The biggest issue I have with the plumb-bob method is that the drill press has to be sitting on a perfectly level benchtop for it to be accurate. If the bench is high at the front, for example, the plumb bob will swing rearward resulting in the lower chuck being positioned too far rearward as well. Using a solid rod and chucking it into both upper and lower chucks will ensure alignment regardless of whether things are level. Also, instead of a drill chuck, I use a small three-jaw lathe chuck. After aligning it with the drill press's chuck using the solid rod method, I clamp it down with two vise-grip-type drill press clamps. And since (most) lathe chucks have a through hole in the center, the rod can be dropped out through the bottom of the table after the alignment process has been done.
Great idea, I like it. I don’t even have a drill press, and no access to a machine shop at my location. I do have a cordless hand drill and a vise. I needed to tap both ends of 8 pieces of 13mm diameter 210mm long rod for M6x1 screws. This is part of an assembly of mostly 3d printed parts. Here’s what I did: I ordered a 5mm drill bushing on Amazon, then designed and 3d printed a custom sleeve for the rod, 13mm ID, closed on one side, that I slide over the end of the drill rod held securely in the vise. The drill busing is inserted on the closed end of the sleeve, so the sleeve positions it in the center of the rod. The bushing then guides my 5mm drill bit in the cordless hand drill, and it drills a fairly straight hole. I had good luck with that. I’m only going 20mm deep with my threads, about 25mm with the hole. They are not perfectly straight or perfectly centered like they would be using a lathe, but close enough for my purposes, everything screwed together just fine 😃. Your method would probably be more accurate.
I saw another video w/ great idea that would help make your method work perfectly (I think); he chucked dowel/rod & spun/lowered it onto sandpaper to 1.) flatten it, & 2.) created concentric circles, allowing him to use CENTER PUNCH on the center of the rod. NOW when using your method, the drill quickly finds/locates to center w/minimal wandering.
Thanks for this, I'm currently trying to do exactly this type of work and have been struggling to find center as a beginner. Some great solutions in the comments here too. Onwards!
No way! Kinda funny, I was just thinking of making one of these.. Thought I was the first person that thought of it.. In hindsight thats kind of naive of me, lol. It's a really great idea! Im off to Crappy Tire to find some hardware right now, lol I gotta drill some Titanium rod once it's delivered, wish me luck, lol Thanks for the tip Buddy, and Hi from New Brunswick !
Rather than a plumb line you could try a laser pointer. That would negate having to shim the base. Also I think if the drill press was bolted down you might improve the accuracy.
@@EmbraceMaking I just bought a bell punch for a few pounds. Seems to be the best way to find the centre. I will make a clamp with a chuck like the video to clamp everything for machining.
Great trick. I would have never thought to use a plumb. I've used the drill bit in the vise trick with great results (on short work), and have thought about making a fixed chuck for the table, just haven't gotten around to it since I have a really really old lathe now (line shaft era). Even on the lathe, center drilling a rod that's long is problematic, you can indicate it in accurately at the chuck but then it's 0.015" out a foot away. That's what the steady rest is for I guess, then you can center it up out there too . Also try on the drill press, put your long rod up through the hole in the base and in the table. Chuck up on the work, then grasp the work in your vise, bolt the vise down. Then release the chuck and put in your center drill, then drill your hole, tap it, whatever you need. Works great so long as the work fits in your drill chuck!
Here is a tip for the cheap drill press. Clamp a vblock on the table so that the part overhangs and making certain that you are drilling perpendicular to the v surface, center drill both ends of the rod for a through hole. (Since you are over hanging, you can raise and lower the rod and stay on center).Then drill as deep as your drill press stroke from both ends. This will give you a straight through hole. Happy drilling.
Just bring the drill head down on round stock that is in both chucks. Lock the bottom placement and remove the stock and raise the head back up. Both chucks are now perfectly aligned.
@@greenyonline Obviously neither method will work on stock bigger than the chuck will accept. There will be fixtures to get around that problem. but then, the bigger the piece the easier it is to locate something close to center anyway.
as far as ideas go, i've made a guind jig in the past just using a pipe to keep it concentric. You can also find your center on both ends, using a punch center mark. Then center drill both ends. Depending on how hard your steel is, ive seen folks use long masonry screws to center drill both ends, then bore with a drill press.
If you have a drill press or a lathe machine is easy but, what about if you only have a drilling gun and a small vise grip??. Do you have any idea? Make a video if you do and I will give you a thumps up.☺.
Some steel rods, bearings, and clamps can turn a drill into a drill press in a hurry for those of you that dont have the money or space for a drillpress.
