Center drilling stock without a lathe.

[Bill Dunlap]

I used to have a lathe for this kind of work, but had to let it go due to limited space. I've since had to find new methods to get from A to B. This is one.

I use a Jacob's chuck with 1/2 x 20tpi mount and attach it to my drill press table.

Using a 1/4 inch mandrel, I clamp it between the two chucks and tighten them with the key. Then I lock down the table so it can't move. Next, I chuck up the stock in the lower chuck, a drill bit in the upper and begin to drill.

The end product comes out like this.

 

 

Obviously, I'm limited to 1/2 inch stock as that's the largest that fits in the lower chuck. However, I could turn down larger stock to 1/2 inch first as a tail to use for chucking it up in the lower chuck.

That's all for now.

Cheers,

Bill

[David Kilnapp]

That's a neat trick, Bill. Very clever.

[Doug Wendel]

Thanks for sharing.  Great idea.  

I use a spare chuck for holding screws when polishing them on the bench polisher.

Edited April 16 by Doug Wendel

[Jim Kovar]

Great idea, Bill.  Thanks.

A modest start on the
     "Arc of shame"... *

 

*  Yeah, yeah, I know,...
      you bought it used...  

 

[James Gaspard]

This is a great idea!

[John Landstrom]

Bill, ingenuity at its best…!

Just a note…..I’ve found that drill bits are fine for getting close to what I needed.  Then I use a hand reamer, that leaves a smooth hole to get it to the desired size.  The reamers weren’t cheap but proved invaluable in the long run.