Round bar centre finder | drill the centre of round bar

Finding the centre of a round bar can be difficult and time consuming. In this video I use a round bar centre finder which can be purchased on ebay for less than £6 fave.co/2sdV94Q
This enables you to find the centre of ant round bar, tube or pipe easily and quickly.
If you want to find the exact centre of the end of the bar you can do that using a bell punch (if you don’t have access to a centre lathe) • Bell punch | how to fi...

Thank you for the demonstration, saw these for sale but could not see how they were used.I will now buy one. You get my thumbs up as this will make my life easier.

[@ultimatehandyman]

You are welcome
Thanks for the comment

[@uktony1525]

Many, many thanks for bringing things to our attention that I am sure most of your viewers did not know existed. Drilling wooden dowels will be so much easier from now.

[@ultimatehandyman]

You are welcome ;-)
Thanks for the comment

[@ianmackenzie686]

Thanks for this. Excellent demonstration. My own usefulness just increased. After acquiring this gadget I'm now building my own adjustable bicycle repair stand.

[@ultimatehandyman]

You are welcome.
Thanks for the comment ;-)

[@jobaecker9752]

So simple, so inexpensive, but precise - love it, Thanks for the vid!

[@ultimatehandyman]

You are welcome Jo.
Thanks for the comment ;-)

[@zedman442]

What a simple but effective tool. In my school days we did the old long old skool way of cutting a piece of bar the same size. Putting it in a lathe, centre drill it then you can use this piece to put over the workpiece and use the little stub as a marker to drill through. Very complicated but great tooling lessons!

[@ultimatehandyman]

Yes, it's a great piece of kit for the money. I have seen the other technique that you mention but have never needed to use it yet.
Thanks for the comment ;-)

[@rlarajr2001]

I didn't know how to align the round stock for drill a center. Your video really helped.

[@ultimatehandyman]

I'm glad the video helped
Thanks for the comment 👍

[@cannonball666]

A FREE method is take your center drill bit or any super fine point drill bit and put it in your chuck. Then lower it to the round stock but place the thinnest but sturdy shim stock in between the point and the round stock. Adjust and when the shim stock is horizontally level then you've found your center.

[@ultimatehandyman]

Thanks for the comment 👍

[@rikmiles6531]

Well done , nice simple device, decent video, good sound, good light , no bullshit

[@ultimatehandyman]

Thanks for the comment ;-)

[@antoninhanzlik8092]

Moc komplikovaný. Přesně najedu sondou, s touto přesností pomocí položeného RADECA. A je to i rychlejší.

[@ultimatehandyman]

👍

[@cwrobinson6363]

I purchased one last year because I have to drill holes in 7/8 inch wood rails a lot. This finder removes the guess work out of finding the center of a rail or tube.

[@ultimatehandyman]

Yes, this is a great piece of kit ;-)
Thanks for the comment

[@user-pk7bj6qh7j]

Thank you for the support of translators. I translate your videos into Russian. In Russia you have admirers.

[@ultimatehandyman]

Thanks, I'm working on getting video titles and descriptions translated into other languages, Russian is on my list for some videos.
Thanks for the comment

[@ultimatehandyman]

Thanks, my email is [e-mail]
;-)

[@olinzuercher6344]

I have a center finder of that style that I find isn't all that accurate, well compared to a edge finder and a milling machine with a DRO. However, you did say fairly accurate, so not misleading folk! The other thing being that most folk who might have a drill press, may not have a milling machine. If that were the case, then yes, that device would be better than eyeball alone. This is an interesting UA-cam channel, I like original thought and you have demonstrated a fair amount without "re-inventing the wheel" good work, impressive content.

[@ultimatehandyman]

Thanks for the comment 👍

[@colinwood495]

Hi,
What a simple inexpensive bit of kit but highly useful in any workshop; thanks for sharing. As usual a well made informative video. Thank you.
Kind regards, Colin.

