Tools and methods for forming a hole with countersink in stacked components

A method for creating a full-sized hole and countersink from a pair of preformed holes that are near full-size and that are in respective stacked components of a stack-up, the preformed holes being overlapped in fixed positional relation to each other, a through-hole being formed through an overlapping region of the preformed holes, the method comprising:

• determining a preformed hole diameter of the preformed holes;
• determining that an actual offset distance between the pair of preformed holes is less than a maximum allowable offset distance;
• selecting a tool for creating the full-sized hole, the tool having a coaxial pilot member and a hole cutter, the tool being selected to have a pilot diameter that is equal to the preformed hole diameter minus the maximum allowable offset distance, the hole cutter having a hole cutter outer diameter that is larger than the pilot diameter, the hole cutter outer diameter being greater than or equal to the preformed hole diameter plus the maximum allowable offset distance, the tool further including a countersink cutter having a countersink cutter diameter that widens from the hole cutter outer diameter to a countersink cutter outer diameter larger than the hole cutter outer diameter;
• inserting the tool into the through-hole to fit the pilot member in the through-hole such that the pilot member passes between opposite sides of each of the preformed holes;
• advancing the tool under rotation into the through-hole to thereby bore out the preformed holes with the hole cutter of the tool to produce the full-sized hole, and to form a countersink in the full-sized hole with the countersink cutter, the full-sized hole circumscribing or encompassing the pair of preformed holes.

A tool for creating a countersink hole from a first preformed hole and a second preformed hole in respective stacked components, the first preformed hole and the second preformed hole having a preformed hole diameter and being offset by an offset distance less than or equal to a maximum allowable offset distance so as to be at least partially overlapped in fixed positional relation to each other, a through-hole being formed through an overlapping region of the preformed holes, the tool comprising:

• a pilot member having a pilot diameter that is equal to the preformed hole diameter minus the maximum allowable offset distance;
• and
• a countersink cutter with a hole widening section widening from the pilot diameter to a countersink cutter outer diameter larger than the pilot diameter, and being formed coaxial with the pilot member;
• wherein the pilot member is configured to contact at least one of a first side of the first preformed hole or an opposite side of the second preformed hole to thereby position a central axis of the tool centered between an axis of the first preformed hole and an axis of the second preformed hole, when the pilot member is inserted in the through-hole.

A method for creating a countersink hole from a first preformed hole and a second preformed hole in respective stacked components so as to be at least partially overlapped in fixed positional relation to each other, a through-hole being formed through an overlapping region of the preformed holes, the method comprising:

• determining a preformed hole diameter of the first preformed hole and the second preformed hole;
• determining that an offset distance of the first preformed hole and the second preformed hole is less than a maximum allowable offset distance;
• selecting a tool for creating the countersink hole, the tool having a pilot member and a countersink cutter, the pilot member having a pilot diameter that is equal to the preformed hole diameter minus the maximum allowable offset distance, and the countersink cutter having a hole widening section widening from the pilot diameter to a countersink cutter outer diameter larger than the pilot diameter, and being formed coaxial with the pilot member;
• inserting the tool into the through-hole to fit the pilot member in the through-hole such that the pilot member contacts at least one of a first side of the first preformed hole or an opposite side of the second preformed hole to thereby align a central axis of the tool to be centered between an axis of the first preformed hole and an axis of the second preformed hole, when the pilot member is inserted in the through-hole;
• and
• advancing the tool under rotation into the through-hole to cause the countersink cutter to form a countersink centered between the axis of the first preformed hole and the axis of the second preformed hole.