Any helpful suggestions???

[Knot Competent]

I'm building racks from 2" x 2" softwood, and because they need to be in a room with a small doorway, must be assembled in the room, so I'm using cross dowels to join the front and rear frames. My problem is, how can I drill a 10mm diameter hole accurately in the centre of the end of each 2" x 2" cross piece. They're too long to put under a drill press (even if I had one!). I'd be grateful for some wisdom here, guys.
Regards, John

 

[Anonymous]

This could be tricky because it is difficult drilling accurate holes where space is limited (it's bad enough when you are working in a space the size of a football field!).

My first question is - do you absolutely have to use dowel pinning? Perhaps there is another jointing method which would be easier. I'm thinking in terms of using angle brackets or plastic shelving brackets here.

If the dowel pinning is the only suitable method then perhaps you could clamp the two pieces in the position you want, then drill right through the joint. That way any small misalignment of the dowel wouldn't matter.

Andrew

 

[ike]

Hi John,

I found this dowel jig v. useful for just such jobs http://www.axminster.co.uk/default.asp?part=WFC4640 It cleverly centres itself on the board as well.

Ike

 

[Aragorn]

Get an offcut of 2x2 about 2" long. Draw lines across the corners to find the centre and carefully drill a 10mm hole right the way through. I'd do this on a drill press for accuracy, but you can do it well enough if you use a set square to check you are drilling straight.
Now "clad" all 4 sides of this piece in some 4-5" ply or mdf so that it can fit snuggly over the end of your cross-pieces.
You've now made a drill bit guide that will accurately position the hole in the middle of the wood and help keep it straight.
You still have to try to drill straight into the ends as the drill bit can damage you jig if you let it do all the work!

 

[Knot Competent]

OK Aragorn, that's better by far than any ideas I've had, so thanks!

I'd planned to make a bed for an upturned cordless drill, and build a jig which enabled me to slide the end of the 2" x 2" onto the turning drill bit, with a mark to enable accurate depth of drill hole. Back in the '60's Wolf made a bench stand for mounting a drill horizontally, but there were only about two types of drill on the market then. Haven't seen one of them for many years. I doubt they'd fit any of the multitude of drills around now.

Regards, John

 

[johnjin]

Hi John(KC)

Maybe this will do for you.

http://www.axminster.co.uk/default.asp?part=96301

Yes I remember the type that you mean from the sixties and had a screw that pushed on the end of the drill. I think Wolf and B&D made them then, but I have not seen them for many many moons.

All The best

John

 

[StevieB]

Hi,

If the wood is 2" x 2" can you not just use a half lap joint rather than butt screw them? They wouldnt need to be dowelled then as the surface area would be large enough for glue alone.

Steve.

 

[Alf]

Yes I remember the type that you mean from the sixties and had a screw that pushed on the end of the drill. I think Wolf and B&D made them then, but I have not seen them for many many moons.

You don't frequent car boot sales then, John? :roll: Most weekends I could assemble a whole kit of B&D add-ons for their drill (sander, circular saw, stand etc etc) if I felt the urge. And often the drill as well! :lol:

Cheers, Alf

 

[johnjin]

Hi Alf

Your right and certainly not as often as I would like.
It is the nostalgia of those places that will be drawing me to them when I am back in the UK.
But on a similar subject, I was in Old Jaffa Flea Market on Monday and the amount of old junk there, far surpasses anything I have seen in a UK car boot sale.
A Young Lady such as yourself would be able to pass a good few happy hours haggling with the sellers for the bargain of the century. :lol: Well maybe not, if my memory serves me right, you have already had the bargain of the century this year. :wink:

All the best

John

 

[Anonymous]

John

For this type of job I use the old Black and Decker drill stand - from before pillar drills were cheap. I used one to cut all bench dog holes in my bench.

Places like B&Q still sell them and they accept many manufacturer's drills (I use a Bosch)

Mount the drill stand onto the top of the post and off you go.

 

[Knot Competent]

Hi Tony,
It's Friday, been a bad week, and I'm tired. Please can you explain what you mean about how to accurately drill in the end of a 2" x 2" with a drill stand, when the piece of timber is maybe 18" long?
Regards, John

 

[Karl59]

Have you considered using a mobile drill stand such as the one made by wolfcraft available from most diy shops for about £25.

I've had one for a while now and find it useful when I want to drill straight or angled holes accurately and cant use my drill press.

 

[Anonymous]

John

The B&D drill stand is £20 and very small and light - you clamp your power drill into it.
You could easily knock up a small MDF support for it to fit around the end of your 18ft wood and drill a parallel hole.

I got one of these stands from B&Q, basic but useful

 

[Anonymous]

John

In case I was not clear, here is a picture of the stand.
What I am suggesting is that you join 2 pieces of MDF at a right angle. Bolt the drill stand to one of them and clamp the other to your wood. You now have a drill stand mounted exactly perpendicular to the end of your wood. Should work fine.

 

[Knot Competent]

Thanks for going to that much trouble, Tony. That explains it very well. I had been under the impression that those simple drill stands didn't swivel, but obviously they do, so the answer is clear. Thanks again.
Regards, John. Off to raid the piggy bank.