[@ultimatehandyman]

Thanks for the comment Colin ;-)

[@machiningbasics1729]

Great video, this is a skill I haven't used for many years as I have a milling machine with dro now but this has got me out of a pickle many times before. Thanks for another great video

[@ultimatehandyman]

You are welcome
Thanks for the comment ;-)

[@JonGUK]

Excellent. Learn something new every day.

[@ultimatehandyman]

Thanks for the comment

[@zoozolplexOne]

wow, that's an excellent solution !!!. thanks for sharing

[@ultimatehandyman]

You are welcome
Thanks for the comment 👍

[@dhebert111]

A pillar drill! (Drill press).I get a kick out of all the different regions, naming tools differently. You can tell where they're from, by what they call certain tools, pretty accurately sometimes.

[@ultimatehandyman]

Same with bread rolls/barm cakes/tea cakes/muffins 😂

[@ruinunes8251]

Never seen one of those. Will have a look at the B&Q. Nice vid as usual.

[@ultimatehandyman]

Thanks, I'm not sure if you'll find one in B&Q!
Thanks for the comment

[@notwrkn2mch]

I've been going crazy trying to find center for drilling round stock.... Didn't know there was a centering tool for that purpose. Thanks for taking the time to explain how it is used.
I just ordered one off Amazon :)

[@ultimatehandyman]

You are welcome
Thanks for the comment

[@essaarbash2844]

Joe Z

[@craigturner2756]

Well there you go - I found one of those in an old toolbox but didn't know what it was for. Thanks

[@ultimatehandyman]

You are welcome.
Thanks for the comment

[@munafmufc01]

Great tips and ideas. Your a top pro. Please continue with more videos. Thanks.

[@ultimatehandyman]

Thanks for the comment ;-)

[@iraqresitance9663]

From iraq well done

[@ultimatehandyman]

Thanks for the comment 👍

[@AlphaTroniks]

¡Excelente idea! Haga un video en el buscador central

[@ultimatehandyman]

Gracias por el comentario

[@pb9926]

great piece of kit for the money, great video too, thanks for sharing.

[@ultimatehandyman]

Thanks for the comment ;-)

[@duoweiwong8308]

Thanks for your introduction ! Useful tool !

[@ultimatehandyman]

You are welcome
Thanks for the comment

[@vishwanpurandat8302]

I got scared when you were operating the press. Had to put my safety glasses on to continue watching 😁

[@ultimatehandyman]

LOL, thanks for the comment Vishwan ;-)

[@Maxsdiscos]

Norm Abram.

[@leonardoguerreiro4916]

muito boa a maneira de centralizar o furo no centro do tubo, parabéns garoto...

[@ultimatehandyman]

Obrigado pelo comentário

[@jusb1066]

works, but on both our drill presses we cant move the table up and keep it in line, the way i do it is using the drill you are going to use, pinch your steel rule between the end and the job, if you have it centred the rule will be level

[@ultimatehandyman]

Thanks for the comment ;-)

[@romanzavodin6461]

Приспособление хорошее и логичное. При условии, если шпиндель сверлильного станка или патрон не "бьёт" по радиалу. (когда сильно изношены подшипники шпинделя или с кулачками патрона что-то не в порядке). Пробовал такую приспособу лет 20 назад на раздолбаном сверлильном - "увёл" отверстие при сверлении. Точнее бы "на глаз" получилось.)))
(из личной практики)

[@ultimatehandyman]

Спасибо за комментарий

[@mattberns2000gmail]

Thanks, i couldn't figure out what this was.

[@ultimatehandyman]

You are welcome
Thanks for the comment 👍

[@wgenfair]

Congrats for your video and explanation, very useful.....you got a new subscribe.

[@ultimatehandyman]

Thanks for the comment and sub ;-)

[@wrenchmanhotrods1247]

Got one works great .

