Drilling straight holes without a drill press?

[Tony Shea]

Like I have said in my first post on this site, I am fairly new to woodworking. Therefore my tool setup is pretty limited especially when it comes to large machinery. I do not own a drill press and really can't afford one at the moment. What is the best way to drill consistantly straight holes with a hand-held drill?

[Dan Karachio]

Practice, practice, practice!

Two ideas. One, do you have a speed square or other right angle tool? If so, place it it front of your drill and line up your drill so it is lined up in all directions (left/right, front /back). Second, Sears and others make a little drill press attachment that you hook on to any power drill. I have one, I think it cost $25 and it has saved my neck countless times. Here is one:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004T82L

[Myk Rian]

3rd idea;
Take a metal or plastic mirror and drill a hole in the center.
Put it over where you want to drill and align to plumb using the mirror.

[Rob Sack]

If you're drilling horizontally, try using a drill with a built in level. The bubble will line you up vertically, and it is not too hard to line yourself up horizontally by eye.

[David G Baker]

I use a device similar to the one that Dan K posted. Mine does not have the tilting option. I usually use mine in places where straight holes are critical. I am lousy at drilling straight with a hand held drill and have recently observed a few professionals that aren't any better.

[Joe Scharle]

I use a device similar to the one that Dan K posted. Mine does not have the tilting option. I usually use mine in places where straight holes are critical. I am lousy at drilling straight with a hand held drill and have recently observed a few professionals that aren't any better.

Mine has the tilting feature, but I haven't tried any angles over 3 deg. It sure has saved my bacon on things too big for the DP.

[Dave Lehnert]

I have the older version of this Craftsman drill guide.

http://s.sears.com/is/image/Sears/00967173000-1?hei=600&wid=600&op_sharpen=1&qlt=90,0&resMode=sh arp&op_usm=0.9,0.5,0,0

[mike rawl]

the Bridge City Tools DJ-1 is a really cool. Check out the videos on their site. It may be what your looking for. It is expensive but I think that it is worth every penny.

[Dan McCallum]

That stuff's all fancy and costs $.

If you can get a block of wood of appropriate thickness that has two sides parallel, then drill a hole perpendicularly through it, you will have a 'jig' that will drill straight holes for you. As a bonus you can control the depth for stopped holes if desired.

Dan

[Michael Schwartz]

Like I have said in my first post on this site, I am fairly new to woodworking. Therefore my tool setup is pretty limited especially when it comes to large machinery. I do not own a drill press and really can't afford one at the moment. What is the best way to drill consistantly straight holes with a hand-held drill?

Drilled something like 30+ 4" deep 3/4" bench dog holes in my solid ash benchtop and only used 2 squares to site the bit and get it going straight.

This method is surprisingly accurate with a bit of practice. There was a time when drill presses, drill guides, didn't exist. Same technique can be used with a bevel gauge for drilling angled holes.

If you need to drill alot of the same hole consider just making a jig with a bushing/bearing sized to fit the bit.

[Denny Rice]

That stuff's all fancy and costs $.

If you can get a block of wood of appropriate thickness that has two sides parallel, then drill a hole perpendicularly through it, you will have a 'jig' that will drill straight holes for you. As a bonus you can control the depth for stopped holes if desired.

Dan

+1 for the speed square.......I own a 17" floor model drill press and when I use my hand held drill and it has to be perfect, I still pull out the speed square.

[Larry Edgerton]

That stuff's all fancy and costs $.

If you can get a block of wood of appropriate thickness that has two sides parallel, then drill a hole perpendicularly through it, you will have a 'jig' that will drill straight holes for you. As a bonus you can control the depth for stopped holes if desired.

Dan

I use this method when I can not get the piece to the drill press. works very well.

[Tony Shea]

the Bridge City Tools DJ-1 is a really cool. Check out the videos on their site. It may be what your looking for. It is expensive but I think that it is worth every penny.


I watched the video and thought that I had to have one, that was until I checked the website! $400-$500?! Yikes, I might as well buy a drill press for that kind of money.

I like the idea of making my own drilling jigs and putting metal bushings in them of the proper sizes, problem being is that for a perfectly accurate hole I would need a drill press. I have done ok with setting up squares in all directions while drilling but have to seriously take my time with it, checking all directions constantly. Even then there are some holes that become too far off.

I guess my best option would be to find someone with a press and use it to drill me a bunch of different size jigs with metal bushings as guides. This seems to be the cheapest and most accurate route at the moment. I'm really concerned when the time comes to drill my Bench Dog holes once my top is completed.

While I'm at it, does someone have a link to where I can find a reasonably priced 3/4" upcut router bit? Most I have seen stop at 1/2".

[Matthew Bradburn]

I like the idea of making my own drilling jigs and putting metal bushings in them of the proper sizes, problem being is that for a perfectly accurate hole I would need a drill press.

Lee Valley sells bushings, I assume others do too. You could make a good hole for the bushing with a plunge router.

[johnny means]

If you have a combo square you can remove the ruler and place the head long edge down onto your work piece. Use the groove as a guide for your bit.

[Norman Hitt]

Just screw two short pieces of wood together at a 90* angle. Place your bit onto the wood to be bored, (centered on the hole location), and slide the jig up against the bit. Adjust the drill so the bit touches two sides of the 90* jig at both the top and bottom of the jig, then holding the jig tightly against the wood to be drilled and drill the hole keeping the bit touching the two sides of the top of the jig. This will keep the bit perpendicular to the workpiece.

Another alternate would be to cut about a 2" length of aluminum angle, (making sure the cut is 90* to the length on BOTH of the angles sides, stand it on end with the freshly cut square ends on the workpiece and use it the same way as mentioned above. The angle would be best if it was about 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" Angle or better.

[Richard Wagner]

I agree with Dan, that Bridge City stuff is fantastic but entirely out of range for me. I view that site to get ideas for jigs.

For the drilling task in question, I have a set of wooden blocks that I use for guides with my hand drill. I did use a drill press to create them but there must be a way that could be arranged.

[David Cefai]

How about a drill stand such as:

http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PID=106483

On the other hand I bought a Casals drill press for not very much more.

A possible problem with a drill stand is that the column may not be rigid enough to resist bending

[lowell holmes]

A recent tip in Woodworking is to use a saddle square (Lee Valley) and stand it on its side. You then use the inside corner of the square to provide guidance for your bit in two directions. You could do the same thing with a hinge at 90 degrees standing on its side.