That’s a pretty neat tip but to be honest, I’ve never had an issue drilling rods with a drill press and a V-block. Just centre the V-block by lowering the bit (not powered up) into the centre of the block, clamp the block down in that position and you’ll get a perfectly centered hole in any size pipe.
Using almost identical method you can get 100% centered hole, but only almost;) What you should do is 1. Fix the smaller chuck in the vise just like you did 2. Insert and tighten a strait rod into BOTH chucks 3. Clamp the vise to the table Now both chucks are aligned and you can drill exactly in the center of whatever you put in the bottom chuck using drill bit in the top one (or you can swap this and put the part in the top chuck if it's bigger etc). But no center punching is needed and the result is much more accurate, comparable to what you would get on the lathe...
Yeah. Haha! But How he find the center of the rod? Would need an adjustable guide and no one has that on hand. This is an excellent method especially when you can see the cut rings after sawing off the stub. So I’d have pitch it before sanding it.
@@tomdiams I don’t think so. I’m not sure why he sanded it. The other end which was already flat and smooth would rest on the horizontal rod to be drilled. (It could be smoothed if it isn’t already) I noticed when he cutoff the rod the stub piece had saw rings. If the goal is to find the center of the rod as closely as possible I’m thinking the saw rings actually provide a good reference which will help see the true center. Punch the center of the saw rings as closely as you can.. Otherwise you’re guessing where center is on a smooth surface. Since he chucked-it-up to drill the stub it doesn’t matter because the chuck will keep it true (vertical) if he chucks it true with a level or such. Then the other end will rest on the rod being drilled that’s laying horizontally. Assuming the smooth end rests flush that will assure the stub is exactly (as much as possible) perpendicular to the rod. Just my opinion but the idea is to get the best possible reference and the saw rings seem to be a natural help by default. I really like this tip. I’ll remember this one!
that's what I thought as well, but I guess the idea is that eyeballing works good enough and it's easier to drill straight on a flat surface rather than a curved surface.
Nice tip. Just a little thought for the comments on eyeballing the center punch. The human eye is fantastic at noticing eccentric circles and is accurate to within a few thousands if an inch. That's less the the runout on most chucks. There is also a handy alternative on the same theme if you can clamp your vice. 1 mount a center drill in drill press chuck 2 connect mini chuck to center drill 3 clamp mini chuck in vice. Lock vice in position. 4 both chucks are now aligned dead center and perfectly parallel.
A quick suggestion . At the 1:54 mark. Don't guess the square of the center drill. Put the centre drill in the mini chuck then hold the bit of the center drill still stickign out in the main chuck and only then do up the vice holding it . That way providing you don't move the vice when you open the main chuck again and put your work piece in you will know it is perfectely in line with the center.
As a machinist for half a century, we all know that there is no such thing as "exact" measurement. We should also understand that a much higher percentage of home shops have a drill press than a lathe! For a lot of home DIY projects this is actually not a bad idea?
@@ramtek2702 Well there's a new crop every day? If they want to learn. we should show them! I have had lots of old guys show me over the years. Although it took me a long time to learn to shut the hell up and listen!
If you wanted it to be actually simple put something straight between your drill bit and the round item. Press down gently with the bit. When the straight item is level you have found centre. This is probably one of the most complicated ways of doing it.
i find using a popsicle stick is pretty good for this. you just move the twist drill left and right until the popsicle stick is perpendicular to the twist drill. you can even get fancy and hold a square up to the stick and drill to make sure its a 90. you can even just drill through the stick when you are ready to make your hole
You seem to have missed the point, which is not to measure the starting point but to keep the drill on it. Even with a press I have seen drill bits skid off, break, and / or make triangular holes.
@@christopherbedford9897 Thats what a stub drill or a spotting drill is for. Oh and just so ya know centre drills are for lathe centres only really. Sometimes i use them in hard materials if im in a pinch but normally I use a spot drill with a 120 degree angle.
@@samwalters4205 Actually, those little bits are called "CENTER DRILLS", and are used in Lathes, drill-presses, Vertical Mills and can also be used in a portable hand drill, if need be. It's only purpose is getting the material started in the exact spot and initiating that 60 degree cutting angle for a drill-bit to line up on. Its body is thick, so it wont warp and be defrayed, like a normal drill-bit will do. A center drill wont "walk" like a regular twist drill does, for that exact reason. Center drills are available in many sizes from minute to hugh. One tip in preventing breakage, when using any center drill is to brush on a little Crisco Vegetable Shortening onto the tip of the bit BEFORE touching the part. Do NOT use oil or cutting solution. That almost always results in tip breakage, because it encourages "wander". This "wisdom" is from 50 years of experience.
Wat he is doing guys is showing a simple way one can come pretty close to center for people who have limited tools and experience. Very nice demo. Just think guys wen u first started out how little u knew and how little tools u had. This is showing wat can b done to get fairly accurate results simply. Appreciate it for wat it is guys
I would say this gentleman just showed a lot of people how to drill a hole in a round rod that own a drill press and not a $3000.00 Lathe. This is probably not going into a Space Rover. This is a great video and it was free. I have always said, " You Can't Bitch About FREE. Great Video Thank You
Wow, there are some real know it all's here. This is extremely good idea for a simple quick hole drilled to the accuracy of most home workshops. Not a f£#king machine shop. But hey i guess most people miss that he has a lathe and now a 5 axis mill. Also in my experience of heavy machinery repair the tolerances vary wildly for each type of machine and what is doing. Again not the work i do in my garage. Where i have a small lathe but no drill press
Once you drill the hole in the guide, measure with calipers the distance from inside the hole to the od. Measure many times all the way around. If it varies, there will be a high and a low with 2 spots opposite each other that are the same. Make sure these 2 spots that are the same are touching the face of the vice and that will make it centered as close as possible with this technique.
It amazes me how many people dont know how to lubricate a drill properly.If you spray it on a workpeace you will get very small amount of lubricant to stay.Instead spray it or use a brush on the top of the flute near chuck,that way when you drill something lubricant will slide down the flute right into a hole-you will be amazed!
