For making sure that I drill perpendicular to the surface into random
large pieces of steel or iron, I can buy a magnetic drill press.
Usually pretty heavy duty!

But say I want to make some holes in some enormous pieces of wood, or
even wood already part of a large assembly (i.e. my house!) - all way
too big for any imaginable drill press - and make sure the hole goes
in perpendicular to the surface. Is there a similar tool for this?
Doesn't have to be nearly as heavy duty as a typical magnetic drill
press, BTW! I'd be very happy with a 3/8" chuck.

I've been doing OK with some plastic and metal blocks to help guide me
in perpendicular, but these don't work so well with spade bits etc.

Obviously this kind of tool exists, but so far I've had zero luck even
using the correct word for it at the hardware store :-).

On Jan 6, 12:34*pm, Tim Shoppa wrote:



But say I want to make some holes in some enormous pieces of wood, or
even wood already part of a large assembly (i.e. my house!) - all way
too big for any imaginable drill press - and make sure the hole goes
in perpendicular to the surface. Is there a similar tool for this?

Three types are represented in my tool box:

(1) some drills come with builtin levels, which is helpful
on an upright box (idealized house)

(2) there are frameworks that attach to a drill that have sliding
motor mounts and a flat baseplate the drill pokes through.
It's a bit bulky (can't drill in a corner), and has limited
drill
depth, just like a drill press.
see
http://www.garrettwade.com/jump.jsp?itemID=105318&itemType=PRODUCT

(3) Stanley made a little drill guide tool that has a steel block
pierced for a variety of drill sizes; choose the right hole,
hold against the surface with the convenient handle, and drill
away.

Usually, I don't use any of these. It's more convenient to choose a
drill motor that has long straight sides and line it up visually.
I tend to favor an old Black & Decker corded drill for this reason.
For other operations, I use an accurate drill press to make a guide
(and if it has to do hard duty, I fit steel guide bushings to it).

"Tim Shoppa" wrote:

For making sure that I drill perpendicular to the surface into random
large pieces of steel or iron, I can buy a magnetic drill press.
Usually pretty heavy duty!

But say I want to make some holes in some enormous pieces of wood, or
even wood already part of a large assembly (i.e. my house!)

A ship's auger and a brace used with a jig shown in Fred Bingham's book,
Practical Yacht Joinery gets the job done.

Lew

It seems to me that a bench top drill press could be modified to clamp
or bolt to your enormous piece of wood. You may have to cut the column
shorter so the quill/drill can travel past the base a sufficient distance.
Art

"Tim Shoppa" wrote ...
[snip]
For making sure that I drill perpendicular to the surface into random
large pieces of steel or iron, I can buy a magnetic drill press.
[snip]
But say I want to make some holes in some enormous pieces of wood, or
even wood already part of a large assembly (i.e. my house!) - all way
too big for any imaginable drill press - and make sure the hole goes
in perpendicular to the surface. Is there a similar tool for this?

On Sun, 6 Jan 2008 12:34:22 -0800 (PST), Tim Shoppa
wrote:

For making sure that I drill perpendicular to the surface into random
large pieces of steel or iron, I can buy a magnetic drill press.
Usually pretty heavy duty!

But say I want to make some holes in some enormous pieces of wood, or
even wood already part of a large assembly (i.e. my house!) - all way
too big for any imaginable drill press - and make sure the hole goes
in perpendicular to the surface. Is there a similar tool for this?
Doesn't have to be nearly as heavy duty as a typical magnetic drill
press, BTW! I'd be very happy with a 3/8" chuck.

I've been doing OK with some plastic and metal blocks to help guide me
in perpendicular, but these don't work so well with spade bits etc.

Obviously this kind of tool exists, but so far I've had zero luck even
using the correct word for it at the hardware store :-).


I have a "Port-A-Line" drill attachment that holds the drill at
90-degrees to a surface. I bought this brand at Sears, but there are
other brands/models.

Another method: Make a drill guide from a piece of scrap hardwood.
Drill a 90-degree hole (using a drill press) in a piece of 1" thick
fine-grained wood. This works great and cheap, although it will wear
out after a few dozen uses.

On Sun, 06 Jan 2008 12:34:22 -0800, Tim Shoppa wrote:

For making sure that I drill perpendicular to the surface into random
large pieces of steel or iron, I can buy a magnetic drill press. Usually
pretty heavy duty!

But say I want to make some holes in some enormous pieces of wood, or
even wood already part of a large assembly (i.e. my house!) - all way
too big for any imaginable drill press - and make sure the hole goes in
perpendicular to the surface. Is there a similar tool for this? Doesn't
have to be nearly as heavy duty as a typical magnetic drill press, BTW!
I'd be very happy with a 3/8" chuck.


For shallowish holes, or for starting off an auger or forstner bit with a
neat and perpendicular hole, how about using a plunge router?