Expert: Jamie Yocono - 9/23/2008

Question
I am replacing the cabinet doors and reusing the hinges from the old doors. The hinges are BLUM and as best I can tell the hole for the hinge is 3.5 cm X 1/2" deep. What is the best way to make the desired hole? The center guide point on a Forstner bit is too deep and I don't have the right size, so I'll have to order the correct bit. I didn't know if it would be best to do it with a drill press or a plunge router (that's a pretty big hole for a router). Thanks for your help.

Answer
Hi Rubye,

I am familiar with your dilemma about the point of the forstner bit being a bit too long to drill a cup hinge hole.  But first - I'll tell you that I use a regular 1 3/8" forstner bit all the time,  it works perfectly and even though the tip appears that it's too long - it's not.  

So I would think about buying a forstner bit and checking it to make sure that the tip is OK. You'll need a piece of wood the same thickness as your door to drill a test hole.

You ONLY want to perform this operation on a drill press, not a plunge router. It's the most accurate way to not only position the location, but also control the depth. Even with the best edge guide and depth gauge, a plunge router still isn't a good way to drill one of these holes.

You could always buy a cup hinge bit, they're designed to have a very small tip, so that you don't have the sort of problem you're encountering. Here's a link to one:
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=1633&filter=cup%20hinge%20bit

The thing is - they charge like $10 for a regular 1 3/8" forstner bit, and two or three times that for a cup hinge bit. It's a bit of a rip off, don't you think?

Another thought - if you're still worried that a regular forstner bit tip is going to be too long, you could always grind the tip down. I probably have 3 full 16 pc. sets of forstner bits in my shop, so I ground one of my bits down so that it barely had a nub of a center point. It works perfectly when drilling into a thin door.

Also - you could buy a spade bit, sometimes called a paddle bit. They usually come with that long nose point, but those are easy to ground down on a grinding wheel or even a belt sander.  That's a cheap solution, and it works, I've done it.

But I still recommend using a forstner bit - it drills a cleaner hole.

Last - my best cup hinge bit was made by Freud.  I just did a search and found a 1 3/8" Freud bit, but it doesn't look like the one I have. Maybe they've changed the design a bit. So here's another good one: http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=32265&cat=1,180,42240,53317&ap=1

Be careful about visiting Lee Valley's website. Their tools are so nice and work so well, that their site is like heroin to me. LOL I'll go there for one tool, and end up spending $300! So visit at your own (pocketbook) peril.  :)

Good luck, write back if you need more help.

Jamie Yocono
Wood It Is! Custom Cabinetry
Las Vegas, NV
www.wooditis.com
My woodworking blog: www.wooditis.blogspot.com