I have to drill out some mortises that are NOT centered in table leg I am
working on. That means I can't press the bit down to make a hole and flip
the piece to see if the point goes into the hole I just made. I have been
experimenting on some scrap but I am always a little off. Why do I care?
Before I start I cut a line with a utility knife on the sides of the mortise
to "catch" my chisel blade but if I am a little off, I lose one of the
lines. Am I just being too picky or is there some tip one of you can give me
to get it dead center? BTW, the mortise is 1/4" wide.

TIA.

Dick Snyder

On Dec 31, 3:33 pm, "Dick Snyder" wrote:
I have to drill out some mortises that are NOT centered in table leg I am
working on. That means I can't press the bit down to make a hole and flip
the piece to see if the point goes into the hole I just made. I have been
experimenting on some scrap but I am always a little off. Why do I care?
Before I start I cut a line with a utility knife on the sides of the mortise
to "catch" my chisel blade but if I am a little off, I lose one of the
lines. Am I just being too picky or is there some tip one of you can give me
to get it dead center? BTW, the mortise is 1/4" wide.
....
Use a fence that can be adjusted.

When get close, if don't want to make a precise fence, use shims to
"sneak up" on it.

--

"dpb" wrote in message
...
On Dec 31, 3:33 pm, "Dick Snyder" wrote:
I have to drill out some mortises that are NOT centered in table leg I am
working on. That means I can't press the bit down to make a hole and flip
the piece to see if the point goes into the hole I just made. I have been
experimenting on some scrap but I am always a little off. Why do I care?
Before I start I cut a line with a utility knife on the sides of the
mortise
to "catch" my chisel blade but if I am a little off, I lose one of the
lines. Am I just being too picky or is there some tip one of you can give
me
to get it dead center? BTW, the mortise is 1/4" wide.
...
Use a fence that can be adjusted.

When get close, if don't want to make a precise fence, use shims to
"sneak up" on it.

--
I have a fence but even when I place the piece against the fence, drop the
tip of the drill bit down to just tap the wood and then snug the fence up to
the wood, I am still not getting the cut perfect. Maybe I should make fewer
holes with my drill press thereby leaving a bit of my scribe line to catch
the chisel blade.

"Dick Snyder" wrote in message
...
I have to drill out some mortises that are NOT centered in table leg I am
working on. That means I can't press the bit down to make a hole and flip
the piece to see if the point goes into the hole I just made. I have been
experimenting on some scrap but I am always a little off. Why do I care?
Before I start I cut a line with a utility knife on the sides of the
mortise to "catch" my chisel blade but if I am a little off, I lose one of
the lines. Am I just being too picky or is there some tip one of you can
give me to get it dead center? BTW, the mortise is 1/4" wide.

TIA.

Dick Snyder

Try using your scribe knife to cut a line in the center of the mortise. use
the cut to help guide the fostner bit point in to the exact place you wish
to drill.

"sweet sawdust" wrote in message
...

"Dick Snyder" wrote in message
...
I have to drill out some mortises that are NOT centered in table leg I am
working on. That means I can't press the bit down to make a hole and flip
the piece to see if the point goes into the hole I just made. I have been
experimenting on some scrap but I am always a little off. Why do I care?
Before I start I cut a line with a utility knife on the sides of the
mortise to "catch" my chisel blade but if I am a little off, I lose one of
the lines. Am I just being too picky or is there some tip one of you can
give me to get it dead center? BTW, the mortise is 1/4" wide.

TIA.

Dick Snyder

Try using your scribe knife to cut a line in the center of the mortise.
use the cut to help guide the fostner bit point in to the exact place you
wish to drill.

That sounds complicated.
s

On Dec 31, 4:12 pm, "Dick Snyder" wrote:
"dpb" wrote in message

...

On Dec 31, 3:33 pm, "Dick Snyder" wrote:
I have to drill out some mortises that are NOT centered in table leg I am
working on. That means I can't press the bit down to make a hole and flip
the piece to see if the point goes into the hole I just made. I have been
experimenting on some scrap but I am always a little off. Why do I care?
Before I start I cut a line with a utility knife on the sides of the
mortise
to "catch" my chisel blade but if I am a little off, I lose one of the
lines. Am I just being too picky or is there some tip one of you can give
me
to get it dead center? BTW, the mortise is 1/4" wide.
...
Use a fence that can be adjusted.

When get close, if don't want to make a precise fence, use shims to
"sneak up" on it.

