Improved Drill Guide
Drill guides are becoming more popular these days, and with good reason. However, they all share one slight but common and annoying flaw. With their small bases, they tend to tip over easily, which invariably moves the bit and possibly ruins the cut.
To solve this, I added the base and step you can see below. This brand of drill guide already has four holes tapped and threaded to accommodate 1⁄4"-20 screws, making it an easy addition. The base adds a great deal of stability, preventing any tipping.
In addition to the base, I also added a step to the rear of this add-on. This serves two functions. The first is a deeper V-groove, which allows me to drill through dowels usually too large for the guide. Second, a few holes drilled in the back offer storage: two holes to hold the guide rods and a third for the key for the chuck. A slight chamfer on these made with a countersink bit helps make it easy to quickly slot the rods and key in place. -Hermie Tolerba, Sugar Land, TX
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| The additional platform and step provide greater surface area for more stable drilling. | A V-groove in the step allows the carriage to be reversed when drilling larger dowels. |
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| Three holes on the step offer storage. Here one holds the key and two hold the guide rods. | With this drill guide, 1⁄4"-20 screws secure the base using the guide rod holes. |
