# Sanding Inside Small Holes



## EPAIII (Mar 31, 2012)

I am making a wood block holder for some new, brad point drills that I have purchased. They range from 9/32" to 1/2" by 32nds. When I have done this before, I have had problems when I drilled the holes for the drills to sit in. If you drill the exact size of the drill, then you get a stiff fit and the holder is hard to use. And I wind up with cut fingers from pushing the drills in or out of the holes. On the other hand, if I use the next larger size drill (1/64" bigger) the hole is too sloppy and the drills can spill out too easily. 

So, I am wondering if there is any tool that is made for sanding holes like this. I could file, but most coarse files are tapered. At least, all of mine are. Chain saw sharpening files are too fine for wood work. A rotary rasp could be used, but it would probably take off even more than the 1/64" extra that a larger drill would. I could just roll up some sandpaper or wrap it around a pencil or dowel rod, but that seems so crude. 

So I wonder if there is a more or less proper tool for sanding holes like this. I have never seen one, but one never knows. 

One more thing here; according to my design drawing, the holes for these drills will all be 3" deep. And I would want to sand all the way down.


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

Letter drills! Always handy to have around for things like this, given that letter drills are meant to take up the area between fractions where an extra 64th is too much. Dont have a set of letter drills? Everybody should have a set of letter drills!

Im kidding of course, unless you do a lot of machine work, letter drills are pretty much useless. Just stick the drill in its appropriate slot and wiggle it a bit while drilling. Not precision work, but doesnt really need to be either


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## EPAIII (Mar 31, 2012)

Letter drills? Well, I do do machining work. About as much as wood work, perhaps even more. And I do have a 115 piece set that contains letter drills. But the biggest one is size Z and that is only 0.413" in diameter. And they are screw machine length because shorter drills are more useful on a milling machine that has a limited amount of space between the quill and the table. So the flute length for that size Z is only 2". The other letter drills are shorter than that one. I need holes a full three inches deep. That's my design and I am sticking to it. 

Besides, they do not make letter sized drills for wood. The standard metal cutting drills will splinter and tear in wood. That's why I am putting together a fairly good set of brad point drills. They make much neater holes in wood. I got a set of brad point drills with the standard 1/16" to 1/4" diameters from Lee Valley and was totally impressed by them. They look great on close inspection and they cut great. But almost immediately I needed larger holes in wood. Forstner bits are good, but hard to find in anything but 16ths. So I bought some larger brad point bits by 32nds from Grizzly and am making a wood holder for them that I will attach to the Lee Valley case with embedded magnets. It will be my go-to place when I need an exact sized hole in wood.


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## ducbsa (Jul 6, 2014)

I have bent up wire in a paper clip pattern, but tighter and inserted a strip of sandpaper. This can be spun in the hole with an electric drill to "hone" out a smaller hole.


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## Toolman50 (Mar 22, 2015)

If you think 1/64" makes it too sloppy to hold a drill bit that will most likely never be seen by more than 4 people in your lifetime, I think you might be over-thinking this just a little. 
It is nothing more than an organizer. 
If you drill your holes a little deeper, the bits begin to become more secured in the hole.


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## TomCT2 (May 16, 2014)

if fuzz is a problem, use a harder wood.

like hard maple - drill the holes 1/64 bigger - or, see below... - drill the exact size. physics says the hole must be slightly bigger than the drill flutes.

then saw off a sliver of the top to get a "perfect" rim.
stick brad points into the block point down. this solves the "ah sht!" blood letting when you accidentally brush over the top of the very sharp brad points as well as the slivered finger issue.

if 1/64 on the diameter is too much slop, methinks there is another issue in play.


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## m.n.j.chell (May 12, 2016)

Drill the holes all the way through, and then use the drill bit like a ream to make the hole slightly larger.
Like Epicfail said, wallow the bit in the hole a bit.
Then glue on a bottom piece.


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## Improv (Aug 13, 2008)

Drill all the way through with the next size up. Screw your drilled-through block to a solid piece and sandwich a sheet magnet between them to retain the bits.

