Thread: No drill press!!

Okay... so I am ready to drill the pin holes in my copper scales. I have two electric drills and the drill press for the dremel.....oh wait...... the 1/16 bit won't fit!!! Is there a way to drill the pin holes without a drill press?? Does dremel make an attachment that will allow the 1/16" bit?? Is there another way ? (don't trust my hand and eyesight to do it "by eyeballin'").

thanks in advance for all suggestions

PS: and thanks to all that wrote comments on the copper scales thread.

Since I live in an apartment, when I need something drilled, I just find the nearest auto repair place and ask really nicely and they almost always do it for free...just make sure to mark where you want it drilled. heck, they do it better than I could anyway.

theres a chuck that can be gotten for your dremel
not sure where you would find it tho

Originally Posted by ElChatico

Okay... so I am ready to drill the pin holes in my copper scales. I have two electric drills and the drill press for the dremel.....oh wait...... the 1/16 bit won't fit!!! Is there a way to drill the pin holes without a drill press?? Does dremel make an attachment that will allow the 1/16" bit?? Is there another way ? (don't trust my hand and eyesight to do it "by eyeballin'").

thanks in advance for all suggestions

PS: and thanks to all that wrote comments on the copper scales thread.

I'm in a similar situation except I have a cordless drill. Here's what I do fwiw:

mark your hole on the outside one scale with a scribe or whatever, then carefully drill it. Place the other scale outside up on your workbench and place the other scale on top of it outside down. Line the scales up so they match then use whatever you have handy to mark your hole on the bottom scale through the hole in the top scale. Check to make sure your hole marking is centered, correct if necessary, then drill. Admittedly this approach isn't as precise as using a drill press but if you take your time and you're careful you can get good results.

Doesn't dremel have to exchangeable collets to accomodate bits with different diameters? Try the 1/16 collet

Chucks & Collets

I use a hand cranked drill. It's far easier for me to get that straight than trying to handle a heavy electric drill. There is also no problem with fitting even the smallest bits into the chuck. Also, now that I have a vice it is easy for me to hold it level to slowly and carefully drill pivot holes.

File the head of the pin and knock it out with a punch, no electric tools needed.

Most Lowe's carry the key less chuck for the dremel in stores. I used that in my dremel press and it works like a champ.

Originally Posted by ElChatico

I have two electric drills and the drill press for the dremel.

I have the drill press for the dremel too. For drilling use jeweler Swiss drills. They are comfortable and exactly grounded, because in the back of the fat.
Hole it always correct.

Lowe's sells the chuck for dremel that allows to hold 1/16 drill.
You can also use some electrical tape on the drill bit to make the OD bigger so it fits in the dremel without the chuck.