Reboring A Door
Keith D asks? I bought new doorknobs to install in my older home, but the existing holes are too small for the new locks & there is no wood to engage the pilot bit of my hole saw. How do I enlarge the holes?
Keith, there are 2 ways you can go about this, one is to use a hole saw that is the same size as the current hole in the doors & drill a hole through a scrap piece of 2x material. You can now place this plug on the hole saw for the new locks (usually 2-1/8) & it will act as a guide to keep the hole saw steady. The second option would be to drill the 2-1/8 hole in a scrap of plywood or 1x, center it over the hole in the door & clamp it in place as a guide. On both of these methods do not drill all the way through the door, to avoid splintering remove the bit & move to the other side & repeat. There is also a good chance that the hole for the latch in the side of the door will be too small as well. If it is too small it won’t be by much & I have had good luck with using a 1 inch hole saw instead of a paddle bit, start slow & it will work it’s own way in. Good Luck!
