Glued on the last piece of my workbench top last night so as soon as I
mount the vises I will be ready to drill the 3/4 dog holes. Question
is how do I do this?

The top is 60x30 made from a 1" butcher block Oak table and two layers
of 3/4 plywood. I didn't weigh it but it is heavy, so heavy I had to
trim the ends with a circular saw because it would have tipped the TS
(good thing I checked it out before I turned on the TS).

The tail vise will be similar to this but it will fit tight on the
corner so that I can clamp either along the front or the end.
http://www.lie-nielsen.com/catalog.php?grp=1297
The part of the tail vise on the end of the bench will be about 12" so
I plan on having a row of holes 1" in from the front and a row ~10" in
running the length of the bench.

My front vise will be about 15" wide and I will put two rows of holes
running front to back in line with that vise.

I doubt I can get the top safely up on the drill press to make these
holes without building a giant contraption so I am going to have to do
it with a hand-held drill.

Will a block of wood with a 3/4 hole be enough of a jig?

Will a 3/4 saw-tooth Forstner bit be able to drill these holes?
(I don't have a 3/4 twist or brad point)

What about a hole-saw?

What should the spacing be?
(I should get at least 10" of travel on the tail vise)

RayV wrote:


Will a block of wood with a 3/4 hole be enough of a jig?

Will a 3/4 saw-tooth Forstner bit be able to drill these holes?
(I don't have a 3/4 twist or brad point)

What about a hole-saw?

What should the spacing be?
(I should get at least 10" of travel on the tail vise)


With all that time and money invested in the bench, I'd go ahead and buy
on of those jigs that you attach to your hand drill for that very
purpose. You can get one in the $20-$30 range, and they are handy to
have around once in a while.

Charlie M. 1958 wrote:


With all that time and money invested in the bench, I'd go ahead and buy
on of those jigs that you attach to your hand drill for that very
purpose. You can get one in the $20-$30 range, and they are handy to
have around once in a while.

Here is a link to Rockler's version, but you can find them cheaper at
your local big box.

http://www.rockler.com/findit.cfm?page=2405

Wed, Mar 21, 2007, 6:34am (EDT-3) (RayV) doth
query:
snip Will a block of wood with a 3/4 hole be enough of a jig? snip

That was my first thought. Then when I pndered it some more, it ws
my secnd thught as well. But I think I'd try a couple of practice holes
first. then I'd go for it.



JOAT
Custom philosophizing done. No job too small; must be indoor work, with
no heavy lifting.

"RayV" writes:
I doubt I can get the top safely up on the drill press to make these
holes without building a giant contraption so I am going to have to do
it with a hand-held drill.
Will a block of wood with a 3/4 hole be enough of a jig?
I happen to have one of those "hand drill press" attachments, but
if I didn't and needed to do this in a pinch, I'd consider a block
of wood with metal sleve with an inside diameter as close to your
drill bit diameter as possible.
Drill the block on your press, insert pipe, insert bit, and viola!

If you want a wider base than a hunk of 2x4, pin it to a piece
of plywood.

--
flip
Just on the border of your waking mind, There lies - Another time,
Where darkness & light - are one. And as you tread the halls of sanity,
You feel so glad to be, Unable to go beyond. ELO - Twilight Prologue
In my email replace SeeEmmYou.EeeDeeYou with CMU.EDU

On Mar 21, 9:49 am, "Charlie M. 1958"
wrote:
Charlie M. 1958 wrote:

With all that time and money invested in the bench, I'd go ahead and buy
on of those jigs that you attach to your hand drill for that very
purpose. You can get one in the $20-$30 range, and they are handy to
have around once in a while.

Here is a link to Rockler's version, but you can find them cheaper at
your local big box.

http://www.rockler.com/findit.cfm?page=2405

I looked at one of those at Sears and it didn't seem very sturdy. How
accurate/sturdy are they?

On 21 Mar 2007 06:34:49 -0700, "RayV" wrote:

Glued on the last piece of my workbench top last night so as soon as I
mount the vises I will be ready to drill the 3/4 dog holes. Question
is how do I do this?

The top is 60x30 made from a 1" butcher block Oak table and two layers
of 3/4 plywood. I didn't weigh it but it is heavy, so heavy I had to
trim the ends with a circular saw because it would have tipped the TS
(good thing I checked it out before I turned on the TS).

The tail vise will be similar to this but it will fit tight on the
corner so that I can clamp either along the front or the end.
http://www.lie-nielsen.com/catalog.php?grp=1297
The part of the tail vise on the end of the bench will be about 12" so
I plan on having a row of holes 1" in from the front and a row ~10" in
running the length of the bench.

