Before drilling a hole for mounting your gadget, mark where the holes will pass through. Choose an appropriate bit and drill size depending on the material you are about to drill.
Drilling holes is a tedious process when you think of going through the measurements and marking process. You have to make sure the drilling gear is appropriate for the work piece. Sometimes all a technician wishes for is a way of handling the measurements in a single step.
Briefly, that is all about what you are going to learn today in this article. Therefore, no need to worry about the hole patterns or the type of marker we use for placing the holes on the piece. The hope is you get the right drilling gear for the work at hand.
Gather Your Tools
For the paperwork
- Straight edge ruler
- Paper
- Eraser
- Pencil
- Single-hole punching tool
- Scissors
Hole drilling gear
- A drill press depending on the size of the hole
- Spring-loaded center punch
- You may also require a masking tape
Steps of how to mark holes for drilling template?
Step 1: Draw the template
You should figure out where the drilling holes will pass through and mark them on paper using a ruler and a pencil. The drawing should be to scale no flipping, mirroring, or changing orientation to match the work piece’s exact point.
NOTE: a graph paper may be helpful when working with repeat hole patterns.
When drawing the holes, watch out for the paper alignment with the work piece. Use at least two key points as points of reference. You can mark the key points using small circles with a circle crossed out, indicating where the drill should pass.
Step 2: Cutting the template and punching holes
Cut out the paper so that you have the freedom to punch the marked holes on it. If you are mounting more equipment, the same paper can act as a template to transfer as many holes as possible.
Use the punching tool and make sure the punch aligns with the center markings on the paper. Ensure the key point markings are visible beyond the radius of the punched holes.
Step 3: Marking the work piece key points
Use the ruler to measure and mark holes in the work piece. Mark the center or key points clearly on the piece.
Step 4: Line up the key points and put the template in place
Confirm if the key points are aligned with the template. Stick the template to the work piece to hold it in place.
Step 6: Transfer hole location to your work piece
Use the paper template to transfer the marked holes to the work piece. Use the spring-loaded center punch to accomplish this task
Step 6: Remove the template
Be careful when removing the template. It may be helpful if you plan to use it for another job. For the next task, you only need to repeat steps 4 and 5 on another work piece.
Step7: Drill the Holes
Finally, this is the step why all the planning instructions were leading to. Now is the time to drill some holes. The center point of each marked or punched hole is where the drilling starts. For a good job, make sure the holes start at the respective key points.
As you keep drilling, some holes may be larger than others may. It is crucial to have the right drilling gear with bits that can help expand the original holes.
Step 8: Mount your work
Place the equipment or tools you were making the mount for and hope that your work pleases you.
Final words
Following the instructions on how to mark holes for drilling could translate you to being tired of finding the easiest way to draw mount points before drilling. The idea is not just marking the holes but using a proper drilling gear and appropriate template to make your work neat and successful. You can also use masking tape to line up the holes perfectly.
Several methods exist, and we would be glad if you share what you use in the comment section.