--

I have a fence but even when I place the piece against the fence, drop the
tip of the drill bit down to just tap the wood and then snug the fence up to
the wood, I am still not getting the cut perfect. Maybe I should make fewer
holes with my drill press thereby leaving a bit of my scribe line to catch
the chisel blade.

I'm saying set the fence and test. If it's proud, adjust it back a
squinch. If it's now not perfect, it should be a little too far
back. If so, use a shim rather than fiddle w/ it unless have one of
the adjustable jobbies w/ the threaded positioner or have made
something similar yourself.

There is, of course, the alternative of locking the quill down and
measuring from the near side of the bit face to the fence w/ dial
calipers, but that would seem over kill...

--

"dpb" wrote in message
...
On Dec 31, 4:12 pm, "Dick Snyder" wrote:
"dpb" wrote in message

...

On Dec 31, 3:33 pm, "Dick Snyder" wrote:
I have to drill out some mortises that are NOT centered in table leg I
am
working on. That means I can't press the bit down to make a hole and
flip
the piece to see if the point goes into the hole I just made. I have
been
experimenting on some scrap but I am always a little off. Why do I
care?
Before I start I cut a line with a utility knife on the sides of the
mortise
to "catch" my chisel blade but if I am a little off, I lose one of the
lines. Am I just being too picky or is there some tip one of you can
give
me
to get it dead center? BTW, the mortise is 1/4" wide.
...
Use a fence that can be adjusted.

When get close, if don't want to make a precise fence, use shims to
"sneak up" on it.

--

I have a fence but even when I place the piece against the fence, drop
the
tip of the drill bit down to just tap the wood and then snug the fence up
to
the wood, I am still not getting the cut perfect. Maybe I should make
fewer
holes with my drill press thereby leaving a bit of my scribe line to
catch
the chisel blade.

I'm saying set the fence and test. If it's proud, adjust it back a
squinch. If it's now not perfect, it should be a little too far
back. If so, use a shim rather than fiddle w/ it unless have one of
the adjustable jobbies w/ the threaded positioner or have made
something similar yourself.

There is, of course, the alternative of locking the quill down and
measuring from the near side of the bit face to the fence w/ dial
calipers, but that would seem over kill...

--
OK. I will try fiddling with the fence to see if I can nail this thing. Thx.

"sweet sawdust" wrote

"Dick Snyder" wrote

I have to drill out some mortises that are NOT centered in table leg I am
working on. That means I can't press the bit down to make a hole and flip
the piece to see if the point goes into the hole I just made. I have been
experimenting on some scrap but I am always a little off. Why do I care?
Before I start I cut a line with a utility knife on the sides of the
mortise to "catch" my chisel blade but if I am a little off, I lose one of
the lines. Am I just being too picky or is there some tip one of you can
give me to get it dead center? BTW, the mortise is 1/4" wide.

Try using your scribe knife to cut a line in the center of the mortise.
use the cut to help guide the fostner bit point in to the exact place you
wish to drill.

When this has been done, put a centre punch in the drill chuck and align the
job until the punch's point registers in the line.

Jeff

--
Jeff Gorman, West Yorkshire, UK
email : Username is amgron
ISP is clara.co.uk
www.amgron.clara.net

"Dick Snyder" wrote in message
experimenting on some scrap but I am always a little off.

Would a centre punch help with your alignment?

"Jeff Gorman" wrote in message
...

"sweet sawdust" wrote

"Dick Snyder" wrote

I have to drill out some mortises that are NOT centered in table leg I am
working on. That means I can't press the bit down to make a hole and flip
the piece to see if the point goes into the hole I just made. I have been
experimenting on some scrap but I am always a little off. Why do I care?
Before I start I cut a line with a utility knife on the sides of the
mortise to "catch" my chisel blade but if I am a little off, I lose one
of the lines. Am I just being too picky or is there some tip one of you
can give me to get it dead center? BTW, the mortise is 1/4" wide.

Try using your scribe knife to cut a line in the center of the mortise.
use the cut to help guide the fostner bit point in to the exact place you
wish to drill.

When this has been done, put a centre punch in the drill chuck and align
the job until the punch's point registers in the line.

Jeff

--
Jeff Gorman, West Yorkshire, UK
email : Username is amgron
ISP is clara.co.uk
www.amgron.clara.net


That sounds like a *very* good idea! Thanks to you and to upscale for the
idea for the center punch

"Upscale" wrote in news:952f4$495c8155$cef88bc5
:


"Dick Snyder" wrote in message
experimenting on some scrap but I am always a little off.