The chip flowing up the flute, will remove any lubricant you apply there. The proper place for lubricant is at the tip and this is why though tool type lubricated drills (where coolant is directed through the tool) deliver coolant AT the tip. Pooling lubricant to retain it at the tip isn't a bad idea by any means, so long as the chip still evacuates sufficiently.
If you want to make a series of (centred) holes along that round bar, and keep them all exactly aligned: make two jigs thus, and have an extra drill bit in the size you need. drill your first hole, and leave the jig and one drill bit in the hole. Then when you drill subsequent holes with the second jig and drill bit, they will be aligned.
This is amazing that I would happen to see your video without looking for anything like it but in the back of my mind is a major project where I need to do exactly that!. But I don't have a drill press and am nervous about it so I'm going to opt for a local machine shop.
Slightly better way is to put the drill bit in the drill press chuck first, then lower it down and tighten in the vice. That way you know it's perfectly centre and directly upright
Sure, just don't grip the drill on the flutes if it does not go in deep enough to catch on the shank. I saw too many people with the chuck gripping in the flutes, and they wonder why the drills wobble. if a drill slips, gone is the chuck accuracy. Sorry if I preach to the converted, just one of my frustrations with people damaging good tools, by nit using them properly.
I'm one of those neurotic people (ek vatikaki) who freak out when they see the bit being jabbed in and out of the work. A steady feed rate is better and faster.
shadeburst Actually, by retracting the bit, so the cut material is removed from the hole, there is less friction to build up heat, and the drill bit will last longer.
I have center drills that I have cut off so that I have full grip on a round shank. I do not work around a shop any more and do not miss the smell of a cutting wheel going thru high speed steel.
This is the kind of tutorials I appreciate and respect the most. Those that show you how to proceed with the simplest and least amount of steps. Not building complicated gadgets, but performing simple tasks like this one, that allow for bigger projects. Thanks!
It's not the quickest and easiest way, if you don't have a slip bushing of that size. While you're picking it up at the store, I'll have the job done doing it the "hard way".
@@bigkiv47JohnnyQ90 may not have fully tooled mills and lathes like you or I, no edge finders, dividing heads, optical center finders, and all the rest of that high dollar equipment. As I stated before, the scratch marks will indicate very close to center, depending on the grit count of the sand paper used, and the run out of the drill press spindle. It all comes down to what you have to work with and the accuracy needed, would you paint a house with a pin stripe brush... lighten up dude.
Lots of people are complaining about old mate ‘eyeballing’ the center to punch it. When he put the piece in the drill and sanded the end, the sandpaper left perfect circles on it. It’s very easy to find the smallest, center circle and simply punch it in that spot. Even with expensive lathes and milling machines it can be difficult to get the exact center, that’s why the hole is often drilled first on a lathe and the outside turned down to perfectly (or essentially perfectly) match that hole. With average shop tools like a pedestal drill and sandpaper, this method is actually pretty accurate and effective.
He's using the drill press AS a lathe! I thought it was pretty clever. Making this disk on the lathe is easy and makes sense, but I've never even thought of doing what we saw here, and have needed it so many times. Just drilling down the axis of a rod is something that comes up all the time. I could have used this a hundred times! I really also agree with Ratgreen about the setup. It would make a lot of sense to make sure the drill is aligned with the spindle.
There are always tolerances in the world of metalworking, nothing is exact, even with a $1 million lathe) The method with the drill-press probably is well within the accuracy he needs.
*Edit: I obviously missed the point of the comment. Thanks for the corrections everyone.* The method was mentioned in another comment. When the piece was sanded using the drill press, the sand paper left concentric circles on the end of the rod. It might not have been clear from the video, but the center was nicely marked with a bull's eye.
To get the centering tool aligned perfectly to the center axis of the drill press, ...Chuck the centering tool into the drill press, lower the chuck and clamp the tool into the table vise, then un-chuck the tool from the drill press. Chuck the rod into the drill press and drop the chuck onto the centering tool. This method allows the thru-hole to be concentric all the way thru the rod.
Works even better if your vice is good quality with a "V" notch in the jaws. If you only have a crappy vice and the table isn't real square to the axis of the press, you can get around the problem by clamping a block of scrap that has been pre-drilled and tapped for a grubb-screw. Then drill into the block down past the level of the grubb-screw, put the center drill in the hole and tighten the grubb-screw to stop it spinning.
Thanks! I have a piece of junk for a drill press though. Chuck is always getting out of center,, but that end mill bit trick just gave me an answer to my dilemma on a project I stalled on 3 years ago. A BIG THUMBS UP and again thanks!
That trick is poor practice because the center gets less abrasion and therefore you will end up with a high center due to the edges getting sanded more.
Brilliant! Thanks for sharing this idea with those of us that don't need 0.000001" accuracy ("machinists"!) and using tools that an average DIYer might already own. Quick and cheap. Love it!
About "eye balling" the center punch mark: I just tried this method. I sanded the end of a 3/8" brass rod using a drill press, as shown in the video. Used 100 grit paper. It left distinctive concentric circles which provided a good target for center punching.
Eyeballing it should get it close and if you put a stick through the hole and make sure its straight up and down before you drill the next whole it should be very close.
The vice holding the center drill must be clamped and prevented from moving for this to be truly accurate and "self centering". The punch mark should just be an initial alignment point. This method, if fixed, is essentially how a center drill is used in a lathe and it needs no punch mark to guide it. Bit holder should be squared better than by eye. A longer bit or rod and a square could help with that.
Good vids,shows how much you can do with just a drill press and nothing more for machines.Chuck looks like it has some wobble though,not like having a good lathe.But, for the price it’s hard to beat.
