How to make hole for holdfast collar insert.

[Marcel]

All,

New to the UKW site, there sure is a wealth of information here.

I have a question though, I haven't been able to find ( browse ) an answer to:

I recently acquired an Record 146 bench holdfast and want to have it on my bench.

To insert the collar, I need to drill a hole of 72 mm.

I can't justify the purchase of an Forstner drill bit, if it even exits...

So: how do I make this happen??

I am thinking of using a router myself, but I'd like to hear other options as of how to achieve this.

Thank you very much in advance.

 

[Mike Wingate]

I have cut about a dozen with an expanding bit in a joiners brace. Hard work in school beech benches. Make hole in a piece of mdf and route away using it as a guide with a pattern flush trim bit ( bearing between shank and cutters), or make the template larger to suite a cutter and guide bearing. Then drill the smaller hole for the shank of the holdfast.

 

[AndyT]

Does the collar really have to be sunk in? Can't it just be surface mounted on the underside of the bench?

 

[promhandicam]

Welcome to UKW. An alternative to the router and template would be to use a hole saw in a drill. Drill the bigger hole first down to the depth you want and then drill the smaller hole right the way through making sure you raise the holesaw up at regular intervals to clear the chips from the teeth. Finally you would just need to remove the waste between the larger diameter cut and the central hole.

Steve

 

[Mr Ed]

I would do this with a router rotated around a pivot point. I have a 6mm MDF false base on one of my routers into which I drill a hole for a pivot pin. You just drill a new hole for each new diameter of circle you need.

You would need to fix the waste part (the core from the hole) to the main body of material so that the centre point stays in place, even after you have cut right through. I do this with double sided tape and stick another bit of MDF on the bottom to hold the core in place.

Ed

 

[Marcel]

Thank you all very much for your input.

Yesterday ( Sunday ), a quick look in the inventory learned that I didn't have MDF scrap, nor didn't I have double sided tape and my expanding bit goes only until 45 mm, and not 76 as needed.

So, with all the input given and the materials at hand I first tried to cut a 76 mm hole in a piece of plywood with a jigsaw. Several attempts learned me that I'm not able to cut a perfect round hole.

So I made a male plug on the lathe, and used that tho route a perfect ( well almost ) 76 mm hole in a piece of plywood. That piece I used to route the hole for the collar.

Now I can use my expanding bit to make the 45 mm hole and insert the coller complete.
And yes, the collar is just under flush with the bench surface :shock:

As soon as I'm done I'll post the final pic.

 

[Harbo]

I did this many years ago fitting a couple of them to my Workmate (original type).
I am pretty sure I used a holesaw which you can still get in 73mm diameter?

Rod

 

[Marcel]

I have been in all the shops in my area ( I do live far away from a major city ) but there was no holesaw in that diameter. It would also be a tad to little.

but.. at last.. Victory!!!

Thank you all for helping me with this. Btw, I am amazed how strong this thing is.
Now I only have to open a bottle of wine and use the cork to make a kind of pad to prevent holding marks.

What to do with the wine?? :roll:

 

[Evergreen]

Mac

That looks perfect now, as if it's always been there.

I used to have a Record holdfast some years ago and it was very versatile for such a simple tool. You'll find that you need to get the height of the stem just right for each job or whatever you are clamping will shift slightly as you tighten the grip.

 

[Marcel]

Evergreen,

Thank you for the tip, I'll keep that i mind.

 

[bugbear]

When I fitted mine, the wide, shallow upper hole was created using a washer cutter (in a brace) and a hand router (OWT style).

The washer cutter scribes a coupla' mm deep, the router removes the waste, repeat till deep enough.

I suppose this sort of emulates a normal (brace) drill bit.

BugBear

 

[Marcel]

Bugbear,

I don't have neither tool you describe.... Otherwise this would have been the smartest, and quickest solution.

Anyone have an OTW style hand router for sale ??

Thank you

 

[bugbear]

Bugbear,

I don't have neither tool you describe.... Otherwise this would have been the smartest, and quickest solution.

Anyone have an OTW style hand router for sale ??

Thank you

Any hand router would serve, I think.

BugBear (with "some" hand routers")

 

[Marcel]

Forgive my ignorance, but what does OWT actually mean?

I have looked in my rather extensive dictionary but there is no mentioning of the word.
Or is it an abbravation?

Thank you,

Mac ( who'll hopefully will acquire one handheld router this year )

 

[pedder]

Old Woman's Tooth

:lol: :lol:

 

[Marcel]

Of course..... Silly me, why didn't I think of that :shock:

Thank you for explaining, I'd never come up with that..

Very nice tool BTW. Who made it?


Mac

 

[bugbear]

Of course..... Silly me, why didn't I think of that :shock:

Thank you for explaining, I'd never come up with that..

Very nice tool BTW. Who made it?


Mac

The lovely tool Pedder illustrates is more like a "modern" hand router, since it has a cranked cutter. I think the maker is ECE, although German tools have such a strong heritage, the brands are hard to tell apart.

The classic OWT is simply an iron (often a nearly used up plough iron, sometimes a sawn off chisel) in a wooden body, held by a wedge.

http://www.leevalley.com/newsletters/Wo ... ection.htm

BugBear

 

[pedder]

I took the first picture that came up my mind. The maker is ECE but it seems to be the same pattern as the old Ulmias.

FYI Veritas calls both types OWT.

http://www.leevalley.com/newsletters/Woodworking/3/4/collection2.htm

Cheers Pedder

 

[Alf]

Homemade Router Plane article, if anyone fancies to make one.

Oh, and nice job, Mac.

 

[pedder]

doubleentry