How to Drill on a Radius

A common problem you may encounter when drilling into radius, or circular, material is drill bit slippage while making holes. This is because circular material, such as metal piping, conduit and wood dowels, has a tight radius that makes it hard for drill bit teeth to penetrate. A way to prevent the drill bit from slipping is to make a small indentation in the radius material using a tool called a center punch, which is a round metal rod that is tapered at one end and features a wood or hard plastic resin handle at the opposite end.

Radius material
Marker
Center punch tool
Hammer or mallet
Electric drill

Instructions

- 1
  Determine the location where you'll drill the hole into the radius material. Indicate this spot with a visible mark using a felt-tip marker.
- 2
  Place the tip of the center punch tool onto the mark. Make sure the center punch tool is perpendicular to the pipe.
- 3
  Hit the back of the center punch with a heavy mallet or hammer to make a small indentation into the radius material.
- 4
  Insert the correct-sized drill bit into an electric drill. Set the tapered end of the drill bit into the dimple that you made on the radius material.
- 5
  Squeeze the electric drill trigger slightly and allow the bit to rotate slowly inside the dimple. Continue at a slow pace until the drill bit digs into the radius material.
- 6
  Bring the electric drill to full speed and drill into the radius material until the task is complete.

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