How to drill holes for cam lock connectors

Discover the spacing and sizes of the holes in order to use cam lock connectors in your next project. Cam connectors provide a clean and secure, but easy to disassemble, joint for boards. In this video, I provide the drill bit sizes and hole spacing for commonly found cam locks.
Full transcript at: www.house-of-ha...
Music under Creative Commons License By Attribution 3.0.
Intro/Exit: "Hot Swing" by Kevin MacLeod at incompetech.com

[@PhilR0gers]

9 years after you posted this video, I still struggled to find any practical information about where to drill the holes. So thank you for posting this. It's saved me hours of experimenting.

[@lizabet6668]

Very clear instructions. oftentimes I speed up the video to get to the point, but yours was to the point from the start and your pace of speech was deliberate and clear. Thank you!

[@VioletSpectrumArt]

As someone who is in the time of their life where moving happens a lot, having furniture that is easy to assemble as it is to disassemble is a must. I can't believe there aren't more resources for cam locks and screws! They are a wonder. Thank you for the upload! One of these days, I'll get into making furniture and cam locks are probably going to be my main method of construction. :D

[@HouseOfHacks]

+myshrinkingviolet2 Yeah, I was surprised there weren't more videos about how to use them in DIY projects. Glad this helped. Thanks for watching. Peace.

[@carold.7907]

This is great I spent a week researching Forestner bits and also ordered a 270 piece set of cam lock nuts, connectors in different sizes as I have some Ikea drawers I got for next to nothing and will be using them as drawers. I just figured everything out but still wasn't sure of the size because it's actually a bit bigger than 1/2 inch. Now I have the precise measurement thanks to your video. Appreciate it. If anyone is looking at buying the forestner bit they don't all have the same size shank that fits your router tool. Some do and some fit hand held drills and drill presses so if someone didn't know keep that in mind..

[@nobuckle40]

Best description on how to do this I've seen yet. Thanks.

[@HouseOfHacks]

Wow, thanks!

[@axe.capital]

Thank you so much for making this video. You summed up everything perfectly and like you I struggled to find any practical information on how to install cam locks (still in 2018) until now. I didn't even know what the name of the "Forstner" drill bit was. I knew I needed it for fitting the cam but didn't know what to search for. 10/10 information.

[@HouseOfHacks]

You're welcome! Thanks for letting me know how much it helped you. Cheers!

[@borisb.5024]

Thanks for making and uploading the video, found it useful 4 years later

[@HouseOfHacks]

You're welcome! Glad you found it useful. Cheers.

[@IsolathCreations]

Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for this video. There really is a lack of info out there on how to set these up without pre-drilled holes!

[@HouseOfHacks]

+Isolath Creations (Isobel Latham) Awesome! Glad to be able to help. Cheers.

[@huraibyel-huraiby7462]

4:35. Definitely necessary to practice on spare wood scraps. I am fortunate to have a brother label printer so I created sticky labels to mark out exactly where I need to drill.

[@DivinityinLove]

I mainly like this because as mentioned at the end, it makes the furniture dismantle-able for moving (moving house for instance). Thanks for this!

[@StarKnight619]

and just like that you saved me quite a bit of time

[@MohammedAli-1]

Excellent video. This is the only one that I have found on this subject. Thanks, from the UK 🖒

[@HouseOfHacks]

Glad you found it helpful!

[@gamesnitch9451]

Thank you for this info, i have searched high and low on what exactly i needed to do this and your video was immensely helpful

[@HouseOfHacks]

Awesome! Glad to have been a help! Cheers!

[@dclowd9901]

Any chance you can explain how you determined the inset of the lock hole was to be 1 5/16" ? I am trying to calculate where to set my cam lock hole now, and it seems like it should be some factor of the length of the cam screw bit.

[@saintjohnny1]

Thanks for making this, I wasn't sure how to use these. Even the fastener employee at my Home Depot wasn't too sure.

[@HouseOfHacks]

You're welcome! I'm glad you found it useful. Have fun with your project! Cheers.

[@i-see-desertbaldo2369]

Great and instructive video. I just installed some closet systems and your video will help me reconfigure some of the shelf units and add more strength with cam locks.

[@lindapeters5497]

What if the hole is too wide from the mfg and the cam won't lock the next piece in ? I'm putting a tall amior together the short cabinet to the taller side. One side is fine but this other side won't work.

