I know nobody wants to hear about tools, but since making tools and jigs is a passion of mine, I'm going to go ahead with this post. Humor me! I recently acquired an entire set of Popular Mechanics do-it-yourself encyclopedias (plus 3 yearbooks) all for $5.00! I was giddy, and reading them is a lot of fun. Mixed in with all the alphabetized topics of DIY stuff are pages of tips, tricks and jigs. The two I am addressing here were under B -bandsaw and D -drill press, they had their own sections as do most all tools. There I found these awesome accessories.
This helpful jig I just had to try is a drill press hold-down. It is just what I needed, as getting clamps on drill press tables is many times an exercise in futility.....Here are the plans.
I knew it was too big for my little drill press. But do a whole bunch of math to reduce it? Heck no! In the '70's when these books were written, you could not just go upstairs to your computer, scan/copy/paste the section you need and tell your printer to print it at 5 inches! HA instant reduced patterns.
The hold down works well and when not in use, it just swings out of the way.
The second handy helper is a cam action band saw fence . Here you can see the spring, the handle is shaped to apply the pressure. It does not adjust for blade drift, but it holds good!
Tomorrow I will do a miniatures post :)
Hello Linda,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the great post. I may look into that book. Nobody wants to hear about tools but they make life SO much easier and the results are SO much better when you have the right ones.
Big hug,
Giac
Thank you Giac you are such a sweetie :)
Deletecoool! What a great find! Those type of books are a treasure for only a fiver. Regardless their age I can see most jigs, tips and tricks are universal even in this day and age. I actually love it you made a few :) Like Giac said, they make life soo much easier!
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