How to drill holes for “cam nuts”

deskfurnituretools

The manuals I've seen for (cheaper) furniture refers to a cam nut and a cam bolt. Examples of them can be seen for purchase on Amazon.

I've recently decided I'd like to build my own desk and believe these would be a good means to allow future disassembly of the desk.

Is there a reason to not use cam nuts/bolts in my own furniture? I'm surprised how little info I'm finding on DIY'ing with them.

And what tool would I use to drill the hole for the cam nut?

Best Answer

A frequently used bit is a Forstner style bit, which drills (nearly) flat bottomed holes. enter image description here.

For the smaller sizes (< 1/2 inch, <13mm) , a brad point bit is also usable and also (nearly) flat bottomed. enter image description here

Because these bits are minimally guided by a central drill point, use in a drill press is recommended (to prevent sideways drift). Careful use freehand can also work. Go slowly at the start, until the full circumference is inscribed, then higher pressure can be used.

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