We make a jig for drilling holes with our own hands

Precise drilling used to assemble metal, wood and other parts with each other is a guarantee that the product will be of high quality, without gaps, strong and will serve with full efficiency for a long time. In the case of drilling MDF, OSB, chipboard, chipboard and other materials, it is advisable to practice a jig to create holes in order to get good results. With the help of such equipment, the manufacturer gets rid of the following problems: marking, punching (dotted indentations in the material for the cutting tool), drilling in compliance with the vertical position of the cutting tool.

To create a device, the first step is to decide on the tasks that it will perform. Accordingly, the necessary material is selected from which the furniture conductor will be made. The most durable, proven device is a metal device.

Of key importance when creating a fixture is strict calculation of the location of the holes on the part. You can borrow a ready-made scheme or do it yourself. The latter method is better, since the dimensions in the drawings must meet the tasks to be solved.

From the toolkit you will need:

• electric drill;
• grinder or jigsaw;
• a set of locksmith tools;
• clamps;
• yew.

Instead of metal, you can use materials that are of low cost and are very easy to process:

• plywood;
• fiberglass or textolite - thick is better;
• hardwood;
• Fiberboard (another name is hardboard) or its analogue.

A homemade template should contain drawings and markings, especially often found in a home environment on pieces of furniture and other places.

First, let's take a look at the procedure for making a metal conductor for Euro screws. This fastening element is especially often used when assembling furniture.

• A piece of the required length is cut from a square metal bar (10x10 millimeters) using a grinder... Its end surfaces are aligned with a file and deburred. Edges and corners can be rounded for convenience and safety of use.
• The workpiece is marked for holes... Their centers should be at a distance of 8 millimeters from the side edge (chipboard thickness - 16 millimeters). From the end and between the holes, there should be 32 millimeters, in accordance with the generally recognized system of furniture fasteners. For marking, you can use a caliper or a carpenter's corner. It is preferable to make marks on the part with a pointed awl. You can use a hammer and a core to make indentations for the initial installation of the drill. The most important thing when drilling holes is to prevent the drill from moving and to execute them strictly at right angles.
• 5mm drill make holes.
• For the manufacture of an emphasis it is necessary to cut a piece of the required length from the iron plate (1x25 millimeters).
• Process edges sandpaper.
• Clutching in a vice bend the workpiece at an angle of 90 °. Fold the elements by connecting them coaxially.
• Fasten the blanks in this position by means of a clamp.
• From the side of the plate make holes along the length of the device and in the end face corresponding to the size of the bolt... Cut the threads and connect the parts tightly.
• Cut off excess thrust plate, process the edges.

If you are making furniture using non-standard panels, then you will need a universal fixture.

Applicable materials: a piece of plywood of 15-18 millimeters, a tube with thin walls corresponding to the diameter of the drill, several dowels (tenons) and a steel bar for the polygon's shoulders.

• We make 3 identical elements: in the center there is a hole with a tube pressed into it; from the bottom, thrust legs made of spikes are symmetrically placed. The most important thing is that all 3 components are completely identical.
• From metal we cut 3 identical arms with symmetrically located holes. Actually, they determine the evenness of the holes in the fixture. We cut out grooves in 3 parts and combine them with metal shoulders. The device functions no worse than the factory one at almost zero cost.

To create a conductor, you need to take a bar with a size of 80x45x45 millimeters.

• Measure 15 millimeters on the workpiece on each side, mark and drill 2 holes with a diameter of 10 millimeters in the marked places.
• Then we take a stainless steel tube with an outer diameter of 10 millimeters and an inner diameter of 8 millimeters and cut off 2 blanks from it length of approximately 8.5-9 millimeters.
• Hammer press the tubes into the pre-drilled holes on the timber. For better adhesion of wood and metal, it is necessary to lubricate the pipes with a small amount of epoxy.
• The device now follows cut with an electric jigsaw at an angle of 75 °.
• To make the cut perfectly smoothed, we grind it on an emery machine.
• At the final stage cut the jig from the other edge so that it can be fixed to the surface to be drilled.

To create a device yourself, you need a template.

When the blueprint is ready, you can start manufacturing.

• The elements are cut from plexiglass, sanded boards, plywood or MDF. The first element is a 380x190 mm rectangle.
• On smaller edges, parts are made 6 holes, 3 on each edge... An equal distance is maintained between the holes in relation to each other, as well as the middle of the rectangle.
• In the center of a rectangular part cut out a window of 135x70 millimeters.
• The stopper is made from a piece of lath, fixing a bar to one end. It is attached to the part with self-tapping screws.
• To change the size of the window, 2 rectangular pieces 130x70 mm are cut out. For the most part, 2 cuts are made, between which they maintain a distance of 70 millimeters. The overlays are attached to the smaller sides of the slab with a window.
• One overlay is cut out in a larger size - 375x70 millimeters. 2 cuts are performed for the most part, between which they maintain a distance of 300 millimeters. The workpiece is attached to most of the rectangle with a window.
• All elements are ready... It remains to assemble the device by means of screws. The overlays are used to adjust the size of the window.

To make the device, you will need a hardwood lumber, loosened along, and a piece of plywood.

• We fix the plywood to the end of the timber with self-tapping screws.
• After drilling holes of a suitable diameter in the bar.
• The conductor is prepared for work... To reduce the punching of holes, it can be reinforced with iron sleeves made of round tubes of various diameters.

When carrying out all actions with the conductor, observe safety precautions as much as possible. In particular, wear protective clothing, goggles and gloves.

See below for how the hole drilling jig looks like.