feel the circle after stopping the saw bit, and see if the saw has come through unevenly on one side of the hole, do this often so you can lean on the other side of the hole from where the saw has come through.
Now, to get tricky, if you can flip the wood, send a hole for the mandrill theough and start the hole from both sides. Go a quarter in, and turn it over. go a quarter n and turn it over. On the third flip, you'll go through. You meet the other side, but you don't always have the depth that will guide the cup of the hole saw. This is not as easy with fly cutters, and unless you are a big guy, you can twist your wrist with a 1/2 hsp Macita. Could scratch the wood. On Fri, 23 May 2008, Robert Riddle wrote: > I need to cut a circular hole in one of the boards comprising my picnic table > for the umbrella. Everything I've read says to use a circle cutter in a drill > press, which I don't have. Are there any other options? > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > >
