Help finding a tool

[mustanggt]

I'm preparing to build my first flintlock. There is a tool that helps you center a drill bit on the press to bore for the lock bolts etc. I understand Brownell's has it but I don't know the proper name for the tool or who else may have it so I'm coming up against the wall, so to speak, of finding it. Does anyone know of the tool? Thanks

 

[necchi]

I just used a section of all-thread or a bolt that I grind pointy on one end and bolt to the drill press plate. Wiggle the plate around till it's inline with the drill bit and good to go.

 

[longcruise]

Get Alexander's Gunsmith of Grenville County. There you will find instructions on building one. There is another version in Buchelle, et al Recreating the American Longrifle. I built the type that works on a drill press and it is very functional.

I don't have any pics, but if need be, I'll take a few.

 

[Zonie]

There is a tool that helps you center a drill bit on the press to bore for the lock bolts etc.

:hmm:

I'm not sure what tool you are talking about and the only one I can think of would be a "center drill".

That is a very short, heavy bodied drill that both drills a shallow hole and forms a 60 degree countersink which is used with a machine center.

Anyway, the tools I use for locating and drilling a hole for a screw thread are a dial caliper (a vernier caliper type guage with a dial on it that reads in thousandths of an inch), a center punch (a pointed piece of steel rod with the upper end made to be struck by a hammer), a small hammer (to strike the center punch), a small 1/16" drill bit (a very small center drill would work for this), the correct sized tap drill (to drill the hole for the tap that produces the threads), a black felt tip pen (to color the metal surface black) and my small drill press (although an electric hand drill will also work).

I start off deciding where I want the hole to be and then paint the area black with the felt tip pen.

Setting the dial caliper to the dimension I want the hole to be from some edge, I then hang one of the jaws of the caliper slightly over the edge of the part and use the sharp tip of the other jaw to scribe a line in the black ink.
I repeat this for the distance in the other direction.

I then place the sharp point of the center punch where the scribed lines intersect and use the small hammer to give it a whack.
The point will form a very small indentation in the metal.

Using the 1/16" drill bit (or the very small center drill) I use the indentation to position the drill bit and then drill a hole about 1/16" deep.

Chucking the tap drill in my drill press (or electric hand drill) I then use the 1/16" hole to position the drill bit (or the part if I'm using the drill press) and then proceed to drill the hole for the tap.

This method is pretty standard operating procedure and it is used by me any time I want to accurately locate a drilled hole.

 

[Katahdin]

The Gunsmith of Grenville County, by Peter Alexander,This is the one to get/build,,easy to build and easier to use...pg 147 or go to pg 175 how to build one and how it goes on the drill press.use for all through drilling/line ups..

 

[mustanggt]

Thank you all for the timely replies. I have those books but haven't got that far in them to see that. I saw the tool on Mike Beliveau's TOTW kit he did on youtube. It looked like the tool a neophyte like me needs but looks as though I may not need it if I can make my own.

 

[galamb]

I built one out of a piece of 5/8" threaded rod and a couple of nuts/washers.

For those who can't picture this tool it is basically just a "pointy" bolt that is fixed through the center hole in the drill press (table).

So I just put the rod on the grinder and ground it down to a sharp point then bolted it into the table.

You adjust your table so that your drill bit is lined up with the "point".

Then you mark your piece "on both sides" - place the "off side" mark right on the "point" and then drill into your mark on the drill side of things.

It works on a drill press and yes, can be made with a couple bucks worth of threaded rod - much cheaper than the "fixture" sold by the shops.

 

[hawkeye2]

I bought one from Dave Rase, took a while to get it but it is nice. It's somewhat similar to the Jedediah Starr one

Take a look at this topic:
http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/290767/post/1426077/hl//fromsearch/1/

Sources (other than D. Rase):
http://www.jedediah-starr.com/closeup.asp?cid=90&pid=909
http://www.redaviscompany.com/0883.html

 

[longcruise]

Wow, forty bucks! I made mine for about .40¢ and some shop scraps.

I previously had drilled lock bolt holes, tang bolt holes and barrel pin/key holes with occasionally ugly results. The "tool" has given perfect results every time.

 

[MSW]

after botching a few, I got generous with myself and bought the R.E. Davis version. (it wasn't that expensive back then, if I remember correctly) once I opened the box, I thought to myself, "jeez - I could have made that myself!" but the tool has served me well for many years, so I can't grouse too terribly much.

if it saves you even one misdrilled hole, it's pretty much paid for itself.

just one guy's advice: free and doubtless well worth the price!

 

[LRB]

I just used a section of all-thread or a bolt that I grind pointy on one end and bolt to the drill press plate. Wiggle the plate around till it's inline with the drill bit and good to go.

Me too. Almost too easy.

 

[longcruise]

You are true correct! Purchasing the tool is very well worth the price when considering the problems that it prevents.

 

[garra]

I believe what you are looking for is called a transfer punch. They are designed to go into an existing hole and make a center mark on the surface below it so you drill that hole on the same center. Enco or Amazon sells them.

 

[hoochiepapa]

This? I made mine.

 

[mustanggt]

I bought one for $20 from RE Davis. It was worth the price but I would not have paid more than that.