The thing that's also going to be a challenge (just looking at the example with mutiple aligned holes) would be keeping a row of holes from being slightly mis-aligned and the holes being at slightly different angles through the rod. If you have to reposition your round guide, even a small rotation of the work piece (rod) could result in discepancies in alignment from hole to hole.
thats exactly it i dont know if its hollow or solid but long and alloy with allen cap head and threadded other end but i think i can drill a 5mm hole,BUT HOWWWWWW
That's a very good observation, so in response I would make it vertical by using a square on the vice... accounting for the protrusion of the bit itself of course.
cool -- I took a screenshot at 2:44 that says it all and will be a quick reminder for me...people are criticizing because they are incorrectly assuming the gist of this. If someone wants to improve on accuracy, they can, the point is the O.D's are identical and they can be clamped together and it acts as both an index AND a guide esp. om the absence of a drill press or mill!
I'm a retired toolmaker you cannot drill a straight hole with a drill bit even if you start dead centre the end you come out will always be of centre. The only way to make a true running hole is to finish it off with a boring bar or these days a cnc machine.
I made a fixture from a piece of angle iron and some flat bar stock. Weld the angle iron so lit looks like a “V”along the length of the bar stock. When yo want to drill through the center of some round stock preposition the fixture so the drill bit will be centered at the bottom of the “V”. Place the bar stock in the fixture and clamp in place. Drill down through the round stock.
in case you guys didn't notice , when he sanded the ends in the drill press it made rings from the sand paper and he used that as a reference for the center punch , maybe off by 1 thousand but extremely close and realy smart :D just saying
Kinda depends on whether you have a self-centering rig with an angle indicator for any variable speed hand held... ...or if you know how to build one. :o)
Yes, a major flaw in this whole of this process - the centre punching is pure guestimation and way off. There is a way. Extended the rod out of the chuck, lower to table and lock it up in the unclamped vice...then secure the vice onto the table with the piece still in the chuck. Loosen chuck, put centre drill in drill press chuck and hey presto - a centred hole. Back to school, I think? :)
I grew up working in my Dad's machine shop from the age of 7 until I graduated some 11 years later. While this video shows a pretty accurate way of drilling a hole into a pipe or stock from the end or side, I would suggest putting the drill bit in the Drill Press and the stock in the vice. Then, line up with where the hole should be. But my Dad was old school. He taught me well. But you can do it any way you want.
D K i think that was a very incomplete thought I posted 🤣 I think I was imagining you could put a scribe mark on the side of the alignment dowel piece to align with a mark/previous hole on the workpiece being drilled, so you can make sure the original hole/workpiece is aligned perfectly vertical for your next hole. So you don’t get a hole at 12:00 and the next hole at 12:05, so to speak. You could also stick a drill bit or little pin in the previous hole to eyeball that the hole is vertical. Other than that, I’m not sure wtf I was saying. It was probably very late one night.
@@nikolaishriver7922 On the contrary I believe you are on the right track here, all we must do is make two dowels so that the first after being drilled has the second dowel placed over it to hold it vertical after that all should be reasonably at 12 O'clock.
You sand the short sleeve guide to where it can barely be slid in the vice while the vice remains clamping the long rod. Now the long rod stays tightly in the vice, and to drill each hole, simply slide the sleeve down to the appropriate distance away from the prior hole... Never loosening the rod makes sure the holes are in a straight line down it's length...
Perfect! ... just one extra tip. You can see the cut rings after sawing off the stub so punch it then before sanding it .. it’ll probably give you a better eyeball center but punch it deep enough so not to lose it when you sand. In fact I don’t think there’s a need to sand it. Thx for the tip!
Did I miss something ? HOW are we certain on that center punch indent , that it IS dead center ? It is ALL "eyeballed" as to where the hit should go , from what I see !
@Sam means that if the rod you are attempting to drill is larger then will fit in the chuck of a drill press it wont work, not that you can use any old rod.
Let me help you to a much faster and more accurate drilling method using the tools you just showed. Put your piece in the drill chuck. Put the other drill chuck in the vice opened enough to fit the drill rod into it. Tighten and clamp vice to the drill table. Two chucks are aligned. Now drill to your hearts content even able to change drill rod diameter. If you really want to be accurate use a centre drill then drill or shorten your drill so it can't flex out of centre and spot your centre then drill away. If you need a more accurate hole drilled, use a smaller drill then go to a bigger drill or use a reamer. I have been working with metal building dies for about 40 years servicing the military, construction, automotive, electronic, medical and many other industries. In my early 20's was invited to work on the particle beam project at NASA Kennedy Space Centre.
Although, with small-diameter drill bits, it's possible that the drill bit can wander off-centre, unless you pre-drill with a centering drill...gee, maybe that's why they call them that?
i like this tip, thanks for posting. anyone taking the time to show other people tips should be thanked as there are so many people that like to keep secrets from others.
Or just take any piece of paper, draw a line down it, and cut it short enough width to wrap around the pipe, tape it, and boom, you've got a straight drill line as long as you've got the line facing directly up.
Clearly overlooking the challenge of getting a bit to drill into a rounded surface... Even a 1/4" bit will flex a bit under that circumstand and not drill dead center without a guide sleeve as this provides...
By spinning the short rod in the drill press and holding the drill bit still, it allows the bit to self-centre. I do this when boring out a wooden vase that I'm turning.
Screw all the haters. I have enough sense to see this video for what it is, and can obviously conclude that he isn't achieving nasa level precision, nor does he think he is. I thought the method of flattening the end of the rod was pretty awesome. Normally I just have my belt sander set up as square as I can get it and clamp a guide to it's tool rest to square it in 2 dimensions and then turn the piece by hand as I grind the end. I can get decent precision this way, but having the concentric circles would be nice. I don't have access to a lathe either, and will probably use this technique now that I have seen it. Thanks for sharing.
I don't think it's mere luck. Even if the punch is off slightly, the center drill will always find the true center of the bar stock. This is because the stock is being rotated against the drill bit, instead of the other way around.
It’s a great idea, but I shuddered a couple of times. Clamping the shaft of the chuck in flat metal jaws can damage it, resulting in it running eccentrically. The chuck jaws gripped on very little of the plain shaft of the centre drill, which is dangerous. Also, when using any hand saw, use the whole blade, not just the bit in the centre. Long slow motions are easier to control and better for the blade. It’s still a great idea though and one I shall be using.