1:40 My wife insisted that I watch this video. She told me "Chuck, you're longer, be more creative" . . . And, as a counselor, she pocketed me $20. Still not sure what she meant . . .
Good idea, but I have a tapered cylinder (wood) I need to drill down into straight. I have a lathe, but it's not long enough nor could I grab the base without damaging it
Why not just chuck up a really rigid, really straight rod that's maybe 2cm longer than the gap? Set the rod into the bottom loosely, check the top up nice and tight, let the rod drag the bottom into alignment. then, as you tighten the bottom, it should auto-center. Once it has, mark the carriage's position on the footplate for faster alignment next time (or, if you have the means, add a detent so it has a positive stop). This also removes the need for maintaining perfect plumb. The only challenge at that point is getting a perfectly straight rod of 25-30cm. If only someone made a 25mm rod of metal that was guaranteed straight to some dizzying tolerance. Oh, wait! They do! They're called gunsmithing precision alignment rods (for getting the barrel REALLY REALLY in line with the chamber. 'cuz guess what happens when a bullet doesn't have room to exit the chamber into the barrel? You think YOU don't wanna screw YOUR alignment up, LOL?), and they can be had for around $30 CAN. They also happen to be made in a variety of hardened tool steels guaranteed to around 0.01mm. And since you're using self-centering chucks...
I like this idea, I'll have to look into those rods and I had no idea they were so cheap. Thanks for that info! Do you have a source for them you can share?
Just a thought, would it not be easier and more precise to put a bit of round stock into the top chuck instead of the plumb line? Lower it tinto the bottom chuck and clamp, then tighten the bottom chuck bolts?
I would think the only caveat to that is the round stock has to be perfectly straight. But if someone gets a piece or round stock that they test, straighten, or other wise verify is perfectly straight, then I would certainly use your idea and use that same piece of round stock each time to center up. I used this technique for getting my 3D printer rods straight ua-cam.com/video/qgQuXM3yVIU/v-deo.html .
he east way is to cut a 1" chunk of the round stock and use a centering square to find the center the punch mark and drill that piece all the way through to whatever size you require. Now using a small piece of angle iron clamp all 3 peices into your vice and use the bushing as a guide as you use an electric hand drill
It's not even worth mentioning if it's not drilling dead center. Very close to the center is as good as it's not centered. Steady hand can do pretty much the same job without all this hassle.
ok...been machining since '75...This is a way to do things... however instead of using a plumb bob...go to a big box store or hardware store buy 3/8 ready rod...1/2 is better cut a 10" ish length. Chuck both ends...top and bottom. Tighten vice to table.
Had this in mind, but how do you remove the ready rod without disturbing the position of the position of the bottom chuck? Once you loosen off the clamp holding the working table in place to lower it enough to remove the ready rod from the chuck, now you're off center. This is why I didn't do it this way.
@@EmbraceMaking pul the quill of the drill press down about an inch and a half... ish open chuck with chuck key raise quill obviously dont move anything but the quill....is one method
Hi John, yes the diameter is limited to your chuck. There is no replacement for a lathe, but sometimes you have to work with what you have! Thanks for watching!
Embrace Racing yes sir I know all about having to work with what you have. You are right. No replacement for a lathe. I build kinetic wind sculptures and I am always having to find the center for bearing placement. Here is what I did. I bought a 6” lathe chuck from eBay and mounted it on a piece of 1” plate that I had surfaced ground to make sure that everything was true and flat. The plate has a skirt on for clamping to the drill press table. Next I chuck up a 1/2” transfer punch in the drill press and then chuck it up in the lathe chuck. And then clamp the lathe chuck down to the table. I think that I paid about $60.00 for the lathe chuck. This seems to work most of the time. Sometimes it can be off doing this. It does take patience to set up and find center. I hope this will help you as well.
The biggest issue I have with the plumb-bob method is that the drill press has to be sitting on a perfectly level benchtop for it to be accurate. If the bench is high at the front, for example, the plumb bob will swing rearward resulting in the lower chuck being positioned too far rearward as well. Using a solid rod and chucking it into both upper and lower chucks will ensure alignment regardless of whether things are level. Also, instead of a drill chuck, I use a small three-jaw lathe chuck. After aligning it with the drill press's chuck using the solid rod method, I clamp it down with two vise-grip-type drill press clamps. And since (most) lathe chucks have a through hole in the center, the rod can be dropped out through the bottom of the table after the alignment process has been done.
Absolutely! I believe I address the perfectly level thing in the video, but this was mostly a video showing how I did it with what I had on hand :)
Great idea, I like it.
