.5" Carved hole vs. .5" drilled hole

[cjones]

I am working on a project that I am going to be using some dowel rod. The thing I found was that if I create a circle and set it as a carve region at .5", it is a larger hole then a drilled hole set at .5".

My question is, which is the right one to use for 1/2" dowel rod? I also have one hole that will take a 3/4" dowel. I need them to fit snug and not loose.

Which should I use to create the holes that I need?

Chris

[fwharris]

The drill hole will be more accurate. Doing it with a carve region the sides of the hole will be tapered do the the profile of the carving bit

[cjones]

Thank Floyd. That is what I thought but wanted to be sure before running the project.

[Mugsowner]

You will have to use a cutting bit to drill the hole to insure a strait sides.

[DickB]

Also the tip of the carving bit will follow the circle size, so that will add 1/16".

The cutting bit is recommended, but you might want to run a trial or two and vary the specified size. In fact the 1/8" cutting bit is slightly larger than my 1/8" drill bit. I build clocks using brass tubing as arbors. The cutting bit is just not accurate enough for a tight fit. I drill undersized holes and follow up with regular drill bits.