Shopmade Horizontal Boring Jig
I was faced with the challenge of drilling precisely centered holes along the centerline axis of some turned posts. Because the bed of my lathe wasn’t long enough to accommodate the posts, I built a horizontal boring jig using plywood scraps and common iron pipe.
The jig consists of a bed and two carriages, one for the drill and another for supporting the work. First I glued up a hollow plywood box, 16 in. long., with three compartments running the full length. I routed grooves for the vertical walls into the top and bottom of the box. Then I carefully spaced and sized the plywood pieces so that the iron pipe would fit snugly in the openings. Later, 1 cut this box into four sections to make the two carriages and two pipe housings in the bed.
I wanted to be able to lock the work-support carriage in place to the pipe bed, so I drilled holes and installed T-nuts in the walls of the box before gluing it up. After the glue had cured, I cut the 16-in. box into four sections two longer sections for the carriages and two shorter sections for the pipe housings in the bed.
I added spacer blocks to the top of the drill carriage to raise up and support the drill. I took advantage of the holes tapped into each side of the drill handle to screw the drill in place on top of the carriage. By adjusting the drill in place with shims, I was able to get it set to cut holes perfectly centered into one end of the turned posts. I also drilled a small pilot hole through the back of the boring jig for a screw to hold the other end of the workpiece steady.
C.M. Williams, Newport News, Va.
Fine Woodworking Magazine, June 1998 No. 130
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