[@KBBAKTHA]

very well explained. I am absolutely new to cam nut joinery to do it myself. I did assemble some Ikea stuff, but those come predrilled and assembly is child's play. Thanks

[@HouseOfHacks]

+Bakthavathsal Kadambi Glad you found it useful. Yeah, previously I'd only done it on Ikea items too. I had to figure this out for my first project.

[@Subgunman]

You can make your own drilling jig once you figure the distances needed. You will need a 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" by 5" long piece of angle aluminum. Scribe your distances on the inside of the angle stock about 1 1/2" from the end and then drill the appropriately sized holes in their respective positions. Repeat on the other side of the aluminum stock. To use just clamp the piece to the wood and drill your holes as needed. These cam locks are available in two lengths for the actual cam. One for 16mm thick stock and one for 18mm thick stock. You can use the larger for thicker stock, just remember that the cam I'll be counter sunk into the wood but you can usually find cap plugs to fit over the cams to hide them. You will need to make a second jig for the larger ( or smaller) size if you wish to use a different size cam. The locking post setback will very for the depth of cam you use. The plus of working in the USA is that we have access to metric drill bits to accommodate this hardware. Living in the EU for ten years now and it is next to impossible to find imperial sized fasteners and drill bits here.

[@anthonyd.5140]

Great video , excellent tutorial. Thank you fir sharing !

[@HouseOfHacks]

Glad it was helpful!

[@jefferocity9999]

Well done video and you're right; there is a dearth of info on these out there. Yours is the only vid I found. My only disappointment is that I am not able to insert them loosely since the surface will be upside down and the cam nut will fall out. I was hoping to discover the proper drill bit size since I cannot seem to locate one and am having to use a straight router bit with a top bearing to make the exact hole. Thank you though for the measurements and tips.

[@HouseOfHacks]

+Jeff Giardini Thanks for watching. Yeah, I see how having the nut on an upside down surface would be a pain. I wonder if a dab of hot glue, blu-tack, or even some tape stuck in the hole, would keep it in place long enough for assembly.

[@jefferocity9999]

+House of Hacks that's worth a try. If my router method doesn't work or is too much of a pain I'll give it a shot and let you know

[@HouseOfHacks]

+Jeff Giardini Thanks, I'd be interested in knowing how it goes.

[@ZenMinus]

Hi This reply is probably way too late for you, but may hep others :-) \ They should not be inserted loosely. The hole used for the camlock (in this video) is too big. The hole should be the SAME diameter as the cam lock. You should find that there is a "nib" or something similar to hold the cam lock within the hole. The cam lock is (normally) designed to stay in place in the drilled hole. I started using these devices nearly 40 years ago (slightly different design and better quality) they are very strong and work very well.

[@ramon3300]

WOW!! What a great video. Thank you for the tutorial.

[@HouseOfHacks]

You're welcome! Glad you liked it!

[@jkj1459]

Cant understand but still give you a like 👍

[@smillyg61]

The exact information I needed! Thank you!

[@HouseOfHacks]

Awesome to hear. Happy to help. You're welcome!

[@patman92054]

Good video. I will say that pocket screws are much stronger than cam locks and therefore cam locks are not very popular for most projects. That is probably why there is limited information out there on them. As you mentioned they do serve a limited purpose, mainly Ikea type furniture that can be assembled/ disassembled easily. Even at that you really have the protect the posts from damage and loosening when trying to reuse them. They don't hold up well to much abuse in particleboard substrates. I heard that Ikea recently found or invented something even better.

[@HouseOfHacks]

+Patrick Thanks for your comment. Hmm, that's an interesting assertion, that pocket screws are much stronger than cam locks. I couldn't find any data on that. Matias Wandel does have some strength tests between pocket screws, dowels and glue and mortise and tenon joints. Might be interesting to add in cam locks to the mix. Yeah, I suspect any connector in a particleboard application has limited tighten/loosen cycles just by the nature of the material. In my particular application, I was using real wood, so that wasn't much of a concern for me. For my project, it was more an experiment in using cam locks in my own project than anything else. Because of the design, the connector isn't really taking any force, it's more just for alignment and keeping things straight. I could have used floating (not glued in) dowels too. I just assembled some Ikea shelves. They still used cam connectors. What was new was the shelf support pin and they seemed to work really well. Cheers.

