Tips and tricks using your drill press

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Tips and tricks using your drill press

Bore vertical holes with scrapwood jig

Here's a quick-fix jig that will come in handy the next time you need to bore a vertical hole in the end of a long workpiece. To make the clamp block, laminate two 2 x 4s, one 9" long and the other 17" long as shown in the drawing below. Then, joint the sides that face the workpiece and the drill-press table to achieve a perfect 90° angle.

Next, joint the edges and faces of the 1-1/2 x 2 x 10" fence to perfect 90° angles. Use a framing square to align the two pieces at 90°. Then, fasten the fence to the clamp block with glue and four #8 x 2-1/2" flathead wood screws and adhere a piece of 150-grit sandpaper to the clamp block as shown. Now, clamp the jig to the drill-press table, clamp the workpiece to the jig, and you're ready to bore your hole.

-- E.C. Peters, Brighton, Ont.

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