Cross drill jig.

[John Stevenson]

Reading Mcgyvers post about cross drilling and not wanting to hi jack it I started this one.

Years ago when I wanted to do cross drilling I'd take a block of bright stock, drill a hole in the side for the pin/bar etc and then a cross hole thru the top for the other hole.

Position on stepped pins like cotters were controlled by washers, the rest guestimates. All very crude but it worked for a limited number of sizes, limited by how many blocks you had made

Later on I spotted this Swiss gismo at an auction, in a wooden box, missing a few sleeves and the front of the box.
I think I paid £70 or £80 for it, can't quite remember now but it was around this figure.



It holds the sleeves in the top of the holder and these are dead centre with the vee block below.
The vee block can rise and fall on a course thread to trap the part under the sleeve.
The slide bars can extend to the left to support the work and the length stop can be moved to the right as a stop.

The sleeves in this case are stubs of 16mm silver steel or drill rod than can be made up as needed for special sizes, that's what the blanks are for.

Easy to use for a one off and for repetition work.
There must be other designs out there as well, anyone want to share ?

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[Leigh]

Hi John,

That's a very nice piece. I've never seen one like it.

I usually use drill bushings (aka drill jig bushings) and make up a jig as needed. Mine tend to be on the smallish side (1/16" to 1/8" drills), which doesn't give me much tool length for a fixture.

[JCHannum]

John's fixture is made by Regulus. It is Swiss made and still available apparently as they do have a web site.

I got mine a few months ago for $40.00. It is not quite as tatty as John's.

It is a beautifully made Swiss instrument. The round slide rails have verniers on them for precise positioning. Mine has several more attachments, including a flat table for small flat work with a vernier for positioning the work and the gravity circular level pictured. It can be clamped to the work and used to position the work and drill holes angular to each other.

I saw another very similar US made in another auction shortly that sold for quite a bit more. They are used by tool & die makers for jig boring. I do not recall the manufacturer's name of that one.

[John Stevenson]

Originally Posted by JCHannum

John's fixture is made by Regulus. It is Swiss made and still available apparently as they do have a web site.

I got mine a few months ago for $40.00. It is not quite as tatty as John's.

Hey that's not tatty it's used
Anyway I have more pilots than you

Thanks I didn't know it was still made or there were extra's for it.
I haven't needed them just using it on the drill and mill for cross holes but it does get used a lot.

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[JCHannum]

Mine has bushings from 1/16" -1/2" by 32's. That is adequate for most work. Others are easily made.

Here is the website clicking on the jig picture doesn't seem to work for me, but poking around might turn up some information;
http://www.reglus.ch/

I doubt the accessories will be as economical as our original purchases.

[John Stevenson]

Here you are JC, loads of bits for them but I can't get the buy it now page to load, probably a good job

http://www.reglus.ch/Englisch/BV-3-englisch.html

Looks like two models 0 -13mm and 0 - 22 mm.
Most of my pilots are weird ones and in metric but useful, 3.3mm and 4.2mm would be useless to you but for me they are metric tapping sizes.


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[Millman]

Those are real lifesavers, but you know what? You guys are spending WAY too much money! Every home shop could use one; but you guys spend WAY too much money on those kind of toys. By the way, did I mention spending WAY too much money on your toys?

[JCHannum]

Millman, if you buy it to use, it is a tool, not a toy. If you buy it to resell, it is merchandise.

If it saves scrapping or having to rework a valuable part due to a misdrilled hole, the few dollars spent will be easily justified.

I buy for resale. If I get something unique such as this, I will keep it for a while to see if it is worth it for me to keep. If not, it is passed on.

I suspect John operates under much the same principle.

That does presume either of us has any principles at all left.

[Millman]

JC, sometimes you just take me too seriously. I did have a smilie face!

[John Stevenson]

Originally Posted by Millman

Those are real lifesavers, but you know what? You guys are spending WAY too much money! Every home shop could use one; but you guys spend WAY too much money on those kind of toys. By the way, did I mention spending WAY too much money on your toys?

Millman,
Repeat after me:-
You cannot spend too much money on toys.

Again.

Now go and lie down in a darkened room and have a swift rub over with a damp copy of Exchange and Mart.

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