Another way is to clamp two round bars in the vise, and then position the vise so that a bit touches both bars. Then place the stock on the two bars and drill it, starting gently with a small bit
This is great - how do you accomplish the same but with drilling multiple equally spaced holes along the center of the pin? I have a long square piece of aluminum that I need to drill holes in along the entire length, then use a countersink bit to create a concave ring along the circumference of the hole. I’m thinking the countersink part is pretty easy once you’ve drilled the holes through. I wish I had a good way of linking to a picture that demonstrates what I’m looking to accomplish.
By putting the piece in the drill and the centre drill in the vice, it automatically gets it dead centre; the technique is good. The punch gives a mostly accurate start, then the upside down way he did this gives the accuracy - can you not see that?
@@thetessellater9163 amazing and sad how many ppl do not see how the hole gets automatically centered in this method ... I'm not even a machinist and I instantly understood just from having a solid physics background .. these kids leaving these comments are probably the type to think electric cars are somehow better for the environment, and they will be VOTING soon!
I use a hexagonal bar drilled in the middle where I put the round rod, but it needs a screw to hold the rod so it doesn't rotate, I use it in a standard situation but I liked the method it will help me in other situations
That’s a pretty neat tip but to be honest, I’ve never had an issue drilling rods with a drill press and a V-block. Just centre the V-block by lowering the bit (not powered up) into the centre of the block, clamp the block down in that position and you’ll get a perfectly centered hole in any size pipe.
Wait what? using the tools properly saves time and effort....
Using almost identical method you can get 100% centered hole, but only almost;) What you should do is 1. Fix the smaller chuck in the vise just like you did 2. Insert and tighten a strait rod into BOTH chucks 3. Clamp the vise to the table Now both chucks are aligned and you can drill exactly in the center of whatever you put in the bottom chuck using drill bit in the top one (or you can swap this and put the part in the top chuck if it's bigger etc). But no center punching is needed and the result is much more accurate, comparable to what you would get on the lathe...
Yeah I was wondering how Johnny knew that the centre punch was in the exact centre of that rod cut-off
Exact center for Eyeballing it with first piece.
🤣
Yeah. Haha! But How he find the center of the rod? Would need an adjustable guide and no one has that on hand. This is an excellent method especially when you can see the cut rings after sawing off the stub. So I’d have pitch it before sanding it.
@@jeffbrown7246 Isn't it the sanding that marks the center of the rod ? at 0:55
@@tomdiams I don’t think so. I’m not sure why he sanded it. The other end which was already flat and smooth would rest on the horizontal rod to be drilled. (It could be smoothed if it isn’t already) I noticed when he cutoff the rod the stub piece had saw rings. If the goal is to find the center of the rod as closely as possible I’m thinking the saw rings actually provide a good reference which will help see the true center. Punch the center of the saw rings as closely as you can.. Otherwise you’re guessing where center is on a smooth surface. Since he chucked-it-up to drill the stub it doesn’t matter because the chuck will keep it true (vertical) if he chucks it true with a level or such. Then the other end will rest on the rod being drilled that’s laying horizontally. Assuming the smooth end rests flush that will assure the stub is exactly (as much as possible) perpendicular to the rod. Just my opinion but the idea is to get the best possible reference and the saw rings seem to be a natural help by default. I really like this tip. I’ll remember this one!
that's what I thought as well, but I guess the idea is that eyeballing works good enough and it's easier to drill straight on a flat surface rather than a curved surface.
Nice tip. Just a little thought for the comments on eyeballing the center punch. The human eye is fantastic at noticing eccentric circles and is accurate to within a few thousands if an inch. That's less the the runout on most chucks.
There is also a handy alternative on the same theme if you can clamp your vice.
1 mount a center drill in drill press chuck
2 connect mini chuck to center drill
3 clamp mini chuck in vice. Lock vice in position.
4 both chucks are now aligned dead center and perfectly parallel.
These steps are just what I'm looking for, thx
A quick suggestion . At the 1:54 mark. Don't guess the square of the center drill. Put the centre drill in the mini chuck then hold the bit of the center drill still stickign out in the main chuck and only then do up the vice holding it . That way providing you don't move the vice when you open the main chuck again and put your work piece in you will know it is perfectely in line with the center.
As a machinist for half a century, we all know that there is no such thing as "exact" measurement. We should also understand that a much higher percentage of home shops have a drill press than a lathe! For a lot of home DIY projects this is actually not a bad idea?
I agree it isn't a bad idea but it's hardly a new idea. I do enjoy watching people "discover" things I've known for decades.
@@ramtek2702 Well there's a new crop every day? If they want to learn. we should show them! I have had lots of old guys show me over the years. Although it took me a long time to learn to shut the hell up and listen!
As UA-cam pos ( much like yourself ) we all know we DGAF
Why haven't your species assimilated robotic technology yet?
@@unitedspacepirates9075 why haven’t you left home nerd
I put the drill press in the vice then spin the bench, works great and great workout.
I just use my 6" Atlas lathe to get the job done
BS! I put my d!ck in the drill press and make the whole universe spin
AvEryone knows, you're supposed to keep your dick in a VISE. Not a drill press. Thanks - Lumpy
I usually put the bench on a turn table and press play since I'm to lazy for a workout
I don't care who you are - THAT'S FUNNY!
If you wanted it to be actually simple put something straight between your drill bit and the round item. Press down gently with the bit. When the straight item is level you have found centre.
This is probably one of the most complicated ways of doing it.
Yep, I’ve seem turners use a pin with play dough stuck to the part they spin to find its centre. Easier than this by far!
i find using a popsicle stick is pretty good for this. you just move the twist drill left and right until the popsicle stick is perpendicular to the twist drill. you can even get fancy and hold a square up to the stick and drill to make sure its a 90. you can even just drill through the stick when you are ready to make your hole
You seem to have missed the point, which is not to measure the starting point but to keep the drill on it. Even with a press I have seen drill bits skid off, break, and / or make triangular holes.
@@christopherbedford9897 Thats what a stub drill or a spotting drill is for. Oh and just so ya know centre drills are for lathe centres only really. Sometimes i use them in hard materials if im in a pinch but normally I use a spot drill with a 120 degree angle.
