Anyone in The Nashville area have a drill press?

[SRT80]

Wondering if there is a member here in the nashville area who has a drill press and would be willing to do 1 drill hole for me?

I'm in the process of makin' my own peg leg (like atomic endpin on doublebasschat) for my bass. I picked up a early american chair leg that works great. It cost a little over $2 for the leg.

I tried drilling a hole with a hand drill, but I couldn't get it straight. So my metal rod is not perfectly straight. Seems like a drill press would be the best way to do this.

Like I said, I just need 1 hole drilled. I'm gonna pick up another leg today on my way home from work. Would probably need a 1/2" hole for the 3/8" shaft to be able to put enough epoxy around I would think?

If anyone is willing, I will pay a little cash for the job.

Thanks,
Steve

[1st Bass]

Take it to a local highschool woodshop-- the instructor will very likely do it for nothing, as an opportunity to demonstrate to his students how to solve a practical problem.

BTW, I think you would do better to chuck that up in a lathe, to center-drill it, than a drill press. But I'm not an expert woodworker. I do OK on fiddles, but woodshop machinery and I do not always have a good relationship. :-) Lack of education, doubtless.

[George700DL]

Originally Posted by 1st Bass

Take it to a local highschool woodshop-- the instructor will very likely do it for nothing, as an opportunity to demonstrate to his students how to solve a practical problem.

BTW, I think you would do better to chuck that up in a lathe, to center-drill it, than a drill press. But I'm not an expert woodworker. I do OK on fiddles, but woodshop machinery and I do not always have a good relationship. :-) Lack of education, doubtless.

I think chances are much better on a drill press, if I understand the task correctly. I found the drill bit much more likely to wander off center when boring on a lathe (implying the leg spinning and the bit fixed), unless you have a steady rest. I made one from some scraps and skateboard wheels, but I still find it sketchy.

Here is how I drilled a perfectly-centered hole in the end of a bow:

George

[SRT80]

I think the drill press with vice is the way to go too. The only problem I'm runnin' into is I'm so tall. Right at 6'5". I need a 10" peg leg. I can't fint a 10" leg in the smaller bench drill presses. I found one locally for $45. Thought it would be a good investment, but it won't do the job I need.

The taller drill presses are just too much.

Steve

[moles]

Why do you need to drill all the way through? When I make mine, I go maybe 1 1/2" in and as long as you notch the end of the rod, the epoxy holds fairly well.

[George700DL]

Originally Posted by SRT80

I think the drill press with vice is the way to go too. The only problem I'm runnin' into is I'm so tall. Right at 6'5". I need a 10" peg leg. I can't fint a 10" leg in the smaller bench drill presses. I found one locally for $45. Thought it would be a good investment, but it won't do the job I need.

The taller drill presses are just too much.

Steve

You may not necessarily need a tall drill press for this - there are workarounds. The one I'm using above is a 10" Delta, benchtop, for about $100. Sometimes you gotta get creative with limited tools.

George

[SRT80]

Originally Posted by moles

Why do you need to drill all the way through? When I make mine, I go maybe 1 1/2" in and as long as you notch the end of the rod, the epoxy holds fairly well.

What I mean is, the 10" leg is too tall. It wont stand up straight under the drill to drill a hole down the center. Yea, the hole itself only needs to be a couple in" deep.

I'm not sure how I could make it work. The drill press I was lookin' at is a 8" press.

Steve

[moles]

Ah, gotcha

[bigolbassguy]

A doweling jig and a vise would probably do the trick, as long you take your time.

[1st Bass]

You were looking for a drill press. Virtually every high school and community college not only has the tools you need, they usually have a staff that is pretty friendly, and knowledgeable, hence helpful.

The one here in my town, you can pay ten bucks and go in and use all their equipment for an evening, as part of a community extended education thing for adults. It is supervised and staffed by an expert woodworker, who helped me bookmatch my bass top, and allowed me to use their huge bandsaws, before my son bought one. Other people built furniture, playhouses, etc. ... I built a bass.

It can't hurt to ask...

[Jake deVilliers]

That's a great point Chet - a high school workshop (if your school still has one) can be a tremendous resource for someone looking to borrow machinery. Most of the gear is pretty heavy duty and if you can get the instructor interested...

[robobass]

Is the chair leg cylindrical? If so it should take only seconds to do it on a metalworking lathe. If it has a contour then you'll have to make some sort of jig and use a large drill press.