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LIttleBlackDuck
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Hints and tips that some may not have heard of. #33: In the Eye of the Dowel!
This is
part 33
in a
47 part
series:
Hints and tips that some may not have heard of.
Boys and Girls,
Centre finders got tossed up in one of the threads her at Craftisian, which prompted the excuse for migrating this across for LJ, originally posted on 29th. Decenver, 2019.
Centre finders got tossed up in one of the threads her at Craftisian, which prompted the excuse for migrating this across for LJ, originally posted on 29th. Decenver, 2019.
You don’t need a laser… a sharpie will do… though some may need to re-learn how to write.unless you can put a keyboard on it.
BTW: If you do go metric... make sure it's a legitimate metric forstner bit(s) and not an impersonating imperial re-badged.
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Boys and Girls,
We all have our secrets in finding the centre of a dowel, however, unless you were on the quest of finding rc's wallet (which is empty) in my workshop, you may have not come across my method.
Most of us use standard sized dowels, whether fabricated, purchased or other unorthodox means.
Nevertheless they tend to fit into holes made by traditional sized forstner bits.
That same forstner bit makes the ideal centre finder.
Grab a block of timber, in accordance with your desires, and drill a forstner bore of your desired diameter, or don't take note and use a caliper to measure it….
We all have our secrets in finding the centre of a dowel, however, unless you were on the quest of finding rc's wallet (which is empty) in my workshop, you may have not come across my method.
Most of us use standard sized dowels, whether fabricated, purchased or other unorthodox means.
Nevertheless they tend to fit into holes made by traditional sized forstner bits.
That same forstner bit makes the ideal centre finder.
Grab a block of timber, in accordance with your desires, and drill a forstner bore of your desired diameter, or don't take note and use a caliper to measure it….
You can then use the forstner tip to drill the hole right through the block. Just ensure you have an instrument to go all the way through and as close to its diameter to prevent play,
For the centering hole, I start with 2.5mm as that's the tip of my forstner bits and then use the bigger boy 4mm drill bit which is the same diameter as my centre punch…
From here on it's not too difficult to follow the bouncing ball… and if it stops bouncing, just hope it doesn't roll under that immovable machinery.
the hole IS there,
Now there are a quite a few other centre finders of which I'm showing you two…
And as Goldie, who couldn't keep a lock on her mouth, says, too small,
too big
awkward (in the words of L'il Red Ridding Hood... oops, wrong story),
just right,
Do not try this without a dowel… and square dowels may yield inaccurate results.
If your first cut is too short... Take the second cut from the longer end... LBD
4 Comments
Good write up ducky!
Ryan/// ~sigh~ I blew up another bowl. Moke told me "I made the inside bigger than the outside".
Now this one is a top idea thank you Alex
Life’s Good, Enjoy Each New Day’s Blessings
I've used that center spur pit created by the bit many of times to add a smaller centered hole, fast, accurate, and easy.
Using it for dowels and other roundies never crossed my mind, nice!
Did you make a box to store your dowel center jig???
Using it for dowels and other roundies never crossed my mind, nice!
Did you make a box to store your dowel center jig???
Great tool, Alex. I put the dowels in the lathe and use a center drill many times if I need the hole right on!
Cheers, Jim ........................ Variety is the spice of life...............Learn something new every day
