Drill guide

I have a problem drilling the hole for a woodworm screw perpendicular to the blank, causing the blank to wobble.

To help me, I made a drill guide. It is bell-shaped with the bottom diameter about 4 inches. I made the height enough that the drill protrudes 3/4 inch making it a drill stop also. I hollowed the bottom around the central hole to allow for chips when drilling. It works for me.

Reply to
Gerald Ross
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"Gerald Ross" wrote: I have a problem drilling the hole for a woodworm screw perpendicular to the blank, causing the blank to wobble. To help me, I made a drill guide. (clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ There is another part to the problem, and I would like to know whether you, or others, have any suggestions.

It's similar to the alignment problem of starting a tap in metal. Before it is started, the Woodworm can be off axis a little. I rely on feel and sight to try to get it close. Once it starts, if it is off axis, it generally is not going to be self-aligning. If the wood hits the chuck jaws on one side first, what do you do? Go back and restart? Tighten it a lot and hope for the best?

Or, doesn't this happen to you?

Reply to
Leo Lichtman

Hi Leo (the other one) :-))

First off, I use the woodworm on wet wood, not hard dry wood (normally) and my drill press only handles 14"D or less, so anything larger than

14" I drill with a handheld drill and eyeball it, and drill deep enough to not bottom out, 1" for the short screw and 1 1/2" for the long one.

I never have a problem just spinning the wood onto the woodworm screw until the face seats against the chuck jaws, and my wood blanks faces are mostly chain sawed and rough, the wood gives enough for the screw to align in the wood in my experience.

I do on occasion back the wood off to insert a wood wedge between the jaw and the wood to have the outside edge of the blank get into plane better.

I also use the largest jaws that I have, gives more leverage and also more face contact and steadiness.

Wobble does not come from the screw being off a few degrees, but from the blanks face not contacting the chucks jaws.

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Have fun and take care Leo Van Der Loo

Reply to
l.vanderloo

Gerald I assume the problem is you are using a Hand Power Drill rather than a Pillar/Bench Drill? in which case your solution makes a lot of sense.

Reply to
Richard Stapley

Gerald as an after thought, and to others out there with perhaps a similar situation, you could use the Wolfcraft Drill Guide?

See

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Benefit here is you can see where the Drill Point is at all times. RVS

Reply to
Richard Stapley

Downside is that I would have to buy it. I have a drill press but on an irregular chunk of wood it is still difficult to get the top level.

Reply to
Gerald Ross

To increase stability I use a piece of ply, turned to a suitable diameter, that sits on the front of the chuck. This is the surface against which the wood now rests, rather than a thin circle of metal as presented by the jaws, and I find it adds stability. Alan

Reply to
Alan

Hi Alan

I have never found it necessary to use anything else than my chucks jaws, but if it works better for you doing it your way, you just go and use it that way.

A solid face to tighten your blank up to is what is needed, I use the jaws and you use the plywood disk, should work just fine, good turning.

Have fun and take care Leo Van Der Loo

Reply to
l.vanderloo

But the thin circle of metal is still in contact, albeit now with the ply instead of the workpiece, should decrease stability as you have just added a new factor into the equation. Although I have used a disc such as you use when the contact face of the workpiece is smaller than the diameter of the jaws.

Reply to
Don Sayler

Leo V's wedges are the answer on uneven surfaces such as natural edges, leveling the surface at the contact area manually is a better alternative if you are into punishing yourself!

Reply to
Don Sayler

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