Would a centre punch help with your alignment?

Could it be a problem with the drill not going in exactly perpendicular to
the wood?

--
Best regards
Han
email address is invalid

"Han" wrote in message
...
"Upscale" wrote in news:952f4$495c8155$cef88bc5
:


"Dick Snyder" wrote in message
experimenting on some scrap but I am always a little off.

Would a centre punch help with your alignment?

Could it be a problem with the drill not going in exactly perpendicular to
the wood?

--
Best regards
Han
email address is invalid
I don't think so. My drill press is perpendicular to the table. I think my
problem is simple one of alignment but I have gotten some good tips about
how to do that now.

"Dick Snyder" wrote:

I have to drill out some mortises that are NOT centered in table leg
I am working on.

Classic application for a plunge router and a simple jig.

Lew

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
...
"Dick Snyder" wrote:

I have to drill out some mortises that are NOT centered in table leg I am
working on.

Classic application for a plunge router and a simple jig.

Lew


I made a jig for my router but I am doing 1/4" wide mortises in a piece of
wood that is 7/8" wide. I like the idea of seeing what I am actually doing
with the drill press.

"Dick Snyder" wrote:
I made a jig for my router but I am doing 1/4" wide mortises in a
piece of wood that is 7/8" wide. I like the idea of seeing what I am
actually doing with the drill press.


Guess I'm not following.

Router bit is visible as it penetrates wood.

Jig lets you maintain registration form piece to piece such as table
legs, which will be more difficult trying to do on a drill press.

Lew

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
...
"Dick Snyder" wrote:
I made a jig for my router but I am doing 1/4" wide mortises in a piece of
wood that is 7/8" wide. I like the idea of seeing what I am actually doing
with the drill press.


Guess I'm not following.

Router bit is visible as it penetrates wood.

Jig lets you maintain registration form piece to piece such as table legs,
which will be more difficult trying to do on a drill press.

Lew


What I meant was that I can see the forstner bit as it enters the narrow
piece of wood. I have a good fence that I made for my drill press so I can
get repeatable results. This might just be psychological but it is hard to
see through the router base to see what is really happening. I supposed if I
used a router a lot for mortises there would be no issue. Clearly there is
much less chiseling required with a router and jig and maybe none if I round
the ends of the tenons to match the radius of the router bit.

Dick

On Dec 31 2008, 1:33*pm, "Dick Snyder"
wrote:
I have to drill out some mortises...
Before I start I cut a line with a utility knife on the sides of the mortise
to "catch" my chisel blade but if I am a little off, I lose one of the
lines. ... BTW, the mortise is 1/4" wide.

Unless this is a rather small item, consider making your mortises
wider than your Forstner bit. As far as straight drilling
goes, do you have a drill press that swivels to drill next
to a good wood vise? It's hard to beat the accuracy of a
well-mounted vise, and a little shimming will keep the
wood in the right place for through drilling. If there are
lots of pieces to be pierced, replace the stationary wood
jaw with a customized one of the correct thickness.

For deep holes, an auger bit is nearly as accurate as a
Forstner, and the chips clear easier. If you really want
1/4" mortise, consider an undersized (7/32"? ) brad point
drill bit.

Look at this device for that problem.

http://www.beadlock.com/


I would also look into making my mortise with
a router and a jig.


Dick Snyder wrote:
I have to drill out some mortises that are NOT centered in table leg I am
working on. That means I can't press the bit down to make a hole and flip
the piece to see if the point goes into the hole I just made. I have been
experimenting on some scrap but I am always a little off. Why do I care?
Before I start I cut a line with a utility knife on the sides of the mortise
to "catch" my chisel blade but if I am a little off, I lose one of the
lines. Am I just being too picky or is there some tip one of you can give me
to get it dead center? BTW, the mortise is 1/4" wide.

TIA.

Dick Snyder

"Dick Snyder" wrote:


This might just be psychological but it is hard to see through the
router base to see what is really happening.

I was going to say, "Sounds like a personal problem"' ,but you beat me
to it.grin

BTW, any router I've used provides a direct line of sight to see the
bit as it enters the wood.

I supposed if I used a router a lot for mortises there would be no
issue.

Once you start using a router for mortises, you will want to kick
yourself for waiting so long.

Lew

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
...
"Dick Snyder" wrote:


This might just be psychological but it is hard to see through the router
base to see what is really happening.