@@samwalters4205 Actually, those little bits are called "CENTER DRILLS", and are used in Lathes, drill-presses, Vertical Mills and can also be used in a portable hand drill, if need be. It's only purpose is getting the material started in the exact spot and initiating that 60 degree cutting angle for a drill-bit to line up on. Its body is thick, so it wont warp and be defrayed, like a normal drill-bit will do. A center drill wont "walk" like a regular twist drill does, for that exact reason. Center drills are available in many sizes from minute to hugh. One tip in preventing breakage, when using any center drill is to brush on a little Crisco Vegetable Shortening onto the tip of the bit BEFORE touching the part. Do NOT use oil or cutting solution. That almost always results in tip breakage, because it encourages "wander". This "wisdom" is from 50 years of experience.
Wat he is doing guys is showing a simple way one can come pretty close to center for people who have limited tools and experience. Very nice demo. Just think guys wen u first started out how little u knew and how little tools u had. This is showing wat can b done to get fairly accurate results simply. Appreciate it for wat it is guys
I would say this gentleman just showed a lot of people how to drill a hole in a round rod that own a drill press and not a $3000.00 Lathe. This is probably not going into a Space Rover.
This is a great video and it was free. I have always said, " You Can't Bitch About FREE. Great Video Thank You
Thank you for calling out the snarky posters. I learned something... so I would also say thank you to JohnnyQ90.
People are still going to bitch lol
George Allen: Syphilis is usually free. Don't complain about it.
Unless its "free" healthcare
Wow, there are some real know it all's here. This is extremely good idea for a simple quick hole drilled to the accuracy of most home workshops. Not a f£#king machine shop. But hey i guess most people miss that he has a lathe and now a 5 axis mill. Also in my experience of heavy machinery repair the tolerances vary wildly for each type of machine and what is doing. Again not the work i do in my garage. Where i have a small lathe but no drill press
Once you drill the hole in the guide, measure with calipers the distance from inside the hole to the od. Measure many times all the way around. If it varies, there will be a high and a low with 2 spots opposite each other that are the same. Make sure these 2 spots that are the same are touching the face of the vice and that will make it centered as close as possible with this technique.
The real advice is in the comments.
It amazes me how many people dont know how to lubricate a drill properly.If you spray it on a workpeace you will get very small amount of lubricant to stay.Instead spray it or use a brush on the top of the flute near chuck,that way when you drill something lubricant will slide down the flute right into a hole-you will be amazed!
+zumbazumba1 : When someone like you gives me a good idea I can appreciate it, even though you imagine it's common knowledge.
What are you on about? The guy put the lube in the guide so it will drip in to the hole.
Same thing ha!
Pip's Woodworking He's an observer of gravity.
Silly people laugh all you want just try it out and you wont be laughing anymore ,you will see that it is the best way to lubricate drills.
The chip flowing up the flute, will remove any lubricant you apply there. The proper place for lubricant is at the tip and this is why though tool type lubricated drills (where coolant is directed through the tool) deliver coolant AT the tip.
Pooling lubricant to retain it at the tip isn't a bad idea by any means, so long as the chip still evacuates sufficiently.
If you want to make a series of (centred) holes along that round bar, and keep them all exactly aligned: make two jigs thus, and have an extra drill bit in the size you need. drill your first hole, and leave the jig and one drill bit in the hole. Then when you drill subsequent holes with the second jig and drill bit, they will be aligned.
To all the nay sayers, this isn’t intended to be used by NASA but is a huge step fwd for many hobbyists. Perhaps one could find some positives.
Yeah, that may be but the hole is not "exactly" on center!
@@Toolmamon you got that right
@@Toolmamon "NASA"
This is amazing that I would happen to see your video without looking for anything like it but in the back of my mind is a major project where I need to do exactly that!. But I don't have a drill press and am nervous about it so I'm going to opt for a local machine shop.
Slightly better way is to put the drill bit in the drill press chuck first, then lower it down and tighten in the vice. That way you know it's perfectly centre and directly upright
Sure, just don't grip the drill on the flutes if it does not go in deep enough to catch on the shank. I saw too many people with the chuck gripping in the flutes, and they wonder why the drills wobble. if a drill slips, gone is the chuck accuracy. Sorry if I preach to the converted, just one of my frustrations with people damaging good tools, by nit using them properly.
I'm one of those neurotic people (ek vatikaki) who freak out when they see the bit being jabbed in and out of the work. A steady feed rate is better and faster.
shadeburst
Actually, by retracting the bit, so the cut material is removed from the hole, there is less friction to build up heat, and the drill bit will last longer.
I have center drills that I have cut off so that I have full grip on a round shank. I do not work around a shop any more and do not miss the smell of a cutting wheel going thru high speed steel.
Makin Sumthin From Nuthin,
GOZ.2M8
G83Z-1.200ROJ1K.1F9.2
G80M26MO2
Just something that ran through my thoughts.
This is the kind of tutorials I appreciate and respect the most. Those that show you how to proceed with the simplest and least amount of steps. Not building complicated gadgets, but performing simple tasks like this one, that allow for bigger projects. Thanks!
completely agree with you. This is such a fantastic idea.
Victor ST and no blah blah blahs
It's not the quickest and easiest way, if you don't have a slip bushing of that size. While you're picking it up at the store, I'll have the job done doing it the "hard way".
What? slack?
mikej747 How about telling us plebs how an injury might occur, if we use this video?
I thought it was rather clever.
You lost me when you eyeballed the center of the rod and used a manual punch.
The sand paper left scratch marks on the end of the rod, these marks indicate very close to center.
@@tdcmachine very close at even close mate just glad I don't hire numb nuts like this.....
All depends on the accuracy you require, eyeballing may get you to 0.2mm otherwise you need better procedure and equipment.
It makes no difference. That's just being waaaaaaaaaaay too picky.