[@ultimatehandyman]

Thanks for the comment 👍

[@jorgenlannock]

thats a great idea instead of a big jigbox i was thinnking of at first :-). i'll give it a try.

[@ultimatehandyman]

Thanks for the comment ;-)

[@alext9067]

Use a flat stick w/ 2 nails spaced 3 or 4 inches apart. Put a hole in the stick precisely in the center between the 2 nails. Put it over the bar and turn it until the nails contact the bar. There's yer dinner. I've made them on the fly on jobs. It's an age old problem that was solved long ago.

[@ultimatehandyman]

Thanks for the comment

[@diy-chris1332]

Great idea behind that!

[@ultimatehandyman]

Thanks for the comment

[@darrylnicholson1640]

That took a long time there is a quicker way with a marker pen and a small bubble level. Clamp to pieces together and make a mark horizontally across the tube or bar stock and use the level to make the center mark. Bubble must be reading level. The level will make a mark through the horizontal line and that's the center every time.

[@ultimatehandyman]

Thanks for the comment

[@gjonbeuati6951]

Good tip for drilling. thanx for sharing

[@ultimatehandyman]

You are welcome
Thanks for the comment

[@slev8871]

Any chance of a video tour of your workshop ? It seemed to have everything and I'm looking for some ideas for my own.

[@ultimatehandyman]

I'll try and do one when I get chance- after I have got rid of some stuff and tidied it ;-)
Thanks for the comment

[@slev8871]

Big thanks.

[@mikepeckhem654]

Slev88 i

[@phillipgroom9187]

Cool tool, thanks for the information and video.

[@ultimatehandyman]

Thanks for the comment

[@JohnHughes2002]

Please can you give a bit of explanation of what centre drill bits are? Also, another method of drilling through the centre of round stock that I've seen is to cut a piece off the end of the round stock and drill a hole down the centre then clamp it in a vice at the side of the round stock and use it as a drill guide.

[@ultimatehandyman]

I made an explainer video a while back here- ua-cam.com/video/_uS_8D2K64A/v-deo.html
We use them on the lathe for starting holes off, but we also use them in pillar drills/drill presses when we want a really exact hole- but apparently, you are better off using a stub drill for that.
Thanks for the comment

[@MegaPettter]

Use a BS 2

[@abajhalghamdi9219]

thank you very much for sharing your knowledge.

[@ultimatehandyman]

You are welcome
Thanks for the comment ;-)

[@williamsilva3904]

Excellent tool..!! i am going to make mine.. thxs

[@ultimatehandyman]

Thanks for the comment ;-)

[@ShayanQuanta]

how did you make a center of your centering tool! ?

[@MRBACKHAND]

very handy tool.. nice vid

[@ultimatehandyman]

Thanks for the comment

[@tomrees2065]

How would you drill an identical hole at the other end ensuring that it is perfectly true to the first hole?

[@ultimatehandyman]

You can put a piece of round bar in the drilled hole (just longer than the engineers level), then use an engineers spirit level. Once you get the bar exactly plumb, you know that the other hole will also be exactly plumb.
Thanks for the comment 👍

[@tomrees2065]

@@ultimatehandyman Thanks for the reply and the interesting video!

[@wayneojala3732]

I subbed cus of your scottish accent, also handy content!😁

[@ultimatehandyman]

Thanks, people love my Scottish accent ;-)

[@tonyhughes2686]

Brilliant as always

[@ultimatehandyman]

Thanks for the comment Tony ;-)

[@tonyhughes2686]

no prob

[@stanburdick9708]

thats fine if your drill chuck isnt sloppy

[@ultimatehandyman]

👍

[@tanveerkhan9221]

Never use gloves especially cotton while using pillar drill or hand drill too dangerous

[@tandanman1]

Pretty much don't use gloves in any machine shop. Unless your moving stock around. It's a no no in on every floor shop. Schools don't let you either. .

