Hole Drilling Jig for Woodworking

Hole Drilling Jig

Recently, I made a cribbage board and needed a way to accurately drill the several rows of holes. I solved this problem by building a jig with a micro-adjustment feature for the drill press.

I began by cutting a 3/4" plywood base and then adding a hardwood fence along one side (see drawing). The fence ensures that all the holes will be in a line. The adjustment mechanism consists of a narrow "screw" block and a length of threaded rod.

First, cut the block to size and then drill a hole through the width near one end. A 1/4"-20 threaded insert is then installed as shown in detail 'a'. I chamfered the front edge and then screwed the block to the base.

Next, I cut a length of 1/4" threaded rod and epoxied a small crank to one end. The threaded rod can then be inserted into the screw block as shown in the drawing above.

To use the jig, first clamp it to the table of the drill press. Position your workpiece for the first hole and "snug" the threaded rod up to it. After drilling the initial hole, you can "crank" the workpiece to the next position. Every five turns of the crank will advance the workpiece 1/4".

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