Drilling on the mark

We woodworking types all need to drill holes and they often need to be on an exact spot.

To help accomplish that we can borrow from the machine shop world. That would be a center finder.

 A center finder is a hardened steel cylinder and the tip is held on with a tension spring.

To use it, put it in a drill chuck. Push the tip off center and turn on the drill press at a low speed between 500 and 1000 RPM. You don't need any more than that.

With the chuck spinning, put slight pressure against the side of the tip until the wobble stops. I once worked with a guy that used his finger nail - he had 9 1/2 fingers. Use a screwdriver.

Now the point is exactly on center with the axis of the spindle. Use it to align with your center punch mark or crosshairs.
If you look closely, you can see that the first attempt is a bit off center. I fixed that with a center finder.

 

"Free" Advertising addendum

Well, we subsequently found out who these people are. The seated fellow with the mighty beard is Fred Cogelow and the lady standing over him is Lennie Williams. Absolute master carvers, the both of them. Having either of them sit at the helm of a Grip-All Jaws Tilt-Top Portable is sort of like having Eric Clapton play one of your guitars.
Check out Lennie's page in our User Gallery.
And here is a feature story about Fred and his magnificent work.

"Free" Advertising

This picture is from page 14 of the Jan/Feb 2012 Wood Carving Magazine from Great Britain. This article was about the 2011 International Woodcarving Congress that took place in Maquoketa, Iowa.

We don't know who the carver is nor the onlooker. Nor do they identify the really cool carving vise he is depending upon to securely and safely hold his work piece. This obvious oversight is excusable - - ok it isn't, and as R.P. Myers said, 'it's only advertising if they identify us." But it's way cool to see it anyway.

Cheap workbench

We were strolling through the local Re-Store - you know the place that sells used building materials from torn down houses. Anyway, they have loads of doors. This is a door that is 3' wide and 7' long, light, being hollow-core, strong, and flat. AND it was only $20.

Add some a-frame legs like you would find for saw horses and Voila! A cheap, large, flat, strong workbench.

In my case, I set it on an old student desk and used the drawers for storage. Also I used the doorknob hole as a pass-through for cords.

Now that's recycling!