When it came time to install the window hardware (blind mounts, shade mounts, valance mounts) in my restored 1880s home, I discovered that a tool typically used for metalworking really sped up the job. I’m talking about my automatic center punch. The one I own is from General Tools (www.generaltools.com; Steel Automatic Center Punch, part #79). This little metal punch with its spring action allows one-handed hole-punching for screw-starting, as opposed to an awl and hammer or a tapping-type screw starter. Just align it with the hole in the hardware you need to mount, press the punch with one hand, and its blunt tip snaps a center mark and a starter hole. In the material I used for trim (both maple and MDF), its blunt tip seems to crush the fiber of the wood rather than split it. The result is a starter hole that will not split along the grain.
W. Scott Wohlgemuth, Factoryville, PA
Edited and Illustrated by Charles Miller
From Fine Homebuilding #196
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I started out as a machinist in the early 70's. This was one of my first purchases and now retired it is still in my tool box and ready to use for exactly as this member describes. But I would suggest one of those self centering punches for hinge or bracket holes.