Drill Guides

[tremendousOt]

I wonder if these are useful for drilling straight holes without a big drill press? anybody ever try one? anybody have any other ideas on how to do clean drilling with just a hand drill?

thanks!

[Jon]

Measure carefully, use the proper drillbits, and use something with a perfect 90 degree angle next to the drillbit to insure straight holes each time.

[tirapop]

There's a fair bit of slop in those drill guides between the rods and the sliding carriage. I've tried shimming it with pieces of foil and that helps a bit. The problem is that the whole contraption is pretty flexible. If the bit starts to wander, as it plows through the wood, there isn't a great amount of resistence to keep it straight.

[cherokee6]

I don't believe it is recommended to use forstner bits in anything but a drill press, but this MAY be an exception.

[Woodenspoke]

I wonder if these are useful for drilling straight holes without a big drill press? anybody ever try one? anybody have any other ideas on how to do clean drilling with just a hand drill?

thanks!

Guides would certainly not hurt when using a hand drill. Most hand drill are horrible even at a high price point. Stay away from the Luthier tools gadgets and look for standard drill guides like the ones sold by Lee Valley Tools. You can mock up your headstock and insert these guides and you'll have a drill guide template with no slop. Can also be used for other during operations. They are cheap enough and hopefully they come in a size you need.

Guides from lee valley

Woodenspoke