@@bigkiv47JohnnyQ90 may not have fully tooled mills and lathes like you or I, no edge finders, dividing heads, optical center finders, and all the rest of that high dollar equipment. As I stated before, the scratch marks will indicate very close to center, depending on the grit count of the sand paper used, and the run out of the drill press spindle. It all comes down to what you have to work with and the accuracy needed, would you paint a house with a pin stripe brush... lighten up dude.
Lots of people are complaining about old mate ‘eyeballing’ the center to punch it.
When he put the piece in the drill and sanded the end, the sandpaper left perfect circles on it. It’s very easy to find the smallest, center circle and simply punch it in that spot.
Even with expensive lathes and milling machines it can be difficult to get the exact center, that’s why the hole is often drilled first on a lathe and the outside turned down to perfectly (or essentially perfectly) match that hole.
With average shop tools like a pedestal drill and sandpaper, this method is actually pretty accurate and effective.
2:29 pause and look at the offset between the bit and the hole…
Alternate title: How to make a half-assed drill bushing when your hole doesn't need to be square or on center. 🤣
How is it in the exact center when he used a punch by eye to mark the center ?
He's using the drill press AS a lathe! I thought it was pretty clever. Making this disk on the lathe is easy and makes sense, but I've never even thought of doing what we saw here, and have needed it so many times. Just drilling down the axis of a rod is something that comes up all the time. I could have used this a hundred times! I really also agree with Ratgreen about the setup. It would make a lot of sense to make sure the drill is aligned with the spindle.
There are always tolerances in the world of metalworking, nothing is exact, even with a $1 million lathe) The method with the drill-press probably is well within the accuracy he needs.
*Edit: I obviously missed the point of the comment. Thanks for the corrections everyone.*
The method was mentioned in another comment.
When the piece was sanded using the drill press, the sand paper left concentric circles on the end of the rod. It might not have been clear from the video, but the center was nicely marked with a bull's eye.
That wasnt my point !
The point was he used a big punch, and the center was punched by eye. So its close to the center.
To get the centering tool aligned perfectly to the center axis of the drill press, ...Chuck the centering tool into the drill press, lower the chuck and clamp the tool into the table vise, then un-chuck the tool from the drill press. Chuck the rod into the drill press and drop the chuck onto the centering tool. This method allows the thru-hole to be concentric all the way thru the rod.
Works even better if your vice is good quality with a "V" notch in the jaws. If you only have a crappy vice and the table isn't real square to the axis of the press, you can get around the problem by clamping a block of scrap that has been pre-drilled and tapped for a grubb-screw. Then drill into the block down past the level of the grubb-screw, put the center drill in the hole and tighten the grubb-screw to stop it spinning.
Thanks! I have a piece of junk for a drill press though.
Chuck is always getting out of center,, but that end mill bit trick just gave me an answer to my dilemma on a project I stalled on 3 years ago. A BIG THUMBS UP and again thanks!
Great tip!
For practical use, this would work great.
But, I am the lucky owner of a 1948 bench top Craftsman metal lathe.
Love that thing.
When watched it is so obvious, but what a neat trick, thanks for sharing.
Ray H. ( From the U.K. )
It's also pretty smart how you rotated the small piece on the sand paper so you could see where that centre was too.
I'm definitely going to start using that trick
That trick is poor practice because the center gets less abrasion and therefore you will end up with a high center due to the edges getting sanded more.
I see what you mean but still it shows you where to wack it.
he's using the drill press as a lathe.
Ok, he used the sand paper, but he also used an End Mill Bit to get the exact center on the small jig piece... That was cool !!
Nice trick for quickly getting stuff done that doesn’t have to be exact down to the micro
Thank you!!
Even better if you have a lathe sitting in your garage. Makes sense.
That's a bloody good way , as close as the average joe will ever need ,and no expensive gear needed , using emery paper to find centre , i love it .
That guide could also be square stock of the same size. It might be easier to mark its center and drill it out.
Brilliant! Thanks for sharing this idea with those of us that don't need 0.000001" accuracy ("machinists"!) and using tools that an average DIYer might already own. Quick and cheap. Love it!
I like to lay the rod down, drag it on emery cloth to scratch a line, then centerpunch where i want to drill.
This. This is the correct answer. This is how you actually get shit done. No reason to overcomplicate.
Just to add a bit to it.... Make a stand of an angle iron to hold your peace in place
Last time I needed to drill precisely centered holes on round stock, I used a Bridgeport milling machine, and had no issues at all.
About "eye balling" the center punch mark: I just tried this method. I sanded the end of a 3/8" brass rod using a drill press, as shown in the video. Used 100 grit paper. It left distinctive concentric circles which provided a good target for center punching.
The hard part is how you do the next hole parallel!
did you mean perpendicular?
No, parallel to the first hole so that if you put a rod in each hole they are all in a straight line.
Eyeballing it should get it close and if you put a stick through the hole and make sure its straight up and down before you drill the next whole it should be very close.
Make multiple vertical pieces and leave the drill bit in the first hole while you align the second : )
TROGLO BYTE Loosen the vie while holding the rod with a pair of vise grips there move the vertical piece to next location.
The vice holding the center drill must be clamped and prevented from moving for this to be truly accurate and "self centering". The punch mark should just be an initial alignment point.
This method, if fixed, is essentially how a center drill is used in a lathe and it needs no punch mark to guide it. Bit holder should be squared better than by eye. A longer bit or rod and a square could help with that.
I’m more impressed with how fast he was able to move that hacksaw blade!
softer the metal the easier it is
Good vids,shows how much you can do with just a drill press and nothing more for machines.Chuck looks like it has some wobble though,not like having a good lathe.But, for the price it’s hard to beat.
Great video, really useful, thanks for sharing. Nice drill chuck, what model of bench drill were you using please?
The thing that's also going to be a challenge (just looking at the example with mutiple aligned holes) would be keeping a row of holes from being slightly mis-aligned and the holes being at slightly different angles through the rod. If you have to reposition your round guide, even a small rotation of the work piece (rod) could result in discepancies in alignment from hole to hole.
thats exactly it i dont know if its hollow or solid but long and alloy with allen cap head and threadded other end but i think i can drill a 5mm hole,BUT HOWWWWWW
oh i thought you were going in the other end horizontally
clever though
Finding that center point with sand paper and drill press was niceee. Thanks !
but then he lost it again
First, center punch is completely up to your eye and hand accuracy. Second, you cannot guarantee the drill bit is vertical.