[@aptheace7890]

Very nice and detailed video... helped a lot.

[@HouseOfHacks]

+AP The Ace I'm glad it helped. Thanks for letting me know. Peace.

[@thomasschwartz4899]

Thank YOU... Getting ready to make my own cabinets. Can't decide whether to use a cam connector or a Kreg Jeg... Any ideas? Standard 12 and 24" deep kitchen cabinets...

[@HouseOfHacks]

For kitchen cabinets, I'd definitely go with the pocket screws. The cam locks are great for things you may want to assemble and disassemble, but for things that you're going to install and leave alone, the pocket screws will be much faster and as, if not more, secure. Cheers.

[@craigholbrook971]

Can't hear you bro over the big band background music, and it looks so informative, I wanna follow this tutorial, but it's annoying to hear those trumpets, trombones and clarinets and trying to listen to you at the same time.

[@naziruarafat1603]

Was wondering how to make smart work had to come online.

[@noma3795]

Thanks....Still very useful for me in 2017..............

[@HouseOfHacks]

Awesome! Thanks for letting me know. Cheers.

[@teliosambientes7878]

Nice tutorial. Everything we need to know. Thanks.

[@HouseOfHacks]

You're welcome! Happy to help and thanks for watching.

[@along3177]

So,I am hoping maybe you have some tips for me. I have a white storage closet that came with our house. I am trying to dismantle it and toss it in the garbage. Problem is,it was assembled using cam locks. I cannot for the life of me get these suckers to budge,and there's no way to get this thing out of the room in one piece and down our stairs. The sledge hammer is looking like my best option as of now. Any advice would be much appreciated!!! Cheers!!!

[@HouseOfHacks]

First use the biggest screwdriver you have that fits the slots. This gives the most leverage. Failing that, I've found a reciprocating saw usually is easier than a sledge hammer. :-) Good luck.

[@along3177]

So,once I've found the screwdriver big enough to do the job,how do I go about dislodging the locks? Thanks for your response!!

[@HouseOfHacks]

Oh, sorry, forgot that key detail. You'd give it a half turn counter-clockwise, just like unscrewing a screw. The two sides should then just pop apart. If the piece has been finished since assembly, you might need to tap it with a hammer.

[@Hakucho64]

It turns out that not all posts are the same length. In the furniture I repaired, the cam hole needed to be 25mm (about 1") from the edge, not 1 5/16th inches.

[@shamailsyed439]

been wondering about this from a long time... thanks alot for the info

[@HouseOfHacks]

You're welcome. Thanks for watching. Cheers.

[@ZenMinus]

The hole size for the camlock (in this video) is too large. The cam lock is designed to be held in the hole. Part of the design includes a "nib" that grips the side of the hole. This prevents the camlock from falling out during assembly, but the main purpose of the "nib" is to retain the camlock in its tightened position. The nib "cuts" into the wood and helps secure the camlock from rotating after assembly. Minor errors in hole location can cause the camlock to not tighten as much as it should. If this happens the nib will hold the camlock in place and help prevent the device from coming loose.

[@HouseOfHacks]

Interesting. Thanks for the input. Cheers.

[@rodneylowery7976]

ZenMinu

[@thiluong6678]

what size do you recommend using?

[@fabianvergara3364]

Great video! Helped a lot.

[@HouseOfHacks]

Super! Cheers.

[@grandwizardnoticer8975]

"It took a bit to drill all the holes.... " true. ;)

[@binajohnson2658]

2:17 for the drill bit sizes needed

[@HouseOfHacks]

Thanks!

[@bipinmistry3590]

Thanks 👌very helpful!! 👍

[@HouseOfHacks]

Glad to hear that! Thanks for letting me know!

[@sanjaypatil2532]

You didn't show how to drill the hole for the cam-screw. How does the wood get the threads for the screw ? OR the threads aren't required which means the screw won't screw-in as easily as you have shown

[@HouseOfHacks]

The screws are self-taping, so you drill a hole and screw them in. They cut the threads as they go.

[@tamerceliks]

Do you have any template or guider tool for lining cam locks properly? There are some tools but they are too expensive. It's called cam lock guider. I just wonder if there is any cheaper solution for amateur woodworks.

