Thread: Crap for crap.

Originally Posted by KingOfMalkier

Windcalmer, I love the drawing! Though it does raise a question in my mind.

How do I make sure the whole in the jig is 90 degrees??? To my novice mind it seems like a chicken-and-egg problem.

O.K. sorry for that. All you need is the flat chuck your gonna make you jig out of, and two more flat chunks to act as guides for your drill bit. Use a framing square to check everything for square! Then clamp the two guide bits to the jig bit. (See drawing) Then when you go to drill your hole, just press the drill bit into the corner and make sure that it touches the sides of the guide bits.

Sorry, its WAY easier to just show someone. LOL Is that clear enough? If not I can try explaining further.

Or, I could just make you a quick jig and ship it to you. If your in the US I can ship it to you for free.

Josh,

Swing by if you can.

I might be able to salvage the 'hole issue' with my drill press, and some washer/collars that will compensate for larger holes (or, um, well mistakes )

C utz

Windcalmer, love your drawings and I got it... no clue how to exlain it to others, but I got it.

If you can make the holes a bit wider, then it won't matter that they are not 100% perpendicular to the scales.

My pivot holes are usually 2mm, and I use 1/16" rods.
This means that I always have .4 mm to spare.

I always drill the holes by hand, and haven't had any problems so far because the margin allows me to push the pins through, even if the holes are not 100% along the correct axis.

Windcalmer, I think I got it now. You actually explained both parts very well. A more experienced person just would have already understood the second part and not needed another sweet drawing like I did. I will try tonight to make a jig of my own, and if that goes awry I think I will take you up on the very helpful offer.

Chris, I will definitely swing by some time to see if we can repair my little...embellishment. Also, I got the tools and wood to try making a fresh set from scratch. I think I'll try to do that and come by sometime next week or weekend with both sets, if that works for you. I'm sure attempting a second set will yield more questions/mistakes that I can get advice on - cram more learning into one visit.

I've got one of these, but I'm not sure it goes small enough (or short enough). You might be able to adapt it. While looking for it I also found this which looks like it might work, but is, of course, more expensive and bigger.

The second option actually resembles the dremel drill press in price and appearance. The first option is pretty intriguing - basically a manufactured version of Windcalmer's jig. If it went down to 1/16 I'd be real excited. Certainly another option to consider if I can't whip up a jig that meets the fine architectural specifications above. (I'm just teasing! The pictures are great.)

One of my drill motors has a round bubble level on the back. Makes it easy to see when you're perpendicular. Of course, the scales need to be still flat and on a level work surface.
If you put in a 3/8 or 1/2 bit, and managed to get a nice perpendicular hole drilled in a chunk of 2x4 using the technique above, then you could glue a small level on the back of the drill motor in the right spot.