Abstract: A protective device for a fabric or other soft wall covering upon the drilling of a hole therethrough into a support wall behind the covering has a sleeve which closely surrounds the drill bit, a spring braced against the sleeve and a roller bearing to permit immobilization of the sleeve as the drill bit rotates and is axially displaced in the latter. The sleeve has a circular array of pins projecting from its face turned away from the chuck and adapted to penetrate the wall covering. A light supplementary spring can be provided on this side of the sleeve as well to compress the wall covering.