I must preface that I am not a wood guy at all. I made a custom playfield and I am baffled as to using 1'' round inserts. If I use a 1'' hole saw the hole is too big and the insert just falls through the hole. So, I got a 15/16" hole saw and that is too small? Am I missing something painfully obvious? I was smart enough to try it out on scrap wood prior to attempting install on my playfield. Any help would be great. I really just don't understand what I am doing wrong

The inserts are 1”. The hole saw (1”) cuts fine, but insert is way too loose and will fall right out the bottom. I measure the holes as in pictures. One is just under 1” and the other is just over 1”. I guess I should try those other hole cutters as mentioned above or a speedbore?

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Thank you guys. I will pick one up and go from there. Do they get glued in? Or do they get wedged into place?

I really appreciate the tips. It would suck to screw up the playfield as I have done everything with a dremel and jigsaw to this point. This is the whitewood with no inserts. The difference between cutting that over baltic birch was stunning. I now understand why thats the wood of choice for pinball.

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I guess I am buying a drill press! Thanks again for all the info. I will do my best on scrap wood until I get it down.

Wow! What a difference. I bought the forstner bits. I did one by hand just to see the cut. The insert is snug and I had to tap it down to be level. Thanks for the information about the right tool! I am trying to find a drill press now. Where I want to put some are pretty deep. I might have to do by hand. I really appreciate the tips from all of you. This is great use of pinside. Not a complaining post. A lets help each other post.

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I found a portable drill press from a supplier at my job. Midwest tools sells it. $40 and it is awesome. Adjustable angles and depth. I did not want to pony up 700 for a big enough press to do the inserts on my playfield project. I thought this might help others if they search for insert help.

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I agree that a solid press would be best. The arch of inserts I did on my game I would need a press with a good amount of reach 10”. Harbor freight has one for $700. If I was serious about making more playfields or using such a press I would buy it. It is huge and would work. I got all these inserts done by hand, so I went this route. If your slow the bit cuts very well.

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If you are not looking for a full size press I can tell you this set up works very well. I cut one hole to correct depth for the one ince bit and set the depth lock on guide off of that one and this works great. Fast drill and slow movement yeilds great results.

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