[@joedunne9905]

I bought a bell punch n sadly it doesn't go under 12mm ,I work on round stock from 10mm to 8mm n any advice mate ?❤️

[@ultimatehandyman]

I've not thought about that before.
To be honest, If I was working with 8mm and 10mm bar all the time, I would get an engineering shop to machine some 20mm mild steel bar and drill a 10mm hole through it, then make one with an 8mm hole through it. You could then use these in conjunction with the bell punch. The 20mm bar only needs to be a couple of inches long, or shorter!

[@nickjm37fordel1]

Pillar Drill, interesting name :-) Drill press on this side of the pond.

[@ultimatehandyman]

Some people call them a drill press over her too, or a bench drill.
Thanks for the comment ;-)

[@henryrollins9177]

Nick J Pond, interesting name ;-) Ocean on this side of the globe.

[@rajkopavicevic6636]

c
k J

[@TheDerekeder]

In Swedish it's "pellar borr" ... Pillar drill

[@user-it9gn2ot6f]

Ты посоветовал хорошего приспособление,а посоветовал бы тебе снять перчатки при сверлении.
Техника безопасности .

[@ultimatehandyman]

Спасибо за совет 👍

[@tiradentes.alferes6807]

congratulations, so good!!!

[@ultimatehandyman]

Thanks for the comment

[@nagytibor7455]

thank you for your video tutorial.I would like to ask you how is possible to drill 2 more holes to the pipe which is exactly perpendicular(90 degree) to the previously(which you drilled in the video) center drilled holes

[@ultimatehandyman]

You are welcome.
You drill the first hole and then insert a good fitting dowel/piece of round bar in the first hole, then use a small engineers spirit level and rotate the bar so that the level is perfectly level at 90 degrees. If you don't have a dowel or bar that will fit in the hole you can do it by holding the spirit level on the end, as long as it is in line with the hole that was drilled first.
We did this just last week on a shaft for a machine on site and it worked brilliantly ;-)

[@user-by9bl9ym6h]

Лайк за субтитры на русском...приспособа классная экономит время для простых работ...👍

[@ultimatehandyman]

Спасибо за комментарий 👍

[@joytoshghosh9974]

Nice one...but what about larger dia pipes ...like 200 , 250 or 300 NB pipes...pls suggest

[@ultimatehandyman]

You can get centre finders for pipes, like this- fave.co/2PLsoFt
Thanks for the comment

[@5b4aezmarinoscyprus71]

Hi there. I have this accessory for my drilpress and I never used because I am not sure for it's accuracy. Do you have any idea how to test that....??

[@ultimatehandyman]

You could put the centre finder in the chuck, then use a engineers square on the table. The centre finder has a line down the centre of it, the engineers square should align with the line exactly.
Thanks for the comment

[@mattbentley8958]

Mount an indicator in the chuck to see how close it is. If you really need accuracy you will need to test with an indicator. This tool just makes it really fast to get close first.

[@user-zd3ql5zc2r]

فكرة ممتازة ....... شكرا لك

[@ultimatehandyman]

مرحبا بك.
شكرا على التعليق

[@aguskemal503]

Useful.....👍👍👍

[@ultimatehandyman]

👍

[@yankeemike4221]

Great idea!

[@ultimatehandyman]

Thanks for the comment

[@oldguy1958hk]

With all respect, I was told during induction on use lathe/drill all those spinning tools that no gloves should be worn. Not to mention eye protection a must

[@ultimatehandyman]

Yes, you should always wear eye protection. On a lathe you should never wear gloves and when drilling on site I always remove my gloves on the drill press and also if using the mag base drill.
There is always a lot of debate on site as to whether or not you should or should not wear gloves when using drills as site rules say you must use gloves all the time, but common sense and some people say that gloves should not be worn when using the drill press.

[@frankvanw1]

I would agree here. I would of received a written warning or a verbal warning if I did this where I used to work.

