[TheForge] 2 things

[Andrew Vida]

Mark Novak wrote:

> 2. What tool options are out there that would help me drill a centered 
> hole into the end of mild steel rod (besides a punch to make a starter 
> dent)? I have a drill press and a drill press vise, but I'm trying to 
> make a single hole in many inch long sections of half-inch rod and don't 
> want to have to set each one in the vise, trying to get it lined up each 
> time with the bit and the starter dent, etc... Help!

	I'm sure someone here will have some clever way of doing what you want 
to do, but in case nobody shells out:  Use a lathe.  Borrow one.  A good 
3 or 6 jaw universal chuck and a drill chuck in the tail stock is all 
you should need.  You could center drill each piece - just a peck would 
be required - then proceed with whatever drill you want for your hole. 
Doing what you want on a press without a center punch mark and without a 
fixture of some sort to keep each piece on center will almost certainly 
prove harrowing.  Unless no accuracy is required at all, you will need 
repeatability for parallelism to the spindle axis (work is plumb to the 
drill spindle) and concentricity.  The only proactical way to achieve 
these conditions is with a fixture that will place each work piece 
precisely where it needs to be.