Odd Pin Block

[Ron Nossaman]

> Ron,
> 
> I'm trying to define a drilling procedure  which will allow the use of full
> thickness Delignit blocks. 
> 
> As someone who has used way more old growth timber in his career
> than he really would have liked,a pinblock situation seems to me to
> be a prime situation where the use an engineered product, like Delignit, 
> could be used to excellent effect...relatively inexpensively to boot...if only
> the machining aspect can be addressed.   
> 
> I drill on a stationary press with a fixture that my machinist put me on to. 
> Its a simple shop made fixture (not pretty) ,clamped to the drill press' main support shaft.
> The fixture holds a removable drill bit bushing which is centered under the bit.  
> That means that the bit is supported and stabilized in a very rigid fashion right up 
> close and personal to the stock. This stabilizes the bit's tendency to wander and 
> gets around any quill travel/clearance issues. (sorry, no digital camera yet!)
> 
> So far I've only used this rig to redrill for vertical hitchpins, with very clean and accurate results.
> In cast iron I did 2 pass drilling, changing for each hole bits...a bit of a pain, but it was cast iron.
> 
> I haven't used it on a block yet, so I'm chewing on the preceedure.     
> 
> Jim I

I went to two pass drilling specifically for Delignit, way 
back when I initially abandoned the multilam block for the 
Delignit and wasn't happy with single pass results. The quill 
on my worn out old radial is as sloppy as they come, and I'm 
at least half convinced that the slop helps the second pass 
center in the hole easier with either the Delignit, or my 
current hybrid block, and enhances precision.

Whatever the theory, the results say this works better than 
anything else I've tried.
Ron N