A table made of composite planks.

Thickness of planks.

Braces which planks are joined to.

A tiny frog, waiting for me to build a pond. 20mm Cotswold chippings for scale. Irrelevant, but cute.

What ‘thing’ to I need to attach to a drill to make this hole, and is there anything I should be aware of before I potentially destroy my table?

Thanks 🙂

You can get a hole saw to attach to a drill. These come in a variety of sizes, qualities and prices. Check out Screwfix. If I didn’t have one I’d use a jigsaw. The narrower the blade the better for turns. Or drill lots of holes that come close to each other.

One of sets…

https://www.bonanzamarket.co.uk/listings/11pcs-Hole-Saw-Pilot-Drill-Bit-Kits-for-Plywood-Drywall-Wood-Plastic/637887834

If i wanted to drill bang in the middle of the planks, I would get a piece of wood long enough to clamp over the width of the table. I would use a holesaw and drill through the wood, then use this hole as a guide to drill through the planks.

Thanks, probably should have said that I’ve got hole saw attachments but they look like they’ll make a rough cut and probably rip anything apart within 1cm of their range.

What I’d like is a smooth cut, or some kind of sheath (snigger) that I could slip over the (snigger) hole to make a nice finish.

You are lucky that you have 1 single central board in which you are gonna drill the hole. Would have been a pigs-arse if it was between boards.

You need 1 of these:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-hex-shank-holesaw-arbor-9-5mm/7518h

And 1 of these:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-multi-material-bi-metal-holesaw-32mm/42708

However, (and please don’t take this the wrong way) because you don’t know that this is what you need, and because you don’t already have something like this in your tool box and to cap it all off, you have already referred to the required tools as “things”, i’d probably “get a man (or woman) in.”

Judging by the immaculate patio you currently have, I think you would be hugely pissed-off if you drilled the hole even 1mm out. (At the very least, getting someone in would prevent an argument with “the missus” when she realizes that, god forbid, “THERE’S DUST ON THE PATIO!”

£15 + argument, (to do it yourself.) or £50 to get someone in (no arguments)

P.S. My Sparkie wife thinks you probably have a £1000 Makita but have never used it…..

Forstner bit or holesaw; if you can clamp some scrap wood underneath to minimise a messy exit on the underside – not that you’ll see it of course…

You are lucky that you have 1 single central board in which you are gonna drill the hole. Would have been a pigs-arse if it was between boards.

Ha, I counted them quick and only saw 10, hence my recommendation to bridge the boards ☹️

Measure twice, drill once, as a wise man might once have said. As Simon_S says, you have a board in the exact centre of the table – eleven boards across, so one centre with five either side, so a piece of piss to measure up and mark. Then first drill a small guide hole, about 4-5mm, with thick tape, duct tape or several layers of masking tape stuck to the board so you can mark accurately then drill with minimal risk of the wood tearing.
But carefully drill the guide hole first, maybe use a hand drill to drill slowly at first.

Hole saw. Count 5 in from BOTH sides 😉

Empty ice cream box taped underneath. Keep that patio clean. Save the frog from a dusting.

Cantilever parasol.

As above. Holesaw. Once the pilot drill has gone through the bottom. Drill from the bottom up into the wood approximately 5mm. Then start drilling again from the top. That way you won’t split the wood on the bottom when the holesaw pushes through.

If you have slight splintering on the top surface just put a slight bevel on it with sandpaper.

Thanks, reassured that a hole saw won’t rip the crap out of composite then; a material I’ve never dealt with.

And lols at Simon’s usual attempts to troll the hell out of a thread 🙂

Holesaw. Keep the revs up nice and fast and ever so gently start the cut keeping everything square.

Carefully withdraw the bit now and again to clear swarf and go around halfway.

Then flip the table and do the second half from the underside. This’ll avoid breakout.

Then flip the table and do the second half from the underside.

Or just get under the table.

LOL…… Makita or Bosch?

LOL…… Makita or Bosch?

Hilti.

Look at the neat holes their tools made at Hatton Garden a few years ago!

Bearnecessaties…….

