I'm trying to drill a 1/4" hole 2" deep into the end grain of a 2x4. I could see using a drill press, except that the board is over 100 inches long, and there's no way to get a drill press over top of it. Is there a standard solution to a problem like this?
Any help will be greatly appreciated, Zach
Sat, Dec 22, 2007, 10:57pm (EST-3) snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com dot postth: I'm trying to drill a 1/4" hole 2" deep into the end grain of a 2x4. I could see using a drill press, except that the board is over 100 inches long, and there's no way to get a drill press over top of it. Is there a standard solution to a problem like this? Any help will be greatly appreciated,
My my, we would appear to be blessed. Just checked google, and this looks like your first post on the web anywhere, ever.
You could always lie the drellpress on its side. Or cut the 2X4 short enough to fit under the drillpress. Or you could lift the drillpress up, maybe put it on a balcony, or something.
JOAT My memory is not as sharp as it used to be. Also, my memory is not as sharp as it used to be.
1/4 inch 2 inches deep a cordless DeWalt would handle just fine.
If it has to have precision of alignment or depth a radial drill press would do it. Just rotate the head to 90 degrees and make a support for the board.
A .25 caliber pistol would be another option .
For production work one would use a horizontal boring machine unless the volume was high enough to justify custom made tooling.
Construct a wooden jig that slips over and clamps to end of the 2x4. The jig aligns the bit of your hand-held drill (similar to a Kreg pocket-hole jig).
Cut off a 2" or so piece of 2x4 scrap
drill hole through that piece with drill press, that will act as a guide for the good hole
Lay your good piece someplace flat
align drilled scrap piece with end
use a couple of other 2x4s on each side, overlaping the joint, clamp, and drill through the hole in the scrap, and there you go!
snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote in news:014a42a3-7fe4-4ce5-a4c0-de1ef7f30120 @s8g2000prg.googlegroups.com:
Most of the time when I'm doing something like this, being off by 10 degrees in any direction doesn't matter. The adjuster foot will still sit plenty firm on the ground. If this is the case, get yourself a hand- held drill driver and just free hand it. Line your bit up parallel with the board edges, and just try to keep it as straight as you can.
If precision does matter, I'd take Phisherman's suggestion. If you're making several 1/4" holes, you may want to consider purchasing a metal tube that fits your bit. A hand-held drill driver will make the cut just fine, then.
(Btw, the reason I mention the driver part is simple: If you get a new tool you'll get more use out of a drill/driver than just a drill alone.)
Puckdropper
wrote
I've used this to good effect for drilling relative straight and accurate holes in awkward places:
Thanks everyone. To clarify: I am going for accuracy on this particular project. Ideally, I'd like holes that are within a degrees or two of "true" in both the X and Y axes (I'm not sure if there's a better woodworking term for this).
I'm glad to know my intuition was close on this one -- I first tried using a short piece of predrilled 2x4 (clamped to the end grain of my workpiece) to guide the drillbit. However: my drillbit was definitely too long (I was using one of those electrician's bits that's used for plowing through whole walls and floors), which allowed me to accidently get too much lateral leverage, leading the bit astray. I also didn't use a metal guide tube. I like this idea. I'll get a shorter bit and try the tube idea today.
Thanks everyone.
-Zach
Use the drill press to make a hardwood block with your holes at perfect 90 degree angles.
Use the block to keep your hand drill straight on the 2x4's.
McMaster, Grainger, and Fastenal all list 6" 1/4 inch bits. You might want to pick up one of those--the length is enough to give you good purchase on the jig but not so long that you're likely to lever the jig off center.
For the accuracy you're describing and lacking a drill press with horizontal boring capability you might want to consider making a cradle for the drill that holds it securely with the bit horizontal to the limits of your ability to measure and parallel to a fence again to the limits of your ability to measure, then move the piece into the drill, aligned by the table, the fence, and such other guides as you might want to use (a couple of featherboards for example).
You don't say what tools you have available--hand held drill and drill press you've mentioned, but you may have something else that allows this to be done very easily once it occurs to you to use it for the purpose, and possibly with the addition of a chuck.
I would use my dowel jig with a long 1/4" high speed bit. Forget the electrician augers.
My second choice would be my brace and bit, but I don't know if the auger would work.
Shop Smith. Thats one of the few reasons I kept my old (10er) Shop Smith. You can configure it for horizontal boring. Another reason I kept it was for the wood lathe feature. Cliff
Pull the drill press head off the column and pull the table off, too. Replace the head upside down, as far down on the column as you can. Replace the table upside down too and swivel it to 90 °. (You will need overhead clearance). Clamp the 2 X 4 to the table, square it up, and drill.
Pete Stanaitis
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