I was going to say, "Sounds like a personal problem"' ,but you beat me to
it.grin

BTW, any router I've used provides a direct line of sight to see the bit
as it enters the wood.

I supposed if I used a router a lot for mortises there would be no issue.

Once you start using a router for mortises, you will want to kick yourself
for waiting so long.

Lew


Lew, would you mind telling me what jig you are using? I made one based on a
posting some time ago in this group. Did you make your own, and if so, is
there a link to it so I can see what you are using?

Dick

"whit3rd" wrote in message
...
On Dec 31 2008, 1:33 pm, "Dick Snyder"
wrote:
I have to drill out some mortises...
Before I start I cut a line with a utility knife on the sides of the
mortise
to "catch" my chisel blade but if I am a little off, I lose one of the
lines. ... BTW, the mortise is 1/4" wide.

Unless this is a rather small item, consider making your mortises
wider than your Forstner bit. As far as straight drilling
goes, do you have a drill press that swivels to drill next
to a good wood vise? It's hard to beat the accuracy of a
well-mounted vise, and a little shimming will keep the
wood in the right place for through drilling. If there are
lots of pieces to be pierced, replace the stationary wood
jaw with a customized one of the correct thickness.

For deep holes, an auger bit is nearly as accurate as a
Forstner, and the chips clear easier. If you really want
1/4" mortise, consider an undersized (7/32"? ) brad point
drill bit.

-----------------
I am making 1/4" wide and 1/4" deep mortises in a leg that is 7/8" square. I
can not move my drill press to a vise. Before I started this project I
experimented with twist drills and brad point drills as well as forstner
bits. Each was 1/4". I didn't try a smaller drill bit. That is actually a
good idea as it leaves me totally in control of the edges of the mortise
with my chisel. I am making a set of stacking tables. Each table has 4 legs
(naturally) and each leg has 2 or 4 mortises. I am finishing up tenons
tomorrow (I hope) on the first table. When I start the next set of legs I
will experiment on some scrap with an undersized brad point bit to see how
that works for doing my mortises. Thanks for the suggestion.

Dick

"Pat Barber" wrote in message
...
Look at this device for that problem.

http://www.beadlock.com/


I would also look into making my mortise with
a router and a jig.


Dick Snyder wrote:
I have to drill out some mortises that are NOT centered in table leg I am
working on. That means I can't press the bit down to make a hole and flip
the piece to see if the point goes into the hole I just made. I have been
experimenting on some scrap but I am always a little off. Why do I care?
Before I start I cut a line with a utility knife on the sides of the
mortise to "catch" my chisel blade but if I am a little off, I lose one
of the lines. Am I just being too picky or is there some tip one of you
can give me to get it dead center? BTW, the mortise is 1/4" wide.

TIA.

Dick Snyder
Before starting this project I thought about beadlock. I talked to the guys
at the Rockler store and they weren't crazy about beadlock. I could never
pin them down as to exactly what they didn't like and they even sell
beadlock at their store. I assume you have had good experience with it since
you suggested it.

Dick Snyder wrote:
"Pat Barber" wrote in message
...
Look at this device for that problem.

http://www.beadlock.com/


I would also look into making my mortise with
a router and a jig.


Dick Snyder wrote:
I have to drill out some mortises that are NOT centered in table leg I am
working on. That means I can't press the bit down to make a hole and flip
the piece to see if the point goes into the hole I just made. I have been
experimenting on some scrap but I am always a little off. Why do I care?
Before I start I cut a line with a utility knife on the sides of the
mortise to "catch" my chisel blade but if I am a little off, I lose one
of the lines. Am I just being too picky or is there some tip one of you
can give me to get it dead center? BTW, the mortise is 1/4" wide.

TIA.

Dick Snyder
Before starting this project I thought about beadlock. I talked to the guys
at the Rockler store and they weren't crazy about beadlock. I could never
pin them down as to exactly what they didn't like and they even sell
beadlock at their store. I assume you have had good experience with it since
you suggested it.


I have used the beadlock system and I really can't recommend it. There
are a lot of holes to drill with it and the locking knobs for the slide
are a bitch to tighten down. I replaced them with a hex head bolt.
Still they do a good job considering and if the need comes again I will
use them.

Dave N

"Dick Snyder" wrote:

Lew, would you mind telling me what jig you are using?

I modified this design:

http://www.shopnotes.com/issues/090/...mortising-jig/

as follows:

Hardwa

All Stainless steel

1/4-20 x 2" HEX head bolts, flat washers and wing nuts.

