Pen Block Drilling Jig

fredsheldon · Post by **fredsheldon** » Sun Dec 30, 2012 3:35 pm

After having to drill over 140 blocks for my pen and letter opener sets that I gave out for Christmas I decided to see if I could come up with a faster method of securing and drilling the blocks. I think I found a solution with this simple jig that I put together in a couple of hours this afternoon.

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I wanted to be able to make quick adjustments to fit any size block.

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Allows for hands off drilling.

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Attached a hardwood rail to fit the miter slot in the table.

bobgroh · Post by **bobgroh** » Mon Dec 31, 2012 12:34 am

Nice rig and a good idea. I am struggling with a similar problem but trying to avoid using my SS in drill press mode. Still don't have anything I like all that much but yours has a couple of nice little ideas.

fredsheldon · Post by **fredsheldon** » Mon Dec 31, 2012 12:54 am

bobgroh wrote:Nice rig and a good idea. I am struggling with a similar problem but trying to avoid using my SS in drill press mode. Still don't have anything I like all that much but yours has a couple of nice little ideas.

Bob, I see no reason why this setup wouldn't work just as well in the horizional position. You just need to clamp the jig to the table so it won't fall off. I just happened to have a 10ER that I have set up as a dedicated drill press.

tomsalwasser · Post by **tomsalwasser** » Mon Dec 31, 2012 5:57 am

Very nice job Fred. Is it self centering too?

fredsheldon · Post by **fredsheldon** » Mon Dec 31, 2012 9:07 am

tomsalwasser wrote:Very nice job Fred. Is it self centering too?

Tom, as seen in the first photo, I lock down the drill onto the center of the block before moving the adjustable blocks into final position. And if most of your blocks are all the same size you only need to make the adjustments once. There is enough slack where you can just slip out the finished block and slip in a new one. Should be able to drill a block in a minute or less.

kalynzoo · Post by **kalynzoo** » Mon Dec 31, 2012 2:25 pm

Very nice, great idea. Thanks for sharing, I may just copy your plan as it appears to be more stable than my home made jig.
Happy New Year