Friday, December 19, 2014

Drill trigger with lock-on speed





There are times when I need to lock the trigger on my drill. Growing up I used my dads drill and it had this feature. Many drills do not have a lock on the trigger or at least I haven't seen any. Maybe it is too dangerous, like the drill can take off on you. I made mine very safe and can be taken off easily and in an instant.































For this project I will use some leftover hardwood flooring. I think oak and Brazilian cherry look good together.  I cleaned up some pieces on the table saw. I always cut a little bit extra in case I make a mistake. 




The pieces are glued with Titebond  and clamped over night. I now can take some measurements of the drill handle. Of course this will be different from drill to drill.






I used a forstner bit to drill out the area that fits around the drill handle.  The piece is placed in a small clamp and with the drill press I drill a  hole, this will be for the bolt.







A router and a round over bit is used to soften the edges, this will also  help the jig fit the drill. With my extra piece of hardwood I use a hole-saw and make a small wheel. I then add a nut and bolt and screw it into the block and it is ready to go.






See also:

               Make a small workbench        Make large dowels            Upright table clamp
               with one 2x4
                                              












Saturday, December 13, 2014

Dowel Stop Gauge

 








Dowel stop gauges are very simple to make and can be used for very accurate measurements. I came up with this idea because I thought it would give me an easy way to take, lock in and transfer measurements as well as many different sizes.  
I made many sets for my shop, painted them with a bright orange so they can easily be found.



The dowels that I use are available at most hardware stores, they usually come in four foot lengths. The ones I will be using are 1/4" and 1/2". To start I will copy the original one I made a couple of years ago and I will take it apart and get some measurements.


I like to use maple for the blocks, they are hardwood and hold up very well so I find a scrap piece of maple cut it 20 mm x 20 mm.  For the height, the blocks will be 30mm. The easiest way to cut small blocks is on the table saw with a sled.




The blocks can now be drilled for the 1/2"
dowel (button), and the hole should be 24 mm deep.        The 1/2" dowels are placed in the block                                                                                                     and a nut is used as a spacer for the spring.                                                                                              The blocks are laid on the side and are                                                                                                     drilled now using  1/4"bit.                                                                                        



I spray a coat of orange spray for the buttons and black for the blocks. I think this will help me find them in my workshop that is so full of wood!



The gauges are complete and the dowels can be exchanged to many different sizes. I like one at 1 foot and a larger one at 4 feet.




See also:

Make a lathe                                        Table saw safety feature                  Tool caddy