[@sofianebenhadj60]

very good job

[@ultimatehandyman]

Thanks for the comment

[@TheSilverSurfisher]

So that special vice (and instructions how to attach vice) comes with the centering drill piece, yes?
....lol!...um, no...😉

[@ultimatehandyman]

"special vice" = Drill press vice, used on millions of drill presses/pillar drills around the world 😉

[@TheSilverSurfisher]

Ultimate Handyman 😉

[@asgharrezaei0138]

thank you , i will use this method

[@ultimatehandyman]

You are welcome
Thanks for the comment

[@johnsmith-000]

It does not do one important thing, doesn't have any option to place the hole at the exact position lengthwise, in addition to placing it centered in relation to the diameter. But in most cases it's also important. Or at least no option that I can see...

[@ultimatehandyman]

🤔

[@johnupegui8165]

VERY GOOD FROM JOHNNY U.

[@ultimatehandyman]

Thanks for the comment 👍

[@sakoupa]

Interesting, but I still didn't get the answer to my practical question. I have a three-meter-long brass pipe (diameter 15, wall thickness 3) and I want to drill two parallel holes at both ends of that pipe and one in the center. How can I do that? Parallelly.

[@ultimatehandyman]

You can drill the first hole, then get a good fitting piece of round stock, or the drill bit that you used to drill the hole (it needs to be a good fit in the hole), insert the round object into the hole, then use an engineers spirit level to get the stock plumb, obviously you have to use a pillar drill / drill press to do the drilling.

[@sakoupa]

@@ultimatehandyman
Thank you, Sir. I'll try.

[@cwrobinson6363]

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

[@ultimatehandyman]

You are welcome
Thanks for the comment 👍

[@jovicvichas8168]

Very good!!

[@ultimatehandyman]

Thanks for the comment 👍

[@mauricioortiz112]

muy buen video y practica herramienta,si alguien sabe donde se puede conseguir en colombia gracias.

[@ultimatehandyman]

Gracias, están ampliamente disponibles en Ebay, pero no sé si se envían a Columbia. Gracias por el comentario
fave.co/2MMCB6z

[@georgedeaney7270]

Never tidy your workshop, once tidied you will never find anything........

[@ultimatehandyman]

Very true ;-)

[@mineiroetvgamg7625]

Valeu !!! Vou fazer um !

[@ultimatehandyman]

Você é bem vindo
Obrigado pelo comentário

[@dineshvashist9171]

where can i find it

[@ultimatehandyman]

fave.co/3kgHAtv

[@doktagero4483]

good for precision work..

[@ultimatehandyman]

Absolutely.
Thanks for the comment ;-)

[@hardworker8030]

Do you know if this will work on scaffolding tubing.

[@ultimatehandyman]

Yes, it should do as the pipe in the video is a similar size

[@rufusleers]

Would this work for a benchtop milling machine like a jet 16?

[@ultimatehandyman]

It should do, I can't think why it would not work.
Thanks for the comment

[@rufusleers]

@@ultimatehandyman your welcome.

[@guillermonieri4203]

How do you do to make sure all the holes, in line, you need to drill, align?

[@ultimatehandyman]

You might need a table with X Y movement on it to drill accurately like that.
Thanks for the comment

[@guillermonieri4203]

@@ultimatehandyman Thank you. I truly appreciate you sharing your work. I have learned a lot.

[@dharmeshkava3070]

very nice sir

[@ultimatehandyman]

Thanks for the comment ;-)

[@OldIronShops]

I've been trying to find one of those things for years did you make it?

[@ultimatehandyman]

No, I bought it here- fave.co/2sdV94Q

[@hoernst2762]

SUPER!

[@ultimatehandyman]

Thanks for the comment 👍

[@Majorvideonut2]

How would you do this outside with standing pipe like a fence post?

