What is a bradawl?
What is a Bradawl?
What is a pilot hole?
A pilot hole is a smaller hole created before the required size hole is drilled, or to allow a screw to be driven in without the need for pre-drilling.
Pilot holes are beneficial because they:
Prevent Splintering and Splitting
Improve the Accuracy of the Hole Location and Execution
Make it easier to Drill a Hole, or put in a Screw or Nail, than trying to do it on an Unmarked Hard Surface
A bradawl is a hand tool, slightly resembling a screwdriver, but is much smaller. It consists of a handle, shank and chisel-shaped point.
Although, technically, the tip of a bradawl is shaped like a chisel, there are two other shapes of tip which can be considered bradawls: tapered round and tapered square.
These are, respectively, round point awls and birdcage awls. The word ‘bradawl’ can therefore be used generically to describe all woodworking awls.
For more information on these types of bradawl tip, see What are the parts of a bradawl?
