I turn to you all once again for tool advice... wood boring for flush tie downs.

[Toliver]

I appreciate everyone's input. Some good points that I had not thought of. I'll get this done in the next few days and post some pictures of either some nicely seated tie downs or a jacked up trailer.

 

[Jim Baker]

That bit you posted would work. May have to just go and stop and check fit. To get depth correct.. the other thing to consider is. Your typical boards will be 1 3/4 inch thick unless you have ruff cut sawmill lumber or something like that. If it’s standard lumber you will most likely have to drill all the way through it anyways to mount it. Might check the depth of the plate to see how much it would require

1 1/2" is standard thickness.

 

[Toliver]

If you decide to use this bit make sure you hold on to the drill tight.A little to much down pressure and you will twist a wrist.Slower is better with a free hand drill and that size bit.

I'm glad I posted this question and got the feedback that I got. Between weather and schedule I finally got out and worked on this today. First, the practice lumber was crucial. I used a large drill with a side handle. This bit has a tiny little sharp point protruding maybe 3/8 of an inch and that just isn't enough. As soon as the main blade hits wood it tries to flip me around. When I braced harder, it just skipped across the board and marred it all up. After several attempts and nearly breaking a knee cap when I pushed in hard with my leg to brace it, I think I may try the router. I'm heading to big orange to see what they have. More to follow. I WILL get this figured out.

 

[Tight Lines]

You could use a standard hole saw set to cut the circle the right depth and then router or chisel the inside portion out. That's what I would do if I were doing it but I have both of those tools. A Forstner bit that size is meant for a drill press, hard to hang on to with a hand held drill...as others have said, I would back it with the plate and washers both flat and lock.

 

[Jim Baker]

Use a 3.5 in. Hole saw. Mark the side with a marker to the depth of the cut. Cut hole. Change the saw to 2.5 in. hole saw and cut the smaller smaller hole. Then a 1.5 In. hole saw. This will make removing the waste with a chisel and router easier.

Just remember a couple of things. A router can get away from you when doing plunge cuts. Set the router shallow and make several passes.

 

[Crakajak]

You could use a standard hole saw set to cut the circle the right depth and then router or chisel the inside portion out. That's what I would do if I were doing it but I have both of those tools. A Forstner bit that size is meant for a drill press, hard to hang on to with a hand held drill...as others have said, I would back it with the plate and washers both flat and lock.

Measure the pilot drill bit size and drill a pilot hole thru the wood.Change bit to larger diameter and they should solve some of that issue.Also Don,t push to hard until the larger bit has cut into the wood first.

 

[Tight Lines]

Measure the pilot drill bit size and drill a pilot hole thru the wood.Change bit to larger diameter and they should solve some of that issue.Also Don,t push to hard until the larger bit has cut into the wood first.

True...good point...if you get the Forstner bit that has two bites vs. one those are easier, and pilot holes are your friend...

 

[trial&error]

Without a router the hole saw and sharp chisel would work best. There are wood rasps that go in a drill, but one slip and it's gonna travel.

 

[Toliver]

Without a router the hole saw and sharp chisel would work best. There are wood rasps that go in a drill, but one slip and it's gonna travel.

I'm considering just going all the way through the board. I'm not sure there will be enough wood left to make a big enough difference anyway to be worth all this trouble of tryng to be so precise.

 

[trial&error]

Honestly if it's an open trailer I'd buy flush mount hardware and carriage bolts. Keeps the rain from inducing rust. If it's an enclosed trailer I wouldn't make a hole all the way through. This time for water splashing up on the road.