Woodpeckers Auto Line Drill Guide

[Spectric]

Just been looking at this jig online for drilling accurate holes from Woodpecker, not cheap but it is obvious it is well engineered like all Woodpecker products. My first thoughts were why does it not use a keyless chuck that we now take for granted on our cordless drills, then why a chuck at all when it could just have the 43mm collar that would allow us to just use our cordless drills directly but I think that might be because it is american and they use different cordless drills. I like the idea of the alignment marks which removes the need to actually locate the drill tip but maybe a better idea would be something along the lines of something that just accepts a router with a 30mm bush, I personally tend to use a plunge router these days for any holes that need to be precise and square through a workpiece.

Anyone else seen these or have any thoughts and or opinions? Maybe it is just a gadget that we can live without, again going back to drilling mft holes there has been a lot of discussion and I have always believed the router is a better option than the drilling system used by Parf.

 

[Spectric]

So no thoughts or views, that confirms my initial thoughts that it is just something to take up valuable space and there are far better things to spend the cash on.

 

[Peter Sefton]

They are proving to be quite popular, not cheap but very well engineered and much smaller than a pillar drill and of course very portable.

Cheers

Peter

 

[niall Y]

So no thoughts or views, that confirms my initial thoughts that it is just something to take up valuable space and there are far better things to spend the cash on.

If this will help you with your work, then why not? However, I do note there is quite a wide range of prices being asked £ 359 TO £29 ???? What's going on here ?

 

[Spectric]

If this will help you with your work, then why not? However, I do note there is quite a wide range of prices being asked £ 359 TO £29

A problem is that Woodpecker delivers top notch quality, extremely well engineered and that will always come with a price. I have their router sled, again really very well made but not cheap. The problem is that the end goal is drilling a hole, this is a good portable solution but the router can do the same except maybe if you want a deep hole that exceeds the plunge depth of your router, around 70mm. In it's favour are the alignment marks on the X & Y so not having to locate the drill bit onto a dot or cross hairs.

 

[niemeyjt]

There are two versions - one tilts the drill to other angles besides 90 degrees - which I don't think any others on the market do.

 

[Dave Moore]

There are two versions - one tilts the drill to other angles besides 90 degrees - which I don't think any others on the market do.

The ones that Rutlands supplies does angles.

 

[John Brown]

I have one I bought in America. Sears, if I remember correctly, it's not that well made, to be honest, and the chuck(also not keyless) runs out slightly. I reckon I've had it for 10 or 15 years, and used it maybe 4 or 5 times. Having said that, the 4 or 5 times I've used it I would have struggled to drill accurate holes without it. Never used it at an angle though.

 

[ChaiLatte]

...why a chuck at all when it could just have the 43mm collar that would allow us to just use our cordless drills directly...

Have a look through Google images and try to find a picture of a cordless drill from anywhere in the world with a 43mm collar.

 

[Spectric]

What like this one

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Drill-778400-Drills-Cordless-Collar/dp/B0043VUCGO

 

[MikeK]

Have a look through Google images and try to find a picture of a cordless drill from anywhere in the world with a 43mm collar.

Not exactly Google images, but here are two from UK vendors:

Metabo BE18 LTX 6

https://www.metabo.com/uk/en/tools/...lls/be-18-ltx-6-600261840-cordless-drill.html
Mafell ASB 18M

https://www.tradecounteronline.co.u...less-impact-drill-driver-c-w-t-max-systainer/
Both are cordless and have a 43mm collar.

 

[Sideways]

My big 4 speed Fein has a standard collar and my Bosch combi.
Sorry

 

[Sideways]

I just looked this Woodpeckers gadget up. Wow £££ !
That's 7x the price of the top spec, keyless, heavy duty 13mm Vertex chuck I just bought on ebay.

Unless it absolutely had to be portable, I can't see why you wouldn't just buy a small benchtop pillar drill for £35 and clamp a fence to the table. You could throw it away after using it, and buy a new one ten times over and still break even on the deal.

 

[ChaiLatte]

What like this one

I believe that is a drill stand to suit a drill motor with a 43mm collar.

To quote from the original poster, "when it could just have the 43mm collar that would allow us to just use our cordless drills directly".

My point is that there is no reasonably available cordless drill that has a 43mm collar - the torque control ring gets in the way, so that is why a drill stand suitable for a cordless needs its own chuck.

You can have either or - a stand to suit a collar which requires a corded drill or a stand with extra chuck that suits a cordless drill.

To put it another way, if you do particularly want to use a stand with a 43mm collar, you have to pony up over £500 for the Mafell drill or investigate the Metabo one. I am a bit tight, so I would not buy an entire drill and battery platform just for that.