Have a look at these.

https://www.vital-parts.co.uk/blanking-plugs—bla059-1937-p.asp?gclid=CjwKCAjw2uf2BRBpEiwA31VZj9y4x1wpLTv_qV3nLELS__u2sqwC5xiB6-YNuA-q8Tj1whTD_bSXURoCl58QAvD_BwE

If you drill the right size hole…. you could match it up with a wee blanking plate.

Could be useful if you want to use the table without the parasol and don’t want beer bottles, cutlery, food etc falling down the hole.

In picking your hole saw – maybe try for a size that you can then fit some sort of flanged spigot into so that if the hole ins’t as tidy as you’d like you can neaten it up.

Trying to thing of the right sort of google-able name for that sort of hardware. In a yacht chandlers they’d call it a Deck Bush or a Fairlead

EDIT – actually one of these upside down

That is perfect – thank you 🙂

Also a great deal if I buy another 37 tables.

Have you thought about what’s going to happen when the bottom of the parasol reaches the ground? If it’s going into a weighted base then the centre brace for the legs is kind of going to be in the way by the looks of it.

Arse. You’re right.

Are the planks solid or hollow?

Lube. Plenty of lube. The composite will get hot and melt, clogging up the holesaw which will then either jam or cut progressively oversize as it gets more clogged.

Cantilever parasol.

Great idea if you’ve got Flashy’s back garden, as the space needed for the stand is stupidly large. We picked up a cheap sail from B&Q to cover the table outside our kitchen, some string & Carabiner’s secure it in place. We take it down overnight, as even dew will start to stretch the fabric, let alone rain, but it’s a cheap cheerful & does the job really well. Thinking about it, I reckon you could secure two of those sail together to make a larger covering… hmmmm
You could do probably do a more permanent job with better sail & Catenary wire

Blunt screwdriver and a hammer 🔨

Just hit it until it goes through then chip away until you get a rough circular hole.

👍

Skyhook.

Blow torch on the end of the parasol pole until cherry red and then push it through the plastic. It will be the right size and seal the sides of the hole if the planks aren’t solid

A sharp spoon and some patience.

Sorry but as has been highlighted up there ^, there’s a cast iron / lead (god knows but it’s the heaviest table & chairs imaginable) brace that goes along the legs that means no parasol.

Sorry but as has been highlighted up there ^, there’s a cast iron / lead (god knows but it’s the heaviest table & chairs imaginable) brace that goes along the legs that means no parasol.

Certainly doesn’t. It just means the challenge is more interesting.

How about this?

Get yourself a couple of angle brackets…

Then get yourself a couple of appropriately sized hose clamps.

Arrange the two angle brackets back to back so you have a vertical post effectively on top of that central brace rail(you could even sandwich a small bit of wood between depending on parasol post size)

Get your hose clamps and clamp each bracket down each side (you could spray it all black so it looks all nice)

Then drill your table as above, insert the parasol through the hole and over the post you’ve just made.

If the table is nice and heavy you should be all good. Make the drilled hole very near to size and the post sized or shaped with added wood to reduce slop.

LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL…… RAOFLMFAO!!!!!!

That’s a “brilliant” idea…….. What could possibly go wrong having a table load of Prosecco and BBQ food connected to a HUGE SAIL!

Jesus….. get some bloody weight on the ground….. NOT on the table.

Actually…… why not have a go at it. I’m sure it will work.

(Please can you post pictures….. PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE! Actually, VIDEO….. YES…. VIDEO! That would be good!)

FFS…. The man cannae drill a hole in a board without advice….. Jubilee Clips, JUBILEE CLIPS……. That’s NASA technology, right there!

For the love that is all sweet and good, PLEASE get someone in. Safety first! You are likely to open a bloody worm-hole and suck us all into a parallel universe if you keep messing around with forces which you no nothing of!

Mind you, in a parallel universe Pablo Picasso works on a beach as parasol salesman? Who Knew?!

Are you ok? ^^^ 😂

Well, he already said the table weighs as much as a small planet, and whoever leaves a parasol up in strong wind deserves everything they get.

That’s why it’s removable.. 🙄

You know you can get parasol bases that have cutouts to sit over table supports..?

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8671637