That's a very good observation, so in response I would make it vertical by using a square on the vice... accounting for the protrusion of the bit itself of course.
Nice. For someone who doesn't have a lot of equipment, this is a good sound way to get it done. I'm going to share with my friends.
cool -- I took a screenshot at 2:44 that says it all and will be a quick reminder for me...people are criticizing because they are incorrectly assuming the gist of this. If someone wants to improve on accuracy, they can, the point is the O.D's are identical and they can be clamped together and it acts as both an index AND a guide esp. om the absence of a drill press or mill!
I'm a retired toolmaker you cannot drill a straight hole with a drill bit even if you start dead centre the end you come out will always be of centre. The only way to make a true running hole is to finish it off with a boring bar or these days a cnc machine.
Old trick is to drill half way and flip part over, bit will seek path of least resistance when it meets with other hole, correcting problem.
Very smart idea! I was looking for something similar. Thanks for posting this.
9
That's pretty ingenious, Thanx for the great video!!!
I made a fixture from a piece of angle iron and some flat bar stock. Weld the angle iron so lit looks like a “V”along the length of the bar stock. When yo want to drill through the center of some round stock preposition the fixture so the drill bit will be centered at the bottom of the “V”. Place the bar stock in the fixture and clamp in place. Drill down through the round stock.
in case you guys didn't notice , when he sanded the ends in the drill press it made rings from the sand paper and he used that as a reference for the center punch , maybe off by 1 thousand but extremely close and realy smart :D just saying
good idea
but how do you get the perfect center of the small piece
Ed Zackery what I thought too :)
look up center finding teeter totter method.
Teeter totter method for drilling into the end of the small piece?
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zentrierwinkel
It looks as though there is a tiny + perfectly centered on the end of the small piece - but no mention as to how that was done.
This is a smart method but I wouldn't say that it is the easiest tbh
Simplest doesn't necessarily mean easiest :)
Kinda depends on whether you have a self-centering rig with an angle indicator for any variable speed hand held...
...or if you know how to build one. :o)
How about just a piece of 90 degree angle stock ?
Loved the video, and very clever
ASSUMES the center punch indented the exact middle of the small piece. It's possible to be "off" center !
Yes, a major flaw in this whole of this process - the centre punching is pure guestimation and way off.
There is a way. Extended the rod out of the chuck, lower to table and lock it up in the unclamped vice...then secure the vice onto the table with the piece still in the chuck. Loosen chuck, put centre drill in drill press chuck and hey presto - a centred hole. Back to school, I think? :)
I grew up working in my Dad's machine shop from the age of 7 until I graduated some 11 years later. While this video shows a pretty accurate way of drilling a hole into a pipe or stock from the end or side, I would suggest putting the drill bit in the Drill Press and the stock in the vice. Then, line up with where the hole should be. But my Dad was old school. He taught me well. But you can do it any way you want.
Wow, a lot of hole driller's came to this video.
because a hole would not be a hole without the hole!
“That’s what she said!” Bahahaha.
h-how did you know that
Totally true and so simple to make, thanks for share JohnnyQ90!
Thanks for the "No Yack", short, steady camera video. Thanks - Lumpy
One of the best 4 minutes on UA-cam
At first I thought, why are you doing!!! So glad I watched it till the end. Great idea.
*Nice work !*
*Something is missing though !! No guarantee the other holes can be made well aligned :(*
A simple scribe mark on the alignment jig would help for accurate repeat-ability, as accurate as you can get with this
@@nikolaishriver7922 can you elaborate?
D K i think that was a very incomplete thought I posted 🤣 I think I was imagining you could put a scribe mark on the side of the alignment dowel piece to align with a mark/previous hole on the workpiece being drilled, so you can make sure the original hole/workpiece is aligned perfectly vertical for your next hole. So you don’t get a hole at 12:00 and the next hole at 12:05, so to speak. You could also stick a drill bit or little pin in the previous hole to eyeball that the hole is vertical. Other than that, I’m not sure wtf I was saying. It was probably very late one night.
@@nikolaishriver7922 On the contrary I believe you are on the right track here, all we must do is make two dowels so that the first after being drilled has the second dowel placed over it to hold it vertical after that all should be reasonably at 12 O'clock.
nice! but how do you easily line up the next hole once youve released the clamp?
You sand the short sleeve guide to where it can barely be slid in the vice while the vice remains clamping the long rod. Now the long rod stays tightly in the vice, and to drill each hole, simply slide the sleeve down to the appropriate distance away from the prior hole... Never loosening the rod makes sure the holes are in a straight line down it's length...
Love stuff like this ! And I had no idea that it could be so easy =)
Perfect! ... just one extra tip. You can see the cut rings after sawing off the stub so punch it then before sanding it .. it’ll probably give you a better eyeball center but punch it deep enough so not to lose it when you sand. In fact I don’t think there’s a need to sand it. Thx for the tip!
Super cool trick for sure! Thanks for uploading this video. It will come in handy one day for sure!
that's actually kind of an awesome tip
It's so stupid simple is smart. Thank you for this video.
Did I miss something ?
HOW are we certain on that center punch indent , that it IS dead center ? It is ALL "eyeballed" as to where the hit should go , from what I see !
It's close eough.
Put the little rod in the chuck. Put workpiece in vice. Lower drill till little rod is in vice. Clamp vice. Replace little rod with drill bit.
Sorry mate, just about repeated your advice!!! :)
Thanks, I have a project in mind and will use that technique.
* ANY rod that will fit in your drill's chuck
The secret is that the guide rod is the same diameter as the work piece.
@Sam means that if the rod you are attempting to drill is larger then will fit in the chuck of a drill press it wont work, not that you can use any old rod.
