Advice on drilling 20mm hole in high-gloss MDF kitchen unit

Joined
17 Oct 2008
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Location
Glasgow
Country
United Kingdom
Hi All,

I'm a DIY newbie. I've recently moved into a house with a newly fitted kitchen. The units are white high-gloss units in what I presume are MDF panels. I need to plumb in a coffee machine and would like to know what tools are best for drilling a clean hole about 20mm into a panel to fit the plumbing. I have a cordless 13.2V drill. Would drilling into gloss veener risk cracking the finish? My other option was to drill into the worktop but that was a no no. I also thought of drilling a hole into the sink and using a sheet metal punch but I couldn't make a hole in the sink in the first place!

Any advice would be most helpful.

Cheers

Steve
 
Sponsored Links
Get a 20mm bosch progressor holesaw and hex arbor. It will do the sink no probs. Start with a very small (-2mm) pilot hole.

These saws also do wonders in wood too.

The cheaper option would be a decent (and sharp) 20mm flat spade bit.

The units are going to be chipboard beneath the veneer, 99% of kitchen units are.
 
Thanks for the suggestions. I forgot to say that I bought a QMax 20mm sheet metal punch to cut a hole in the sink. Would the arbor be sharp enough to cut a hole in the stainless steel? Is there another option for drilling a hole big enough to fit the nut that comes with the metal punch (around 8mm in diameter). I'm a bit wary of drilling into the sink in case I botch it! Drilling metal requires a lot of force, doesn't it?

If I go down the drilling into veneered Chipboard route, would both the flat spade bit and the holesaw give a clean finish? Is there a risk of cracking of the veneer?

I thinking drilling into wood might be the simpler option. Cheers.
 
If I was doing the job, I'd tightly clamp a piece of scrap MDF on to the face and drill through the two with a sharp forstner bit, flat bit or hole saw. If you also clamp a piece on the rear as well, and drill all three, you will get a nice finish on the back side too.
 
Sponsored Links
steve - drill the hole through the carcase panel with a hole saw (as per Deluks advice). Unless you're confident about the job cover the offending area with a blanket of masking tape strips as this will assist in preventing slip and scratching). Drill 1/2+ way through panel then, if possible drill from other side, this will prevent the inside face of the cabinet from 'break-out' damage. IMO do not use a flat bit as this may be a little more difficult to control. Depending on pipe size, etc. consider fitting a chrome pipe collar to finish off neatly. I would not drill/punch hole through sink for a couple of reasons: you'll be unlikely to effectively seal the hole from any water spillage, if & when the coffee machine gives-up-the-ghost you'll be left with a redundant hole, and finally pipes emerging from a sink top will look naff.
 
Thanks again for the advice. Yup - I thought that waterproofing the new hole in the sink would be difficult. I was thinking about a rubber washer or grommet but it look a bit naff. I'll down the route of drilling a hole through the kitchen unit. There's overhanging worktop cum "breakfast bar" over the back of the units so that should hide the hole reasonably well.
 

DIYnot Local

Staff member

If you need to find a tradesperson to get your job done, please try our local search below, or if you are doing it yourself you can find suppliers local to you.

Select the supplier or trade you require, enter your location to begin your search.


Are you a trade or supplier? You can create your listing free at DIYnot Local

 
Back
Top