Woodworking Tips Index

Drilling Centered Holes in Dowels Drilling a hole is usually a simple task. But when it comes to drilling a centered hole in the end of a round workpiece, it's easy to be just a hair off. So I came up with this easy technique to center the holes perfectly, as in the photo. Start by clamping a scrap to the table of the drill press, as shown in Fig. 1. Then drill a counterbored hole to match the diameter of the dowel (mine were 3/4"-dia.). This way, when you slip the dowel into the counterbore, it's perfectly centered under the tip of the drill bit. After installing a smaller drill bit, it's a simple matter to drill a hole through the dowel, as you can see in Fig. 2. Note:To keep the dowel from spinning, clamp a handscrew around it to hold it in place. Have a nice weekend, Phillip Huber Online Editor, ShopNotes