When And How To Drill A Pilot Hole | The Family Handyman

Home » How To Drill A Pilot Hole » When And How To Drill A Pilot Hole | The Family Handyman

Maybe your like

Skip to main content 8 Tips for Drilling Concrete and Installing Fasteners 8 Tips for Drilling Concrete and Installing Fasteners 11 Tips To Make Drilling Holes In Metal Easier and Faster 11 Tips To Make Drilling Holes In Metal Easier and Faster How to Build a Pergola How to Build a Pergola 15 Expert Tips for Digging Holes 15 Expert Tips for Digging Holes How To Dig a Fence Post Hole the Right Way How To Dig a Fence Post Hole the Right Way Drill Press: What It Is and When Do You Use it? Drill Press: What It Is and When Do You Use it? How To Drill Into a Stud How To Drill Into a Stud How To Cut a Perfectly-Sized Hole in Drywall for Lights and Electrical Boxes How To Cut a Perfectly-Sized Hole in Drywall for Lights and Electrical Boxes How to Drive Screws Perfectly How to Drive Screws Perfectly How To Drill a Hole in Glass Without Breaking It How To Drill a Hole in Glass Without Breaking It How to Make a Guide-Hole Drill Bit How to Make a Guide-Hole Drill Bit Best Way to Drill a Drainage Hole in a Ceramic Pot Best Way to Drill a Drainage Hole in a Ceramic Pot How To Install a Birdhouse Post How To Install a Birdhouse Post How to Master Your Hole Saw How to Master Your Hole Saw What Is a Right Angle Drill and When Do You Use It? What Is a Right Angle Drill and When Do You Use It? How To Use a Hole Saw How To Use a Hole Saw Home Skills Woodworking When and How To Drill a Pilot Hole Lauren Comer

By Lauren Comer

Family Handyman's Editorial Process

Updated on Jul. 26, 2024

Should you drill a pilot hole or not? Learn what a pilot hole is, when they're necessary and how to determine adequate hole size.

There’s nothing worse for a DIYer than throwing away a perfectly good piece of wood because you made a drilling mistake. Pilot holes help prevent that. Pilot holes are drilled into a piece of material before fastening that material with a screw. There are a few reasons why it’s smart to drill a pilot hole.

When To Drill a Pilot Hole

Three common reasons to drill a pilot hole are:

  1. When screwing though the edge or end of material. A pilot hole allows the screw threads to cut directly into the hole, which reduces the risk of splitting wood near an end or edge.
  2. When you need precise screw locations. Tips of screws don’t always enter material accurately. It’s much easier to drill precise locations with a drill bit than the tip of a screw. Create a pilot hole before inserting the screws for a more reliably accurate screw location.
  3. When screwing through dense materials, such as hardwood and laminate. Screwing directly into wood and other dense materials requires a lot of force. Drilling a pilot hole reduces the pressure to drive a screw through the material. Drilling a pilot hole into softwoods like pine and spruce typically isn’t required unless it falls under the other categories listed above.

How To Drill a Pilot Hole

Use a drill bit that’s the same diameter as the shank of the screw. Then drill a pilot hole into the material that’s the same depth as the screw you’ll be fastening.

Author Lauren Comer Lauren is the metro Atlanta-based home improvement DIYer and blogger behind PinchPlateParty.com. She completed her first DIY furniture build in her early 20s and after that first project, she was hooked. When she's not working on a home improvement project you can find her checking out a new restaurant or spending time with family. Read More Lauren Comer Family Handyman Logo

We are no longer supporting IE (Internet Explorer) as we strive to provide site experiences for browsers that support new web standards and security practices.

We recommend our users to update the browser.

Close Icon
  • Google Chrome
  • Apple Safari
  • Mozilla Firefox
  • Microsoft Edge

Tag » How To Drill A Pilot Hole