JIG - Find the absolute centre every time

[Walter]

It's alright for you buggars that retired - I need to save every minute

When you are retired you will realise the inaccuracy of that statement. I have no idea how I ever found time to go to work.

 

[Walter]

Buy good quality drill and they will go straight

I do and they don't always.

 

[bellringer]

If you buy guring or domer they should as long as you drill slowlry

 

[cookie21]

That were you Wong it will very likely be off centre if it a square blank that not been cut 100% square


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

You say I,m Wong, I say I,m wight, you have to use those things at the top of your head as well

 

[Walter]

If you buy guring or domer they should as long as you drill slowlry

I agree Alex, better tools and proper technique reduce the possibility of run out but sometimes with really awkward timber they can still be some following of the grain.

Have you, or has anyone else for that matter tried a drill press/pillar drill with a laser guide? Are they accurate/any use/a gimmick?

 

[bellringer]

I have not but I just shove the blank in the vice and drill the hole

 

[Bob Ellis]

My drill press has a laser guide. It is useful for getting you close, but I wouldn't like to rely on it 100%. Your eyes are still the best guide.

I hesitate to say this, having much less experience than most of you, but it seems to me that even using a top quality drill and a square to ensure that the drill and blank are both perpendicular will not ensure that the drill travels through the centre of the blank from one end to the other if the blank is not straight. In my experience, most blanks aren't straight, even acrylic ones, and some burrs are shaped like a banana! When absolute accuracy is important, I turn the blanks on my lathe until they are round, find the centre and create a small starter hole before drilling them in the press. I hope I'm not teaching grandmother to such eggs with this post.

 

[Bob Ellis]

Not having done any segmenting yet (until I get my new band saw!), can I ask those of you who have whether drill bits wander when drilling segmented wood. If you have glued together pieces of different woods and start to drill at the precise intersection of those pieces, does the drill tend to veer into the least dense wood because it follows the path of least resistance? If so, how do you prevent that from happening?

 

[Walter]

My drill press has a laser guide. It is useful for getting you close, but I wouldn't like to rely on it 100%. Your eyes are still the best guide.

I thought as much. A bit like the laser guides on sliding mitre saws.

Not having done any segmenting yet (until I get my new band saw!), can I ask those of you who have whether drill bits wander when drilling segmented wood. If you have glued together pieces of different woods and start to drill at the precise intersection of those pieces, does the drill tend to veer into the least dense wood because it follows the path of least resistance? If so, how do you prevent that from happening?

Yes that can happen. Careful alignment to start with helps (hence Andy's tip) as do Alex's suggestions of good quality drill bits and slow speed.

 

[Lons]

What Walter said about deflection is absolutely right and my experience as well. Even with my solid as a rock Meddings drill and good quality bits you can see the bit deflect in difficult wood.
Same using the lathe but I do all my drilling on that these days as I find it quicker, simpler and more accurate. This subject has been discussed at length in previous threads.

A set of pen jaws means I don't worry whether the blank is square or not and the only truly square cut needs to be where you cut the blank into 2 parts or 1 end if one piece pen. I just quickly line it up and off I go, very rarely drill one off centre. If I'm being really pernickety then I use a centre drill first as I have one in a second drill chuck. It does work for me Alex.:wink:

 

[Walter]

the only truly square cut needs to be where you cut the blank into 2 parts or 1 end if one piece pen.

That's true for the most part Bob, but not if you have just spent many hours creating a segmented blank that needs to be drilled centrally and true which was the point of Andy's opening post. But, that said, getting the bit aligned at the start of the cut is just the beginning.

 

[Lons]

Yes I got that Walter and should have said I meant for normal blanks but I've used his method with the correct engineering centre finder on metal though not for wood. However, if the centre is marked accurately as in Andys' pic then it's easy enough to centre punch, use a centre drill or the point of a lip and spur bit to start the hole accurately imo. Marking with a point in the drill press then drilling the hole with a dormer type bit won't necessarily guarantee accuracy as the design of the bit isn't conducive to a perfect start, that's one of the reasons for using a centre drill in metalworking.

I've drilled only a few segmented blanks and as I now always drill on the lathe I guess it doesn't matter and I'm not criticising the method which he clearly finds save him time, we all use what works best for us. I hold the drill chuck for example which I know you are dead set against. :wink:

 

[GeordieB]

after reading this thread I am going to stop just holding the blank in 1 hand and drilling the hole with my cordless drill

 

[Lons]

Wasamarra with that Geordie lad?

 

[Walter]

after reading this thread I am going to stop just holding the blank in 1 hand and drilling the hole with my cordless drill

I wondered what all those scars were from.