[@HouseOfHacks]

+Tamer Çelik No, I don't have a template or jig. I only had a couple holes to make, so I just manually measured where I needed the holes. I suppose if you had a number of them to make, you could make your own jig using hardwood, aluminum or brass. One issue with making a universal jig is it needs to be adjustable for different thicknesses of wood and so needs to be adjustable, making it more expensive. Thanks for watching.

[@tamerceliks]

Thanks for the tip. I made a coffee table, aligning was really hard. Do you recommend any other approach instead of cam locks?

[@HouseOfHacks]

+Tamer Çelik Hmm. The advantage cam locks have is they the the project easy to assemble and disassemble. If you're not so concerned with this feature, other joinery methods that might be applicable are pocket screws or dowels and glue. It really depends on the design and your goals for your project. Hope that helps. Cheers.

[@tmbtv]

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cam-Fitting-Drill-Guide-Minifix-Shelving-Dowel-Connection-Jig-Template-/152265043990?ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT

[@HouseOfHacks]

Thanks for sharing that link. (But one time would have been sufficient. :-)) Cheers.

[@nicholaoreilly2219]

Very helpful video. Thanks for that :D

[@HouseOfHacks]

You're welcome!

[@1989lolo1]

Thanks

[@SJGoesPlaces]

Too much background audio can hardly hear the speaker 😢

[@romeowhiskey1146]

Is it just me...or did the END of the 2 pieces not LINE UP? Seems like you could have KEPT GOING until you got them to LINE UP.

[@HouseOfHacks]

Romeo Whiskey No, it's not you. :-) That was just a test piece I did where I was focused on the depth to get a tight fit and the distance from the long edge so the face of one would line up with the edge of the other. I didn't care at all about the ends and made no attempt to make them line up. Cheers.

[@yuvanwinanda2210]

It's only scrap wood

[@HouseOfHacks]

@Jan parchanski Just put the holes the same distance from the ends of the wood.

[@laprepper]

I might have to repair some Ikea furniture with this method, or I might just cheat and use blocks, wood screws and glue :)

[@HouseOfHacks]

Haha, well, if you decide not to cheat, hope this helped! Cheers.

[@jacobvarley5453]

turn the music down and don't bother hiding your mic, I can hear it rustling. I'm a sound mixer, so I hope that means something. I care more about hearing you clean and concise over NOT seeing your mic, it's not a narrative film so don't sweat it.

[@HouseOfHacks]

Jacob varley Thanks for the feedback. Yeah, I know exactly what you mean about the rustling in the audio.

[@DarthScheiber]

Suggestion. Turn off the music. It is so loud it is hard to hear what you are saying.

[@JamesThew]

Eugh, use the feckin metric system. Great video though.

[@jamed2017]

Why can't your country just use the metric system like the rest of the developed world?

[@HouseOfHacks]

Why can't the rest of the world realize we're not going to change anytime soon? :-)

[@vd792]

thank God the music stopped

[@HouseOfHacks]

Haha, time to find a chair before they're all taken. :-D

[@atiqsbehlim]

How to remove cam lock

[@HouseOfHacks]

Use a screwdriver to twist it 1/4 to 1/2 turn counter-clockwise. Once that's done, the two parts being held together should slide apart. Hope that helps.

[@atiqsbehlim]

@@HouseOfHacks can u make a video for it

[@HouseOfHacks]

Are you having a specific problem with it?

[@atiqsbehlim]

@@HouseOfHacks yes i have bed this type of camlock i want to remove my bed

[@alexwhite5724]

Its not flushed

[@HouseOfHacks]

What's not flush? The top of the nut? As long as it's not protruding, it's OK. The ends of the board? That was just a test piece and there was no intent for it to be flush. Cheers.

[@kwabenaberchie]

Turn down the music.

[@ryancoleman1512]

The Constant music is HORRIBLE

[@HouseOfHacks]

Thanks for the feedback. You mean the intro music that stops less than a minute in? I don't hear any other music until the end. Peace.

[@sueellenblubaugh934]

this would be a perfect vid if you didnt have these giant words across the screen !!!!!

[@xraydog2011]

Annoying music

[@HouseOfHacks]

Sorry. Thanks for letting me know. Peace.

[@xraydog2011]

@@HouseOfHacks I am really sorry if I was rude, great tutorial though

[@HouseOfHacks]

No problem, I didn't take it as rude. Appreciate getting feedback. Thanks!