# One for Nolegs



## sunnybob (22 Sep 2017)

Not quite as complicated as his sliding bog hole door bolt, but it filled a pressing need for me...

Stage 1, scrounge a bit of steel from my local blacksmith;








Stage 2, cut a big hole in it;






oh oh, just looked at the clock and its time to climb the wooden hills to bedfordshire, coming matron!


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## sunnybob (23 Sep 2017)

morning all, seeing as how nolegs has actually been dragged out of the pub and back to serious stuff, I'll cut this one short (the thread, you fools, not the metal!).

stage 3;
drill some more holes and thread them and use the hacksaw in a random fashion;






stage 4;
carefully make a very accurate hole for threading to accept the stud;






stage 5;
using my very best painting method... thread some wire through the holes and dip into a large tin of hammerite smooth red and allow to drip dry;







Stage 6, attach to drill press to replace the stupid plastic depth stop that didnt;







Lets see that 10 mm steel try to bend when I drill a stopped hole!
O.K. Back to the main programme now.


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## MusicMan (23 Sep 2017)

nice one!


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## Phil Pascoe (23 Sep 2017)

... but it filled a pressing need for me...

I saw what you did there.


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## sunnybob (23 Sep 2017)

phil.p":16dxgrq0 said:


> ... but it filled a pressing need for me...
> 
> I saw what you did there.


Go to the top of our stairs. :lol: 
I almost put a last line pointing it out, but i obviously didnt need to.


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## ColeyS1 (23 Sep 2017)

That's a great modification ! 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk


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## monkeybiter (23 Sep 2017)

Nice tidy job, and painted too; too much time on your hands :lol:


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## AES (23 Sep 2017)

Nice job sunnybob.

AES


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## n0legs (24 Sep 2017)

SB I'm honoured, a WIP all for me :lol: 
That's a brilliant mod =D> 
Was the original a plastic (probably something like a yoghurt pot) or some kind of unidentified "cheese" like mine once was? :lol:


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## sunnybob (24 Sep 2017)

I was going to take a picture of the plastic stop that didnt, but i was so disgusted I just binned it.
It was a "do everything do nothing" bracket that held the flip down eye protecting screen (which I couldnt see through due to the distortion on the curved plastic), and the depth stop adjuster that flexed a different amount every time I reached it. Up to 3 mm extra depth without any kind of weight applied. If I had been leaning on the arm like in drilling metal i could have got maybe 6 mm extra.
By making this the way I did I was able to still use the same scale on the side of the drill head.

I made my concerns (there, thats polite enough for broadcast) known to axminster. I have been told that the mod and the complaint has reached quite high levels, but dont hold your breath for a factory upgrade any time soon (never).

Because of where I am, i have no hope of any "bring it back and we can see if the next one is any better" guarantees, so i can just rip stuff apart and rebuild it properly with no fears of any bitching down the line.

Do wish I had a lathe though, but no space / money / time to organise it.


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## Bm101 (24 Sep 2017)

Good solution Bob. Makes you wonder it's not standard on the drill for the cost of manufacture, must be pennies with economies of scale. 
Can I ask how you cut the main hole?


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## sunnybob (24 Sep 2017)

Chris, I used the single most under rated tool of all time....
A 40 mm hole saw. Wasnt even a new one. Slow sped and steady pressure works wonders.

I use hole saws with and without the pilot drill to solve lots of problems. Just cut a 70 mm circular blank of contiboard to fill in a hole on a work surface. Perfect fit.


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## Bm101 (24 Sep 2017)

Cheers Bob. Wondered if that was it. Good tip on removing the pilot drill, just made me wonder about predrilling on the bench drill (eventually...) then using the hole as a guide for the hole saw. Have a particular issue in mind with a bronze bullnose casting that's making me wonder. Thanks as always fella.


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## sunnybob (24 Sep 2017)

Chris, no need for pre dilling.
Just draw out your circle, make sure theres no play in the hole saw / arbour (even if that means tightening up the saw and not using the pins), line it up with the outer edge, and slow but sure wins the race.


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## AES (24 Sep 2017)

Sorry sunnybob, I'm a bit slow tonight (TONIGHT?????  ).

I haven't quite got it - how do you use the hole saw without the pilot drill please? I would have simply marked out that hole, then chain-drilled all around and finished off with a file (or two). Your idea sounds a lot faster, and the finished article looks just as clean and accurate as "my" method, so again sorry, just HOW did you do that (and into quite substantial MS I think)?

TIA 

AES


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## Phil Pascoe (24 Sep 2017)

If you've a pillar dril (or a lathe) and the piece to be cut is fixed down you don't need the pilot.


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## sunnybob (25 Sep 2017)

Simple is as simple does, so that makes me simpler than you anytime.

The pilot hole is simply that, a way of getting the cutting teeth where you want them.
Normally you mark the centre, pop it, and drill.
But with a bit of sideways thinking, all you have to do is mark out where the centre is, use a compass and scribing point, and draw the circle.
with the drill press you just offer up the circle to the teeth on the hole saw, and when in line clamp the material firmly, and drill. Go slowly and lightly at first untill the teeth start to sink into the material, then its as firm as if it had a pilot drill.

This particular hole saw is at least 10 years old, and been heavily used, but it still went through that 10 mm mild steel quite easily and very cleanly. Slow speed, steady but mild pressure, job done.

The "secret" with a bigger hole saw that has locating pins in the arbour is to ignore the pins. Theyre great for stopping the saw binding on the arbour, but they induce a lot of slop to the cutter.
They normally come apart fine afterwards, but even if they bind, clamp the arbour in a vice and use a set of channel grips to undo the saw.


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## hawkeyefxr (28 Sep 2017)

First class job there.


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## Phil Pascoe (28 Sep 2017)

Or centre it then remove the pilot bit.


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## Robbo3 (29 Sep 2017)

Bob - nice job on the depth gauge.

Having to cut out some 64mm blanks with a hole saw & not wanting a hole through the centre of the blank, I tried your tip of tightening up the saw to it's limit rather than using the pins. One addition was a washer made from a plastic milk carton (HDPE I think) for the blade to butt against, (a tip for some lathe owners there), because it's one of the flattest material in everyday use. When finished cutting, the saw blade easily unscrewed by hand.

I clamped a sacrificial piece of ply to the pillar drill table & the clamp allowed me to brace the workpiece sufficiently to not need a second clamp. Slow speed & gentle pressure until the teeth cut a groove was still the order of the day though.


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## Phil Pascoe (29 Sep 2017)

The washer between the chuck and the register on my lathe was made with a hot melt glue gun. It works perfectly well.


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