My front vise will be about 15" wide and I will put two rows of holes
running front to back in line with that vise.

I doubt I can get the top safely up on the drill press to make these
holes without building a giant contraption so I am going to have to do
it with a hand-held drill.

Will a block of wood with a 3/4 hole be enough of a jig?

Will a 3/4 saw-tooth Forstner bit be able to drill these holes?
(I don't have a 3/4 twist or brad point)

What about a hole-saw?

What should the spacing be?
(I should get at least 10" of travel on the tail vise)

A forstner bit is a bit unwieldy with a hand-held drill, but it might
work well with a jig. Build the jig so that it hooks over the edge
for better support and enough area for clamps. If you make the jig to
have TWO holes you can use a 3/4" dowel to secure the 2nd to the last
hole and make them evenly spaced. A "Port-A-Line" attachment to a
hand drill will work. Either way, a shop vac will be helpful to clear
out the chips and help keep your cutting tool cool.

(snipped "hand drill press" stuff)
I looked at one of those at Sears and it didn't seem very sturdy. How
accurate/sturdy are they?

I've only tried the HF version, and I was not impressed, but none that
I've seen seem very solid.
My suggestion: drill a ~1/2" hole by hand into your bench top, then
use a plunge router with a 3/4" bit at a fairly low speed and plunge
as deep as it will go. If you need to drill deeper than that, just
use a forstner and you already have a guide hole started. You might
make a larger router sub-base or somehow secure the router so it
doesn't move while you're plunging.
I'd stay away from a hole saw - at 2-1/2" thick, your top might be
thicker than the hole saw is deep, so it might not work at all, and
even if it did, it probably wouldn't leave a very clean hole.
Good luck,
Andy

There is a new bit out by Irwin that is intended to replace Spade
Bits. The only review I saw was that it was 3 times faster and self
cleaning. The reviewer seem to love it. It is called the Irwin
Speedbor Max Drill Bit.

Amazon has a kit that includes a 3/4"

http://www.amazon.com/IRWIN-3041006-...4491618&sr=1-6

But I'm sure you can find the individual bit if you look around.


I would say that a home made jig as mentioned in an earlier reply that
will allow you to make uniform holes and this bit may well be the way
to go.

I'd use that clamped block of wood with an appropriately angled hole as
a guide for a brace and augur bit. A bevel gage laid on the benchtop at
the same angle will serve as a visual aid. Just go slow and practice on
a few thick scraps. A straight pencil line on the top with hole centers
dimpled along it will serve to locate the augur point and make for an
accurate series of holes along the line.

You could probably do just as well with a spade bit in an electric drill
if you have a really steady hand and don't go too fast. But personally I
find it a lot easier to wander off course with an electric drill than
with a hand brace.

J.



RayV wrote:


I doubt I can get the top safely up on the drill press to make these
holes without building a giant contraption so I am going to have to do
it with a hand-held drill.

Will a block of wood with a 3/4 hole be enough of a jig?

Will a 3/4 saw-tooth Forstner bit be able to drill these holes?
(I don't have a 3/4 twist or brad point)

What about a hole-saw?

RayV wrote:


I doubt I can get the top safely up on the drill press to make these
holes without building a giant contraption so I am going to have to do
it with a hand-held drill.

Will a block of wood with a 3/4 hole be enough of a jig?

Time for Fred Bingham.

See Practical Yacht Joinery for details.

He's been there, done that.

BTW, with a hand drill, I'd use a ship's auger.

Much easier to get holes that are square to the surface.

Lew

On Mar 21, 8:34 am, "RayV" wrote:
Glued on the last piece of my workbench top last night so as soon as I
mount the vises I will be ready to drill the 3/4 dog holes. Question
is how do I do this?

The top is 60x30 made from a 1" butcher block Oak table and two layers
of 3/4 plywood. I didn't weigh it but it is heavy, so heavy I had to
trim the ends with a circular saw because it would have tipped the TS
(good thing I checked it out before I turned on the TS).

The tail vise will be similar to this but it will fit tight on the
corner so that I can clamp either along the front or the end.http://www.lie-nielsen.com/catalog.php?grp=1297
The part of the tail vise on the end of the bench will be about 12" so
I plan on having a row of holes 1" in from the front and a row ~10" in
running the length of the bench.

My front vise will be about 15" wide and I will put two rows of holes
running front to back in line with that vise.

I doubt I can get the top safely up on the drill press to make these
holes without building a giant contraption so I am going to have to do
it with a hand-held drill.

Will a block of wood with a 3/4 hole be enough of a jig?

Will a 3/4 saw-tooth Forstner bit be able to drill these holes?
(I don't have a 3/4 twist or brad point)

What about a hole-saw?