[@ultimatehandyman]

I'd just eye up the drill bit and try to get it in the dead centre
Thanks for the comment

[@EvoKeremidarov]

Very carefully...

[@andrewmcnulty0]

what about small diamters? 4mm+?

[@ultimatehandyman]

Not sure about that, if you ask in a model makers forum, they will know for sure.

[@danielcodaccioni6858]

Ça fait 1 an que j'ai acheté cet outil, je ne l'ai pas encore utilisé.

[@ultimatehandyman]

Je n'utilise pas le mien souvent, mais quand je dois l'utiliser, je suis toujours content de l'avoir acheté.
Merci pour le commentaire

[@danielcodaccioni6858]

De rien. Je vous remercie également, parce que je ne savais pas qu'on l'utiliser de cette manière, je l'ai appris en regardant votre vidéo.Je m'abonne.Bonne continuation.Cordialement.

[@ultimatehandyman]

Je suis content que la vidéo ait aidé.
Merci pour votre subscription

[@christianprotz8131]

Hi There☺, please can you tell me where i can get this helpfull tool? Greets from Vienna, Christian 🤗

[@ultimatehandyman]

You can get them on Ebay- fave.co/2W1uNik
Thanks for the comment

[@SapoSolex]

Bien trouve merci pour la vidéo

[@ultimatehandyman]

Je vous en prie. Merci pour le commentaire

[@t4oomf442]

HI CAN YOU RECOMMEND A GOOD WEEDKILLER PLEASE ?

[@ultimatehandyman]

No, sorry. I do not use weed killer.

[@ratchriat1716]

i think is useful device enjoy the video.

[@ultimatehandyman]

Thanks for the comment ;-)

[@PavelK77]

Хороший инструмент!

[@ultimatehandyman]

Спасибо за комментарий

[@jorgenlannock]

btw: the link? already sold them all...

[@ultimatehandyman]

That was the cheapest seller I could find on ebay, you can get them here but a bit more expensive- fave.co/2tgVAIZ
Thanks for the comment ;-)

[@ehamann2309]

I what country are you? In Germany it's absolutely forbidden to drill with gloves.

[@ultimatehandyman]

UK.
Some power tool's recommend the use of gloves and some do not.
At work we are not allowed to wear gloves when using the pillar drill or mag base drill.
Thanks for the comment 👍

[@ehamann2309]

Okay thanks. Its interesting to know about safety at work in different places.

[@johnmccomb43]

Why didn't you lock (clamp) the vice to the table

[@ultimatehandyman]

There was no need to, I was only drilling some soft aluminium.
Thanks for the comment

[@MrQuasar1958]

Why not centre a vee block ? That way any size of round stock will be centred under the drill bit !

[@ultimatehandyman]

Vee blocks are expensive and not everybody has one, this is an inexpensive way of doing it.
Thanks for the comment ;-)

[@MartinHubbard1]

It's only as accurate as the tool is, if it's been made out of true then you may as well just `eye ball` it

[@ultimatehandyman]

👍

[@johnymerida2110]

Great...

[@ultimatehandyman]

Thanks for the comment ;-)

[@alexandrerodrigues7448]

Muito bom!

[@ultimatehandyman]

Obrigado pelo comentário

[@ziegenwilly]

very good toy , just i have sale from india

[@ultimatehandyman]

Thanks for the comment

[@user-sn5kj5jk6t]

excelente

[@ultimatehandyman]

Thanks for the comment

[@choppergirl]

It would be a lot more accurate if the pointer were longer...

[@ultimatehandyman]

It works fine for what I need.
Thanks for the comment

[@TheRealFOSFOR]

Not bad. Not bad at all.

[@ultimatehandyman]

Thanks for the comment ;-)

[@peteb954]

Far too slow speed on centre drill. Wearing gloves using drill, no no.

[@ultimatehandyman]

The drill is a piece of crap, changing the speed is difficult and there is not enough torque on it to do any damage.
Thanks for the comment