Desktop Grommets for Dummies

Desktop grommet for wires

If there's one single thing that bugs the staff DIYers more than any other, it's freelancing J-school grads pretending to know how to perform simple projects without the benefit of experience. Why on earth would anyone want instructions in how to [name of project] from someone who not only has never [name of project] but doesn't even know how to use the necessary tools? Don't know what we mean? Well, here's a clue: Sarah Schreiber and her HomeSteady.com post, "How to Drill Holes Through Your Desk for Power Cords."¹

Several of the staff DIYers have done this, or something like it. The process is pretty simple: you buy a grommet (see image above) and use a hole saw of the specified diameter to cut a hole through the desktop. Most grommets require in the neighborhood of two-inch hole This works on either solid wood or engineered wood (MDF, laminate) tops. Plug the grommet into the hole and, presto, you're done.
Schreiber, on the other hand, seemed unaware of not only grommets, but of hole saws as well. That's why Sarah's instructions, to be blunt, were downright stupid:

1. "Locate a core drill bit large enough for power cords to fit through, perhaps an inch in diameter..." – A) You don't use a "core drill," you use a hole saw. B) A one-inch hole may not be large enough for the plug on a power cord, much less a bundle of cables.
2. "Place the bit on the desk at the location where you’re planning to drill. Trace around the drill bit with a pencil to mark the location." – Why? Why not just mark the center of the location?
3. "Attach the core drill bit to your drill." – "Attach"? Not really...
4. "Continue to drill until you break through to the bottom of the desk. [sic] If the desk is thicker than the drill bit, stop the drill once you reach a depth where the top of the bit is even with the desktop." – A) Don't you just want to drill through the top of the desk? and B) That would have to be one darned thick top!

It's pretty clear that Schreiber was utterly clueless about the process when she wrote this dreck, particularly since her references were to content-farm posts written by equally clueless freelancers. This is the stuff Dumbass of the Day winners are made of. So welcome aboard, Sarah!

¹ The original has been deleted by Leaf Group, but can still be accessed using the Wayback machine at archive.org. Its URL was   ehow.com/how_12035861_drill-holes-through-desk-power-cords.html

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