Replies

1. 
   DonC | Dec 12, 2005 10:45pm | #1

   I own a commercially avavilable self-centering doweling jig. You place pencil reference marks on mating pieces and clamp the stock vertically and clamp the jig to the edge with the reference mark lining up with the center of hole mark of the hole in the jig. Works every time. For off center holes on edge work, you place a shim between the jig's jaw and workpiece.

2. 
   ring | Dec 13, 2005 08:42am | #2

   Never occured to me to use anything other than dowelling centers to mark the mating holes.

   DR

1. 
   WillGeorge | Dec 16, 2005 09:58pm | #4

   Never occurred to me to use anything other than doweling centers to mark the mating holes.Nothing wrong with that.. Some drill bits just wander a 'bit'.. Even them fancy pointed ones.. Factories do NOT know how TO grind a drill point..I work in metal a lot so I ALWAYS mark my target.. Have a properly ground bit.. And then I always run the drill bit down onto the target (not running) and just press 'a bit' into the wood.. I watch to see if the bit deflects a 'bit'.. Never hurts to use a good punch for a starter hole.. Hard hunk of grain will make the bit 'slant off' in some direction.. Get out my old X-Acto knife and cut that sucker with a X.. Works for me...EDIT! I forgot! The centers can do the same! As in wander off a bit...Edited 12/16/2005 2:00 pm by WillGeorge

   Edited 12/16/2005 2:00 pm by WillGeorge

3. 
   joinerswork | Dec 14, 2005 05:16pm | #3

   hank,

   I have a jig I made for leaf alignment.  It's a block of hard maple about 6"long, 1-1/2" wide, and 7/8" thick, with a series of three holes drilled thru it on the drill press.  (Instead of a dowel pin, I prefer to use a tongue (tenon) about 3/16" x 7/8" for alignment). There is a larger piece of 1/4" plywood screwed and glued to one of the faces of the block, that hangs over, to register the block to the face of the leaf. A "hash mark" on the plywood indicates the location of the holes in the maple.

   Instead of any adjustment, I mark the leaves where I want the tenons, and align the marks from leaf to leaf.  Then clamp the jig to the leaf, lining up the hash mark on the jig with the mark on the leaf.  Drill thru the jig into the edge of the leaf. Pretty quickly done.

   To make one for a repair, just use a dowel center in one of the holes in the table's top to locate the hole in the block.

   Regards,

   Ray Pine

4. 
   QCInspector | Dec 18, 2005 12:06pm | #5

   My father did furniture repair for the last couple dozen years of his career in woodworking, and he always used the drill press for drilling table leaf pins. He had 90° fence that clamped onto the table of the drill press, and went to the floor. He would clamp a board horizontally onto the side of the fence the width of the tabletop or leaf and drill the holes. With the edge distance of the bit set out from the side of the jig as needed, and the top face of the table or leaf against the jig, all the holes lined up. To mark the spacing of the holes clamp the top faces together and put a pencil mark across each edge where you want the hole. He would usually save the drilling operation if possible until he had several tables to do and then in an hour or two drill the tops and leaves for two to four tables by himself. Take into account that also included changing bits and adjusting positions to suit each different kind of table layout. The same setup also is useful for doweling chair rails and stretchers when when making or doing repairs on them too.