Regards,
Steve


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## Nathan Parker (Jul 23, 2016)

You could wrap sanding cloth or flexible sandpaper around a length of dowel or drill rod. I'm a sculptor, and I find this technique useful for sanding concavities on my sculptures; I haven't tried it on stopped holes, but it seems like it should work. I usually just hold the sandpaper in place with my fingers, but you might want to glue it down.


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## EPAIII (Mar 31, 2012)

Overthinking? Probably so. I have been known for that. 

I have made many wood block tool holders before. One of my favorite techniques is to take a 8 to 12 inch long piece of 2x4 and drill a bunch of different shaped holes in it for an assortment of tools like screwdrivers, pliers, wire strippers, cutters, etc. I use these crude blocks on my electronic bench and other places to keep the tool clutter down. but I was trying to do a nicer job on this one. 

Oh, and the holes will be deeper in this case. I was planning on three inches deep, but decided last night that 2.5 inches will be enough. 

It is not just that 1/64" extra is too much, I have made a printed card for the label and drilling layout guide so the spacing is even and neat. It is laminated with plastic sheets and I need to make a clean cut through that laminated sheet for each hole. I bought the drills by 1/32" increments, not 1/64". I do have standard twist drills, but they will NOT make a clean hole in both the laminated label and the pine wood block. And I want a clean hold. Yes, I am being anal. I know it. So there! I was just wondering if there was some commercial tool that I could buy for this job. Apparently not. 





Toolman50 said:


> If you think 1/64" makes it too sloppy to hold a drill bit that will most likely never be seen by more than 4 people in your lifetime, I think you might be over-thinking this just a little.
> It is nothing more than an organizer.
> If you drill your holes a little deeper, the bits begin to become more secured in the hole.


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## EPAIII (Mar 31, 2012)

Hum, I did not think of the drill then trim flat idea. Too late now as I have the block cut and painted. 

I do like the idea of storing the drills point down. My fingers thank you for that. 

The other issue is my desire for a nice looking and nice fitting holder. As I already said, I know I am being anal. But I am resigned to live with it. 





TomCT2 said:


> if fuzz is a problem, use a harder wood.
> 
> like hard maple - drill the holes 1/64 bigger - or, see below... - drill the exact size. physics says the hole must be slightly bigger than the drill flutes.
> 
> ...


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## EPAIII (Mar 31, 2012)

That was my back-up. I already bought an assortment of hard wood dowel rod. I tried the smallest size last night, 1/4". I cut off a five inch length of dowel and slit one end about 1 1/4" deep with a hack saw. I folded the end of a strip of sandpaper to double it and inserted it in the slot. Then trimmed the strip for about 1/2 a wrap of exposed paper. 

It worked OK for the first two holes, 9/32" and 5/16". It took a while as the 1/4" dowel would bend so I could not exert much pressure at the bottom of the 2 1/2" hole. But I did get a nice fit. The doubled over sandpaper held nicely in the rough cut slot. Hand sawing the slot was an advantage as the irregularities in the sides help to hold the sand paper in. I will make larger sizes of dowel sanders tonight. They can be made in just a few minutes. 





Nathan Parker said:


> You could wrap sanding cloth or flexible sandpaper around a length of dowel or drill rod. I'm a sculptor, and I find this technique useful for sanding concavities on my sculptures; I haven't tried it on stopped holes, but it seems like it should work. I usually just hold the sandpaper in place with my fingers, but you might want to glue it down.


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## TomCT2 (May 16, 2014)

overthinking?
overthinking what?


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Overthinking!*

This just didn't fall out of the sky ....









http://www.instructables.com/id/ShopBot-The-Colletsium-A-Router-Bit-Holder/


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## m.n.j.chell (May 12, 2016)

The Colletsium ... "Are you not interchanged?"

HA ha ha ha ... LOL ... too funny.

Probably been around forever ... but first time I've seen it.


LOL


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

mikechell said:


> The Colletsium ... "Are you not interchanged?"
> 
> HA ha ha ha ... LOL ... too funny.
> 
> ...


Not just you, that inscription left me laughing way longer than it shouldve. Thank god i work alone, otherwise i wouldve got some funny looks...


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