Sam Prudden
Let me help you to a much faster and more accurate drilling method using the tools you just showed. Put your piece in the drill chuck. Put the other drill chuck in the vice opened enough to fit the drill rod into it. Tighten and clamp vice to the drill table. Two chucks are aligned. Now drill to your hearts content even able to change drill rod diameter. If you really want to be accurate use a centre drill then drill or shorten your drill so it can't flex out of centre and spot your centre then drill away. If you need a more accurate hole drilled, use a smaller drill then go to a bigger drill or use a reamer.
I have been working with metal building dies for about 40 years servicing the military, construction, automotive, electronic, medical and many other industries. In my early 20's was invited to work on the particle beam project at NASA Kennedy Space Centre.
Aha...you'r extraterrestrial! 👽
I tried that argument to get out of jury duty, to no avail.
😂😂😄👍🏼
Although, with small-diameter drill bits, it's possible that the drill bit can wander off-centre, unless you pre-drill with a centering drill...gee, maybe that's why they call them that?
Good tutorial!
You just need to teach us how to cut as fast as like 0:15 lol
Pity you guys can't use carbide! Kennametal have Go-Drills - from 1mm to 20 mm, 3 and 5 x D. Scary feeds and speeds! See on www.kennametal.com. FYI.
i like this tip, thanks for posting. anyone taking the time to show other people tips should be thanked as there are so many people that like to keep secrets from others.
This borders on stupidly simple. Super smart idea. (Possibly the kind of trick he learned from his grandfather). Thanks!!
Videos with "drill" in it the title are always good videos :)
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
except when the video is about drill sergeants
but not when "dentist" , "noises" and "nerve" are included.
I CAN'T HEAR YOU ! !
Does it take a bit of doing to drill a dill pickle with a dull dill pickle drill bit?
Or just take any piece of paper, draw a line down it, and cut it short enough width to wrap around the pipe, tape it, and boom, you've got a straight drill line as long as you've got the line facing directly up.
Virtually impossible to get the line facing directly up, I'd say. Thanks - Lumpy
Clearly overlooking the challenge of getting a bit to drill into a rounded surface... Even a 1/4" bit will flex a bit under that circumstand and not drill dead center without a guide sleeve as this provides...
OMG! Love this! I do my own Hand Made Metal art... and this is spectacular! TY. Will be using this simple technique soon. :D Thanks for sharing this!
By spinning the short rod in the drill press and holding the drill bit still, it allows the bit to self-centre. I do this when boring out a wooden vase that I'm turning.
Screw all the haters.
I have enough sense to see this video for what it is, and can obviously conclude that he isn't achieving nasa level precision, nor does he think he is.
I thought the method of flattening the end of the rod was pretty awesome. Normally I just have my belt sander set up as square as I can get it and clamp a guide to it's tool rest to square it in 2 dimensions and then turn the piece by hand as I grind the end. I can get decent precision this way, but having the concentric circles would be nice.
I don't have access to a lathe either, and will probably use this technique now that I have seen it.
Thanks for sharing.
Finding the center of the rod to punch is the tough part, he just got lucky in this case.
I don't think it's mere luck. Even if the punch is off slightly, the center drill will always find the true center of the bar stock. This is because the stock is being rotated against the drill bit, instead of the other way around.
that was an excellent tip!!! So simple and very helpful at the same time!
Rename this video and add "without an engine lathe"
Thank you for a great demo. I use a totally different method, but yours does away with the calibrated eyeballs needed with my method. cheers Allen
@Wise Acres the problem comes when more than one hole is needed and they need to be parallel through the rod!
If you make 2 you can set up an adjustable indexing pin jig for equal spaced holes along a shaft.
Do it with a hand held drill. That's what I wanted to see.
BLT4LIFE im allowed to say no right
It’s a great idea, but I shuddered a couple of times. Clamping the shaft of the chuck in flat metal jaws can damage it, resulting in it running eccentrically. The chuck jaws gripped on very little of the plain shaft of the centre drill, which is dangerous. Also, when using any hand saw, use the whole blade, not just the bit in the centre. Long slow motions are easier to control and better for the blade. It’s still a great idea though and one I shall be using.
I can say with authority that the hole is NOT on center.
@Death
.012"
Another way is to clamp two round bars in the vise, and then position the vise so that a bit touches both bars. Then place the stock on the two bars and drill it, starting gently with a small bit
This is a good technique. I clamp my stock in v blocks, center punch drill in the drill press. I really think this is more of a precise way to do it.
Wouldn't a simple "V" block accomplish the same thing?
Show me!!!
Show me too.
How accurate is your punch in the center of the drill guide? Not even, your eyesight is not that good.
It looks like they use the circles caused my the rough sand paper. That would be my guess.
Genius, just use your drill press as a vertical lathe.
This is great - how do you accomplish the same but with drilling multiple equally spaced holes along the center of the pin? I have a long square piece of aluminum that I need to drill holes in along the entire length, then use a countersink bit to create a concave ring along the circumference of the hole. I’m thinking the countersink part is pretty easy once you’ve drilled the holes through.
I wish I had a good way of linking to a picture that demonstrates what I’m looking to accomplish.
very nice , thank you, I am a pipe fitter and this will come in handy, and more accurate than a center head
bullshit it was 2 microns off to the left.
not bad though.
I'm afraid you & I have differing concepts of precision.
By putting the piece in the drill and the centre drill in the vice, it automatically gets it dead centre; the technique is good. The punch gives a mostly accurate start, then the upside down way he did this gives the accuracy - can you not see that?
@@thetessellater9163 amazing and sad how many ppl do not see how the hole gets automatically centered in this method ... I'm not even a machinist and I instantly understood just from having a solid physics background .. these kids leaving these comments are probably the type to think electric cars are somehow better for the environment, and they will be VOTING soon!
I would have to say by watching the run out in your drill press nothing is perfect
I like the ingenuity I probably would have coped the guide to ensure and even tighter fitment on your work piece
I use a hexagonal bar drilled in the middle where I put the round rod, but it needs a screw to hold the rod so it doesn't rotate, I use it in a standard situation but I liked the method it will help me in other situations