10-32 x 1/2" flat head machine screws to attach jig to router base.

Runners:

Maple 3/4 x 1-1/4 with 5/8" dia x 1/2" dp counterbore and 9/32' thru
hole for hex head bolts.

I refuse to use carriage bolts, the the counterbored holes above.

Assemble a washer under head of bolt and insert into counter bore and
snug up with another nut.

Pour epoxy fairing putty into counter bores a little proud and let
cure 24 hours.

Table:

1/4" plywood rather than hard board.

Get some 16x16 grid graph paper and glue it to the plywood with
contact cement of 3M spray 77.

Align the graph paper with a major grid line running down the long
(major) centerline of the plywood.

Working from the graph paper side, layout the slots for the 1/4"
bolts, 2" thru hole and your router base(Mine was a PC-90).

Using clear packing gun tape, cover the graph paper to seal and
protect it.

Perform all machining operations including c'sinks from opposite side
to accept router body mount screws.

Remove 1/4x20 hex nuts used to sung bolts previously, while epoxy
cured.

Break any rough corners with some 150 grit, then seal all raw wood
with 3-4 coats of 1/2lb shellac.
(I get better results than with 1 coat of 2 lb).

Let cure a couple of days and have at it.

You may not have picked up on it yet, but using the graph paper to
locate the 3/4 x 1-1/4 runners, you need no other layout tools to get
dead nuts, repeatable mortises, piece after piece.

The only pencil layout required are the end lines for the mortises and
you will be able to visibly see the cutter come in contact with the
pencil line.

Have fun.

Lew

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
...
"Dick Snyder" wrote:

Lew, would you mind telling me what jig you are using?

I modified this design:

http://www.shopnotes.com/issues/090/...mortising-jig/

as follows:

Hardwa

All Stainless steel

1/4-20 x 2" HEX head bolts, flat washers and wing nuts.

10-32 x 1/2" flat head machine screws to attach jig to router base.

Runners:

Maple 3/4 x 1-1/4 with 5/8" dia x 1/2" dp counterbore and 9/32' thru hole
for hex head bolts.

I refuse to use carriage bolts, the the counterbored holes above.

Assemble a washer under head of bolt and insert into counter bore and snug
up with another nut.

Pour epoxy fairing putty into counter bores a little proud and let cure 24
hours.

Table:

1/4" plywood rather than hard board.

Get some 16x16 grid graph paper and glue it to the plywood with contact
cement of 3M spray 77.

Align the graph paper with a major grid line running down the long (major)
centerline of the plywood.

Working from the graph paper side, layout the slots for the 1/4" bolts, 2"
thru hole and your router base(Mine was a PC-90).

Using clear packing gun tape, cover the graph paper to seal and protect
it.

Perform all machining operations including c'sinks from opposite side to
accept router body mount screws.

Remove 1/4x20 hex nuts used to sung bolts previously, while epoxy cured.

Break any rough corners with some 150 grit, then seal all raw wood with
3-4 coats of 1/2lb shellac.
(I get better results than with 1 coat of 2 lb).

Let cure a couple of days and have at it.

You may not have picked up on it yet, but using the graph paper to locate
the 3/4 x 1-1/4 runners, you need no other layout tools to get dead nuts,
repeatable mortises, piece after piece.

The only pencil layout required are the end lines for the mortises and you
will be able to visibly see the cutter come in contact with the pencil
line.

Have fun.

Lew

Thanks Lew. That is the same one that I made. I have printed out your mods
and will study my version for application.

Dick

Beadlock will work in a "drilling" situation.

I have one and it is used very little but it
can do things no other jig can do very easily.

The Beadlock can do offset mortises very easily
but the Beadlock requires some practice to very
effective.

I "strongly" recommend going to a router for
your mortising work.

Here are a couple of jigs:

http://www.shopnotes.com/issues/090/...mortising-jig/

http://www.woodsmith.com/issues/147/...he-router-jig/

and another way to do m&t joinery http://www.mortisepal.com/

or http://plansnow.com/routerjigsclos.html

or

look at Swingman's jig that he built:




Dick Snyder wrote:

Dick Snyder
Before starting this project I thought about beadlock. I talked to the guys
at the Rockler store and they weren't crazy about beadlock. I could never
pin them down as to exactly what they didn't like and they even sell
beadlock at their store. I assume you have had good experience with it since
you suggested it.