peatoluser
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2010
- Messages
- 174
- Reaction score
- 2
one problem I sometimes find with drilling small components is being able to clamp them to the drill table - the slots in the table being far too wide for use.
part of my solution was to make a simple subtable out of a piece of flat bar peppered with 5mm holes.
here it is, well the underside anyway . the knurled knob and spacer fit through one of the table slots to clamp it down.
generally it works fine until I have to drill a hole where the clamp wants to be.
I do have a cheap drill vice, but it's not the best quality - doesn't clamp square and I'm forever looking for the right thickness/ depth piece of packing
so I came up with this. took less than an hour to cobble together. made from 1 1/2 by 1/4 bar, the end pieces being 3/8 sq. welded on to the ends.
just hacksawed down a length of bar at an angle to make the wedges then filed the edges - just guessed the angle, too steep and it may not clamp sufficiently and too narrow wouldn't give enough adjustment
here are the pieces
and here it is in action drilling a 7mm dia. hole between two 5/8 pieces of 1/4 sq. bar. It's only the wedges that are holding them together, they're not soldered or bolted together and the parts didn't move. you can see it's clamped to my subtable which is clamped to the drill table.
worked out better than I thought it would.
part of my solution was to make a simple subtable out of a piece of flat bar peppered with 5mm holes.
here it is, well the underside anyway . the knurled knob and spacer fit through one of the table slots to clamp it down.
generally it works fine until I have to drill a hole where the clamp wants to be.
I do have a cheap drill vice, but it's not the best quality - doesn't clamp square and I'm forever looking for the right thickness/ depth piece of packing
so I came up with this. took less than an hour to cobble together. made from 1 1/2 by 1/4 bar, the end pieces being 3/8 sq. welded on to the ends.
just hacksawed down a length of bar at an angle to make the wedges then filed the edges - just guessed the angle, too steep and it may not clamp sufficiently and too narrow wouldn't give enough adjustment
here are the pieces
and here it is in action drilling a 7mm dia. hole between two 5/8 pieces of 1/4 sq. bar. It's only the wedges that are holding them together, they're not soldered or bolted together and the parts didn't move. you can see it's clamped to my subtable which is clamped to the drill table.
worked out better than I thought it would.