I don’t even have a drill press, and no access to a machine shop at my location. I do have a cordless hand drill and a vise. I needed to tap both ends of 8 pieces of 13mm diameter 210mm long rod for M6x1 screws. This is part of an assembly of mostly 3d printed parts.
Here’s what I did: I ordered a 5mm drill bushing on Amazon, then designed and 3d printed a custom sleeve for the rod, 13mm ID, closed on one side, that I slide over the end of the drill rod held securely in the vise. The drill busing is inserted on the closed end of the sleeve, so the sleeve positions it in the center of the rod. The bushing then guides my 5mm drill bit in the cordless hand drill, and it drills a fairly straight hole. I had good luck with that. I’m only going 20mm deep with my threads, about 25mm with the hole. They are not perfectly straight or perfectly centered like they would be using a lathe, but close enough for my purposes, everything screwed together just fine 😃. Your method would probably be more accurate.
I saw another video w/ great idea that would help make your method work perfectly (I think); he chucked dowel/rod & spun/lowered it onto sandpaper to 1.) flatten it, & 2.) created concentric circles, allowing him to use CENTER PUNCH on the center of the rod. NOW when using your method, the drill quickly finds/locates to center w/minimal wandering.
Thanks Mark! Sounds interesting, I'll have to give that a try!
I've seen that video. It works great!
Thanks for this, I'm currently trying to do exactly this type of work and have been struggling to find center as a beginner. Some great solutions in the comments here too. Onwards!
No way! Kinda funny, I was just thinking of making one of these.. Thought I was the first person that thought of it.. In hindsight thats kind of naive of me, lol. It's a really great idea! Im off to Crappy Tire to find some hardware right now, lol I gotta drill some Titanium rod once it's delivered, wish me luck, lol Thanks for the tip Buddy, and Hi from New Brunswick !
Good luck! Hopefully it worked out for you and you made it through that Ti
Thank you so much. Very clever method.
Thank you!
Rather than a plumb line you could try a laser pointer. That would negate having to shim the base. Also I think if the drill press was bolted down you might improve the accuracy.
Thanks Ted! I like the laser pointer idea, maybe I'll give it a try sometime!
@@EmbraceMaking I just bought a bell punch for a few pounds. Seems to be the best way to find the centre. I will make a clamp with a chuck like the video to clamp everything for machining.
Great trick. I would have never thought to use a plumb.
I've used the drill bit in the vise trick with great results (on short work), and have thought about making a fixed chuck for the table, just haven't gotten around to it since I have a really really old lathe now (line shaft era).
Even on the lathe, center drilling a rod that's long is problematic, you can indicate it in accurately at the chuck but then it's 0.015" out a foot away. That's what the steady rest is for I guess, then you can center it up out there too
.
Also try on the drill press, put your long rod up through the hole in the base and in the table. Chuck up on the work, then grasp the work in your vise, bolt the vise down. Then release the chuck and put in your center drill, then drill your hole, tap it, whatever you need.
Works great so long as the work fits in your drill chuck!
Clever
Here is a tip for the cheap drill press. Clamp a vblock on the table so that the part overhangs and making certain that you are drilling perpendicular to the v surface, center drill both ends of the rod for a through hole. (Since you are over hanging, you can raise and lower the rod and stay on center).Then drill as deep as your drill press stroke from both ends. This will give you a straight through hole. Happy drilling.
Just bring the drill head down on round stock that is in both chucks. Lock the bottom placement and remove the stock and raise the head back up. Both chucks are now perfectly aligned.
How about with 1” stock?
@@greenyonline Obviously neither method will work on stock bigger than the chuck will accept. There will be fixtures to get around that problem. but then, the bigger the piece the easier it is to locate something close to center anyway.
Laser. Will take of two items on that list
I couldn't find a laser that had a perfectly circular body to chuck, but yes it could work well too
@@EmbraceMaking i think they make gun bore lasers dont they?
as far as ideas go, i've made a guind jig in the past just using a pipe to keep it concentric. You can also find your center on both ends, using a punch center mark. Then center drill both ends. Depending on how hard your steel is, ive seen folks use long masonry screws to center drill both ends, then bore with a drill press.
Tx man! You've solved my problem!
Glad I could help!
so what do you do when the rod is more diameter than the chuck will open? i have a 1/2 chuck and 3/4 rod... (13mm chuck 20mm rod)
Why didn't you put the bar in the lower chuck to keep it motionless and a drill bit from the top ?
Any suggestions for doing this with a 3ft long, ⅜-16 threaded rod ? (I need to tap threads in rod so I can Insert a ¼-20 screw into it.)
