Quick 'n Dirty: Countersink

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By Gareth Branwyn
Posted 2012/01/17 @ 9:30 am
Category Tools

Maker extraordinaire Craig Smith shared another quick work tip with us:

Sometimes I grab the cordless drill/driver, some screws, and perhaps a small pilot drill bit on a quick construction/repair project. The screws would be better if they were 100% flush and I didn’t grab a countersink bit, or perhaps I’m at a location without a countersink bit available. If I have a regular 3/8″ drill bit I can slightly (and carefully) drill a countersink divot. But often I just use the spinning Phillips head driver bit and swing the drill in a circular motion around the hole at an angle a few times to create a countersink area before I zip the screw in. A recommended countersink method… no. In a pinch where it needs to be done… yes.

See all of Craig Smith’s tips and projects.

BY Gareth Branwyn

Gareth Branwyn is a freelancer writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture, including the first book about the web (Mosaic Quick Tour) and the Absolute Beginner's Guide to Building Robots. He is currently working on a best-of collection of his writing, called Borg Like Me.

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6 Responses to Quick ‘n Dirty: Countersink

dmtroyer on January 17th, 2012 at 10:42 am said:

In wood that soft you should be able to get the screw to seat flush without ruining your driver.

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Keith on January 17th, 2012 at 12:27 pm said:

This is handy and it helps keep the wood from splitting. Another trick is take a large drill bit (diameter of screw head) and run it in reverse so it doesn’t dig in.

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Christian on January 17th, 2012 at 1:13 pm said:

Don’t want to do advertising, but a good way to get this problem solved is to leave the cheap screws in the store and buy ones with milling heads, like Spax, Rapid, Assy or Fischer. They make life much easier.

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pete on January 17th, 2012 at 6:35 pm said:

if you don’t have a pilot drill around either, you can start with the above counter sink, but only drive the screw a couple turns, then with your power drill run the screw backwards fast; you can drill straight through for for joining and pulling to parts together, or only drill in a short bit, for softer woods where the screw alone will split an end or edge

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Threebean on January 19th, 2012 at 11:35 am said:

Good tool that does both drill and countersink:

DEWALT DW2567 #6 Countersink with 9/64-Inch Drill Bit

Notice the tapered bit. I love these things! Various other companies make them too.

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Eric Hart on February 2nd, 2012 at 3:11 pm said:

I’ve done this before.

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