What should the spacing be?
(I should get at least 10" of travel on the tail vise)

I used a Porter Cable 7529 (3+ hp 18 pound plunge model) router and a
3/4" straight, two carbide cutters bit to drill about 40 or so dog
holes in my 2.5" thick solid oak workbench top. I think I marked
where each hole was to go with an awl. Then put a V bit into the
router. Centered it on the awl mark. Then changed to the 3/4" bit
and plunged. I think I had to pull the bit out of the collet a bit
after the first plunge to get all the way through the top. I used a
couple clamps on the router base to keep it securely in place while
plunging. It took some time but the holes ended up straight and clean
and properly placed. A jig to move the router to the next correct
spot could probably be made to reduce some of the tasks I did.

When I wanted additional dog holes in my bench I just chucked up a 3/4"
spade bit & drilled them. Did I do something wrong?
--
There are no stupid questions, but there are lots of stupid answers.

Larry Wasserman - Baltimore Maryland - lwasserm(a)sdf. lonestar. org

"RayV" wrote in message
ups.com...
Glued on the last piece of my workbench top last night so as soon as I
mount the vises I will be ready to drill the 3/4 dog holes. Question
is how do I do this?

The top is 60x30 made from a 1" butcher block Oak table and two layers
of 3/4 plywood. I didn't weigh it but it is heavy, so heavy I had to
trim the ends with a circular saw because it would have tipped the TS
(good thing I checked it out before I turned on the TS).

The tail vise will be similar to this but it will fit tight on the
corner so that I can clamp either along the front or the end.
http://www.lie-nielsen.com/catalog.php?grp=1297
The part of the tail vise on the end of the bench will be about 12" so
I plan on having a row of holes 1" in from the front and a row ~10" in
running the length of the bench.

My front vise will be about 15" wide and I will put two rows of holes
running front to back in line with that vise.

I doubt I can get the top safely up on the drill press to make these
holes without building a giant contraption so I am going to have to do
it with a hand-held drill.

Will a block of wood with a 3/4 hole be enough of a jig?

Will a 3/4 saw-tooth Forstner bit be able to drill these holes?
(I don't have a 3/4 twist or brad point)

What about a hole-saw?

What should the spacing be?
(I should get at least 10" of travel on the tail vise)


If you can't take your benchtop to the drillpress, take your drillpress to
the benchtop. That's what I did. Just rotate the head on the column to the
side of the base and table. Clamp the base in position on the benchtop and
drill away. I used a spade bit because it takes less linear force. Now, I
used a benchtop sized drillpress but I don't see that it matters. But there
may well be some drillpresses that won't slide down the column.

--
********
Bill Pounds
http://www.billpounds.com

Nope. Works just fine.
"Larry W" wrote in message
...
When I wanted additional dog holes in my bench I just chucked up a 3/4"
spade bit & drilled them. Did I do something wrong?
--
There are no stupid questions, but there are lots of stupid answers.

Larry Wasserman - Baltimore Maryland - lwasserm(a)sdf. lonestar. org

RayV wrote:

Glued on the last piece of my workbench top last night so as soon as I
mount the vises I will be ready to drill the 3/4 dog holes. Question
is how do I do this?

snip

Critical thing is that the holes are square to the top of the
bench.

I doubt I can get the top safely up on the drill press to make these
holes without building a giant contraption so I am going to have to do
it with a hand-held drill.

Will a block of wood with a 3/4 hole be enough of a jig?

Will a 3/4 saw-tooth Forstner bit be able to drill these holes?
(I don't have a 3/4 twist or brad point)


What about a hole-saw?

What should the spacing be?
(I should get at least 10" of travel on the tail vise)

Critical thing is that the holes are square to the top of the
bench. Hole in a block of wood as a guide would work.
Mark the center lines on both faces of each line so you
have them for referencing the hole guide to layout
lines for the round dogholes on the bench top - looks
nicer when a row of round holes all line up.

I'd skip the hole saw idea and go with the forstner.
CLEAR THE CHIPS OUT FREQUENTLY. Getting a stuck
forstner bit out of a deep hole is a REAL PAIN IN THE
ASS. And if you've got AllThread through the bench
top - mark the location. A 3/4" forstner bit WILL NOT
drill through 3/8ths or 1/2 inch AllThread - and it ain't
good for the bit at all. Also don't want a dog hole over
a banch leg/ pedestal - you may have to push a dog
out from below.

Even though your vise jaw has a 10" max capacity, the
top of the jaw may not be at bench top level out that far.
Not a problem if you've got something between the jaws.
But when you're clamping against a bench dog havng the
dog in the vise jaw low can be a problem.

Just some things to consider.

charlie b