If you have a drill press or a lathe machine is easy but, what about if you only have a drilling gun and a small vise grip??. Do you have any idea? Make a video if you do and I will give you a thumps up.☺.
Some steel rods, bearings, and clamps can turn a drill into a drill press in a hurry for those of you that dont have the money or space for a drillpress.
This is quite a good idea!
Thank you for watching!
1:40 My wife insisted that I watch this video.
She told me "Chuck, you're longer, be more creative" . . .
And, as a counselor, she pocketed me $20.
Still not sure what she meant . . .
Yea? How'd you tighten up those bolts bob?!
Good idea, but I have a tapered cylinder (wood) I need to drill down into straight. I have a lathe, but it's not long enough nor could I grab the base without damaging it
Ur fuct.
Why not just chuck up a really rigid, really straight rod that's maybe 2cm longer than the gap? Set the rod into the bottom loosely, check the top up nice and tight, let the rod drag the bottom into alignment. then, as you tighten the bottom, it should auto-center. Once it has, mark the carriage's position on the footplate for faster alignment next time (or, if you have the means, add a detent so it has a positive stop).
This also removes the need for maintaining perfect plumb.
The only challenge at that point is getting a perfectly straight rod of 25-30cm. If only someone made a 25mm rod of metal that was guaranteed straight to some dizzying tolerance. Oh, wait! They do! They're called gunsmithing precision alignment rods (for getting the barrel REALLY REALLY in line with the chamber. 'cuz guess what happens when a bullet doesn't have room to exit the chamber into the barrel? You think YOU don't wanna screw YOUR alignment up, LOL?), and they can be had for around $30 CAN. They also happen to be made in a variety of hardened tool steels guaranteed to around 0.01mm.
And since you're using self-centering chucks...
I like this idea, I'll have to look into those rods and I had no idea they were so cheap. Thanks for that info! Do you have a source for them you can share?
Just a thought, would it not be easier and more precise to put a bit of round stock into the top chuck instead of the plumb line? Lower it tinto the bottom chuck and clamp, then tighten the bottom chuck bolts?
I would think the only caveat to that is the round stock has to be perfectly straight. But if someone gets a piece or round stock that they test, straighten, or other wise verify is perfectly straight, then I would certainly use your idea and use that same piece of round stock each time to center up. I used this technique for getting my 3D printer rods straight ua-cam.com/video/qgQuXM3yVIU/v-deo.html .
he east way is to cut a 1" chunk of the round stock and use a centering square to find the center the punch mark and drill that piece all the way through to whatever size you require. Now using a small piece of angle iron clamp all 3 peices into your vice and use the bushing as a guide as you use an electric hand drill
This is next level brilliant thanks for the tip!
I’m trying to figure out how to drill a hole in the end of 5/16 solid hex rod 36” long haha.
I had drill some shafts, 12mm and 16mm/ 250cm by drilling two holes on the wooden plants
It's not even worth mentioning if it's not drilling dead center. Very close to the center is as good as it's not centered. Steady hand can do pretty much the same job without all this hassle.
ok...been machining since '75...This is a way to do things...
however
instead of using a plumb bob...go to a big box store or hardware store
buy 3/8 ready rod...1/2 is better
cut a 10" ish length. Chuck both ends...top and bottom.
Tighten vice to table.
Had this in mind, but how do you remove the ready rod without disturbing the position of the position of the bottom chuck? Once you loosen off the clamp holding the working table in place to lower it enough to remove the ready rod from the chuck, now you're off center. This is why I didn't do it this way.
@@EmbraceMaking
pul the quill of the drill press down about an inch and a half... ish
open chuck with
chuck key raise quill
obviously dont move anything but the quill....is one method
Very limited the diameter. I need to drill 1 3/8” round.
Hi John, yes the diameter is limited to your chuck. There is no replacement for a lathe, but sometimes you have to work with what you have! Thanks for watching!
Embrace Racing yes sir I know all about having to work with what you have. You are right. No replacement for a lathe. I build kinetic wind sculptures and I am always having to find the center for bearing placement. Here is what I did. I bought a 6” lathe chuck from eBay and mounted it on a piece of 1” plate that I had surfaced ground to make sure that everything was true and flat. The plate has a skirt on for clamping to the drill press table. Next I chuck up a 1/2” transfer punch in the drill press and then chuck it up in the lathe chuck. And then clamp the lathe chuck down to the table. I think that I paid about $60.00 for the lathe chuck. This seems to work most of the time. Sometimes it can be off doing this. It does take patience to set up and find center. I hope this will help you as well.