Jig to bore holes

[Jmeyers]

Hey guys,

So I just finished up lathing out my first handle, it's a 12" cedar handle for a musky rod I'm building for my uncle. The problme is I have the handle done but I still need to drill a hole donw the middle about 10 inches deep.

I have a wierd lathe where I can't put a drill bit on it to drill the whole so I need to use a drill press. Problem is I don't want to hurt the handle anyway by clamping it in a press and I need to make sure the hole is straigt. I was thinking about making some kind of Jig to se it in but don't really know where to start...any ideas?? The hole would have to be .822 inch thick

[delmuts]

If you have to use a drill press, then yes you will want some kind of a jig.Possibly drilling a slightly smaller hole in a block of wood; then cutting it in half so you can clamp it around the dowl. Getting everything perpendicular will be tricky! Good Luck!

[upnorth]

I have in the past tried similar.

OK here goes.

This will work If you can take the chuck off your lathe. Strips of brass or copper or similar will work as soft jaws. While the chuck is still on the lathe, put the handle in the chuck and put the soft jaws in between the handle and the regular jaws and true it up. You will need to be more concerned with square than concentric. Don't over tighten as you will mar the wood even with soft jaws. Once you have it fairly true and really square, unscrew the chuck from the lathe and bring it over to your drill press. You will more than likely need a couple of blocks to set the chuck on to get it to sit flat. Clamp the chuck down to the table of the drill press and proceed SLOWLY. I would start with a shorter and maybe smaller drill bit to get things going straight. Clear the drill bit of chips often or you will wind up getting it stuck and then you will really have problems.