Shopsmith Forums

Uggghhhh. Why couldn't this have entered the market last year? Really hard not to get frustrated on this one, but it looks like Woodpeckers has done it again. Just wish they had this last year. It is not often that you need this, but sometimes you need to drill a clean, perfectly orthogonal hole in something you are working on and it is just too awkward/impossible to get it under a drill press. I bought a Kanzawa brand drill guide which was good. Then Rockler came out with their drill guide which is better (viewtopic.php?f=9&t=23794). It looks like this new Woodpeckers Auto-Line Drill Guide is the best. What I really like is the edge guide is a great feature for this if you want to drill multiple holes from an edge like I needed to do last year. Also like the compactness of it and the alignment marks compared to mine. Centering pins and the V-groove are nice too. I am really glad that someone has finally made an exceptional tool for this niche product.

Thoughts? Can any one see any negatives to this new product? Definitely seems tempting...

https://www.woodpeck.com/auto-line-drill-guide.html

Although I haven't yet used my Rockler w/vise which I received well into the cold weather, I like having the vise with it. The Rockler guide also has v-notches. The edge guide seems to be of limited use; what if you want to drill in a line 12" in or on a diagonal line? Can use a straight edge clamped to the material in lieu of the edge guide in my opinion. No ability to drill angled holes with the Woodpecker guide. Wish the Rockler had the centering pins, although there is probably a way to rig something up in the vise attachment holes. Would have to remove the centering pins if you wanted to drill into larger dowel stock; in my case this would mean a huge chance that I would drop/lose/misplace at least one of them. I wonder if there will be sliding problems since the drill isn't centered between the guides. Red anodizing is much more expensive than blue.

Personally, largely because of the tilt and vise, I think the Rockler is a better fit for me.

The base seems alot lighter than the other options...I wonder about its stability during drill. Atleast in the last seconds of the video, I can see it moving as he penetrates the wood surface. There doesn't seem to be a very "handy" location to hold it down.

b

bainin wrote: ↑Tue Jan 19, 2021 11:52 am The base seems alot lighter than the other options...I wonder about its stability during drill. Atleast in the last seconds of the video, I can see it moving as he penetrates the wood surface. There doesn't seem to be a very "handy" location to hold it down.

b

Good point. I see it as an advantage because my Kanzawa can be a little bulky so kind of seeing over and around the guide rods, drill, etc. to align it can be problematic. The Rockler unit is even bulkier and presumably has more mass which should help with stability, but may also make it difficult to get good alignment before drilling. Certainly a tradeoff. What I did find with my Kanzawa was that I had to use quick clamps to hold the base to the workpiece whenever they would fit. Using clamps, I could get great results with it, but without it can be hard to not have it "walk" away from the starting point. Wondering how the Rockler unit is for this...maybe it has the best design overall considering this point. Really need one of these made out of steel so that a MagSwitch magnet or similar could be used on the bottom of the workpiece, if possible, to provide extra hold down power while drilling.

Now this is tempting. Really Tempting!

roy_okc wrote: ↑Tue Jan 19, 2021 11:46 am Although I haven't yet used my Rockler w/vise which I received well into the cold weather, I like having the vise with it. The Rockler guide also has v-notches. The edge guide seems to be of limited use; what if you want to drill in a line 12" in or on a diagonal line? Can use a straight edge clamped to the material in lieu of the edge guide in my opinion. No ability to drill angled holes with the Woodpecker guide. Wish the Rockler had the centering pins, although there is probably a way to rig something up in the vise attachment holes. Would have to remove the centering pins if you wanted to drill into larger dowel stock; in my case this would mean a huge chance that I would drop/lose/misplace at least one of them. I wonder if there will be sliding problems since the drill isn't centered between the guides. Red anodizing is much more expensive than blue.

Personally, largely because of the tilt and vise, I think the Rockler is a better fit for me.

Roy,

Thanks for the feedback. I was waiting for someone to post how they liked their Rockler drill guide. Once your shop warms up, definitely let us know how it works for you. I am still impressed with the Rockler drill guide and need to stop into the store sometime to get my hands on it in person. I don't think you went wrong with purchasing the Rockler version. Just my opinion, but I think the Rockler and the Woodpecker drill guides look to be the best out there right now. Likely better than my Kanzawa and definitely better than the cheap ($40) ones that were on the market prior to this which didn't work well (based on reviews I have seen).

RF Guy,

Recall that there thread on here about the Rockler (and UJK) guide. sehast bought the guide/vise combo some months back and posted some initial thoughts on it. viewtopic.php?p=272287#p272287

I'll try to remember to post my thoughts when I get that round tuit, probably on that same thread above.

roy_okc wrote: ↑Tue Jan 19, 2021 4:21 pm RF Guy,

Recall that there thread on here about the Rockler (and UJK) guide. sehast bought the guide/vise combo some months back and posted some initial thoughts on it. viewtopic.php?p=272287#p272287

I'll try to remember to post my thoughts when I get that round tuit, probably on that same thread above.

Roy,

You're right. Thanks for reminding me...my memory isn't always so good. Sehast did do a good review of it here, but your opinion on it would be a good addition as well. The Rockler one does look like a very nice drill guide.

I'll be watching the discussion- I'm interested in having one at some point-they all seem to have some advantages/disadvantages at the moment.

Just a quick update. I finally did buy the Woodpeckers Auto-Line Drill Guide and it came maybe a couple months ago. I had need for this tool recently and I was blown away on how much better it works than my Kanzawa drill guide. The Kanzawa has some slop in the bushings that the drive shaft rides in which results in visible runout. It wasn't a problem for me because I would use a center punch to set the center of the hole that my Forstner or Brad Point bits would start in. So, I don't think it ever affected my drilling results. I just used the Woodpeckers drill guide (bearings instead of bushings) and there is no noticeable runout with it all. It appears rock solid. I haven't put a dial indicator on it, but I just wanted to relay how well it appears to be built compared to my Kanzawa. About the only negative I can see with the Woodpeckers drill guide so far is that the spring constant is kind of high on the guide shaft spring. I can live with it though because it is a nice feature. My Kanzawa has no spring so once you attach the cordless drill it takes one hand just to keep the drill + guide from falling down while the other hand operates the drill. Going to have to sell the Kanzawa drill guide now...