Lining up forstner bit for angled hole

[Dan Stuewe]

I need to make a few angled holes for a small table but the edge of the forstner bit hits the material before the center point of the bit. My thought is to use a small bit to line up the work piece (and angled table) on the drill press and then switch out the bits. This seems a bit tedious and the set up will need to be adjusted a couple of times. What thoughts do you have for lining the bit up. (maybe I finally found a good reason to have a laser guide on a drill press?)

Thanks,

[Prashun Patel]

Is your table too large to mount on the drill press? I have done seat holes before by making an angled auxiliary table for the drill press, and clamping the seat to this. On a DP, the spur is not required to get the forstner started.

[Gregory King]

Dan, send us a picture of the piece, as I have an option for you. Greg

[Jamie Buxton]

Make a wedge-shaped block. Clamp or tack it to the seat. The angle of the wedge is such that the face presented to the forstner is at ninety degrees. You'll drill through it and the seat the first time. The next time you use the wedge, the hole in it will guide the bit, and prevent it from going sideways.

[Dan Stuewe]

Here are some 3-D drawings (i can take some photos at home later)

252732252733

The compound angle is six degrees in both directions.

I've made an auxiliary table for the drill press so I can get the proper angle, its lining up the drill bit with the center mark on the table that is the challenge. (The legs are ~1.5" diameter at the top, so the edge of the bit hits the part before the center point)

[mreza Salav]

Make a wedge-shaped block. Clamp or tack it to the seat. The angle of the wedge is such that the face presented to the forstner is at ninety degrees. You'll drill through it and the seat the first time. The next time you use the wedge, the hole in it will guide the bit, and prevent it from going sideways.

+1 ^^^^^^^^

[John McClanahan]

Make a wedge-shaped block. Clamp or tack it to the seat. The angle of the wedge is such that the face presented to the forstner is at ninety degrees. You'll drill through it and the seat the first time. The next time you use the wedge, the hole in it will guide the bit, and prevent it from going sideways.

Brillant!!

[Sam Murdoch]

Alternatively you can just drill the angled hole on your drill press though a scrap piece of 4/4 stock (the thickness of the block is determined by the steepness of the angle. You want the guide to hold the forstner bit fully before engaging into your good wood). that you would then use as a guide on your seat. This guide piece can be flipped over for the opposing corners of your seat. Just make the guide piece big enough - the hole not on center - so that you have room for a clamp. A sharp forstner bit will easily cut a relatively shallow seat hole with a hand drill.

[Bill Huber]

What I do is to set my drill press table to the angle I need and lock it down. I then put the item on the table and with a smaller bit line up the center and clamp the item down, then take out the smaller bit and install the forstner bit.





252785

[glenn bradley]

I line up with a smaller bit or a rod. It's not like you're going to do this 50 times. Its no big deal to swap back and forth IMHO.

P.s. Bill, great table rig.

[Jim O'Dell]

Bill, I think I need to come spend the afternoon with you in your shop just to get a handle on the jigs you've come up with!!! I don't know if it's been allocated yet or not, but the nickname "The Jigmeister" comes to mind.252820

I see advantages to both methods already described:

The use the smaller straight bit method to locate and change bits to drill. Lock down and drill. Straight forward, but a little time consuming to set up each new hole to drill

Use the guide block as described, mark the center point of the hole to be drilled, site through the guide block guide hole to center it, clamp and drill by hand (be sure to use a depth stop collar on the bit if possible). If you are doing multiples, this would be accurate and time effecient. Jim.

[Gregory King]

Good illustration, Bill. I drilled a new top for one of our kitchen stools this past week-end. With 4 legs, I drew the 90 degree intersecting lines and marked the center points of each leg by measuring from the old top. I used a small 1/8" bit to locate the center. Then I transferred the 90 degree line onto my drill press wood cover in order to locate exactly the rest of the holes when I rotated the top, clamping each time before drilling. Now bear in mind that my drill press table tips forward, making it real easy. Perhaps a photo would describe what I am saying. Greg

[Harry Hagan]

You have my permission to buy a laser guide.

[phil harold]

You have my permission to buy a laser guide.
took the words out of my finger tips
I love mine!


http://www.amazon.com/DRILL-PRESS-LASER-PEACHTREE-WOODWORKING/dp/B003UO9XWE

[Michael Dunn]

What I do is to set my drill press table to the angle I need and lock it down. I then put the item on the table and with a smaller bit line up the center and clamp the item down, then take out the smaller bit and install the forstner bit.


252785

Sorry to bump an old thread, but Did you make that angled DP jig yourself? Are there numbers to represent the degrees?

[Bill Huber]

Sorry to bump an old thread, but Did you make that angled DP jig yourself? Are there numbers to represent the degrees?

Yes it is home built, I do not have any marks on it, I just use the Wixey angle gauge to set the angle to a straight drill bit.
It is bolted on to the main DP table on the left and there are 2 slides on the right to hold it at the angle I need.

[Sam Puhalovich]

Laser guide ... bah-hum-bug.
Take the biggest diameter ... longest nail that you have.
Cut the head off, chuck the cut-off end in the drill press ... turn the machine 'on'.
Using a fine file ... and starting at the diameter just above the formed point ... stroke (file), gradually working downward ... till you have a perfectly centered, tapered point.