Drilling The Mortise On A Moulding Plane Accurately & Efficiently By Hand

I am really excited to be sharing this method of drilling. I know I started this subject a while back on drilling by hand with a bit and brace but I never followed up on the rest of the process. The reason is, frankly, I have struggled a bit with doing this part with absolute confidence every time I approached it. Now though I have been using a new approach that has changed all that. Heres how it goes. Warning- This is a bit of a long post but it is worth it.

First off, out with the bit brace and in with the cordless drill. I know, I know but once you see the results, and I guarantee they are worth it, then you can try this with a bit brace if you want. I love my bit brace but until I find some bits that are long enough, thin enough and don't break then I am going to stick with my new method.

In fact what prompted this new method is that one of the tiny Japanese auger bits I used to drill the mortises broke. I order these from a German supplier and shipping, etc. is a real pain in the wallet. I wanted something simpler.

So then, you will need some long thin drill bits. More on where to source these at the end of the post. Lets get to the process.

The key to making this who process so simple and elegant is a drilling jig. Trust me this isn't cheesy. Whats cool is that you likely already have this jig if you make moulding planes. It is the saw guide jig. This guides your saw as you cut the bed and breast angles. Below is the jig on the plane billet. (Billet has been sawn and waste from escapement chopped away already)

Moulding plane saw guide in place

So this is how it began... I came down to the shop on one weekend before getting ready to do a big order and as I had just broken a tiny auger bit recently I was pondering a new way to get the job done. I was even considering doing the efficient approach Matt Bickford uses with the drill press. Nothing wrong with this method at all. In fact, I had already ordered some long thin drill bits just for giving this method a try. However, If you know me though, I hate to set up any kind of machine or jig. I use them only when it is the most efficient method and only when any other way is just frustrating. As I have said before, I am just too lazy to set up a jig if I don't really really have too. I promise this is not a purist notion it really is just me being lazy.

So, I was thinking about how to make the jigs work on my drill press when my new method just jumped out at me. I though, why not just flip the saw guide around to the top of the billet and then use it as a drilling guide. All that was missing was the other angle for the "lean" of the blade in the plane. 

In practice you will align the jig with your drilling location so that you can just rest your drill lightly against the jig to maintain the correct angle. This takes care of the bed and breast angles.

I figured that the "lean" angle could simply be drawn on the end of the jig and I could just approximate the angle by judging the gap between my drill bit and the drawn line. 

Use the same process on both the bed and breast angles. Then, depending on the # size of plane you are drilling, you will do as many as one or two additional holes between the bed and breast holes.

These above ones are #2s and the ones below are #4s. I always do four holes for the #2 and three holes for the #4. The center holes are just approximated but I still use the lean angles on the jig to keep that on track. 

You will want to start with some very shallow pilot holes. Just deep enough to get the bit started at a steep angle. I do this before placing the jig on the billet. Start the drill bit at 90˚ to the top and then swinging the dill to the approximate drilling angle. It helps to place the billet in the tail vise with the mortise being vertical. It is easier to approximate vertical then any other random angle. I don't try to actually apply any down pressure but just attempt to get the hole started in the right direction. You can see a "pilot" hole on the #4 plane below.

Once all of the holes are drilled then you are ready to remove the very little waste remaining. Before you start this next part it is a good idea to go back and carefully "redrill" the holes to pull any shavings out. Be careful since you can easily drill into the bed or breast. 

Now, Start at the top and just nibble your way down until you can't remove any more waste. Take little bites and clear every little nibble out so that it doesn't remain in the mortise. Hand pressure is all you need here.

Once you can't remove anymore waste then you are ready to mortise straight down the bed and breast angle. Again, take light blows and alternate from bed to breast until you are through. As long as you can get a float into the mortise and start clearing things out you are done. It is easy to get really stuck so do as little as is needed in this position.

By the way if you have never made a plane then the video from Old Street Tools is the one to get. It will make this post more understandable. Larry Williams and Lie-Nielsen did a fantastic job on explaining how to make a pair of hollow and round moulding planes. Get it if you don't have it.

The crucial tool to make this possible is the long thin drill bits. You will need to special order these very likely. I want to mention that Bill Anderson who teaches at The Woodwrights School emailed me a while back and turned me on to this source. Thanks Bill! 

Above is a photo of the list of drill bits I own from McMaster-Carr just for drilling these holes. I primarily use the smaller bits since those are the hardest to find that are long enough.

You will still need to grind these into a brad point bit. It isn't really hard but it is intimidating if you have never done it.  Peter Galbert taught me this method and he has two great posts on his blog from years ago on how to do it. Post #1 & #2. If I where you, I would practice on some used up bits you have lying around. Don't be intimidated. Give it a try and you will feel empowered and surprised at what a little know how can do for you. No need to buy those expensive HSS brad points when you can grind your own. 

After all is said and done I just like how so many people can have an effect on how we personally reach an efficient and accurate way to our work. 

Keep sharing!

How to Drill the Mortise on a Moulding / Molding Plane

UPDATE: SEE MY NEW METHOD HERE!

That title should probably be "What to use to drill a mortise on a moulding plane" but the "how to" must start out with the right tool. The wide mortises are easy. There are several different options to choose from in a typical shop but what about those really narrow mortises. Like the number one to four sizes. Basically anything 3/16" and under.

I have done the gimlet bit thing. They are great if you can first of all find the narrow ones and they are not all beat up and crooked and dull. That is difficult to find and I never found a narrow one that cut correctly as is. If you do find them they have many times been attempted to be cleaned up to make look nice for sale on eBay and thus dulled even further or someone tried to sharpen them and might as well have ruined it. I wish they were easy to sharpen but it is about as hard to sharpen as is sharpening a spoon bit. Once they are messed with too much in the wrong way then it is a nightmare to get them back to right. Well, at least it is for me.

So now that I have scared you off from trying to drill your mortise with a gimlet (sorry) let me tell you what I use.

I stumbled upon these little auger bits made in Japan by Star-M. They are a real jewel. Unlike a gimlet bit you don't have to constantly remove them from the hole to clear the shavings expect right near the very end. They cut through at the bottom cleanly. Once you get them tracking straight they will keep on that path. That is a plus but also a downside where as the gimlet lets you steer them if you need to correct your path. But on the other hand that is the downside to a gimlet. You have to constantly keep them on course. They tend to drift if left to their own. They also will over heat easily and dull or even suddenly break off in the mortise which has happened to me. Ouch!

Ok so where to buy these little guys. I bought mine from a supplier in Germany. www.fine-tools.com. They are reasonably price but the shipping is costly, as you would expect. They sell a small bit brace that fits the hex shanked bits that I use. It is decent but I am going to make one eventually that is more suited to me. Of course you can use your standard two jaw brace and use an adapter or these bits can be used in a power drill, according to the manufacturer. I have not tried this myself.

I use the 3mm for the smallest wedges, the 4mm and 5mm for most everything else. If I had to suggest one it would be the 4mm since it tends to be one that I use the most.

Hope that helps you out in making those narrow mortises!

Drilling Angles - Without A Calculator

In chair making there are all kinds of angles to deal with. I never just use one method for every task. It would be great if I could but considering the pieces I want to make it just requires a variety of approaches.

With windsor chairs we often talk about angles such as splay, rake, sighting, and resultant. Figuring these is often done with a trigonometry chart or some similar method to take our splay and rake and make a sighting and resultant angle to simplify drilling. This works well because we have a nice center line to use as a reference and everything can relate to that. However what do you do when you start to throw in some odd lay outs that don't relate well to that set up.  

Consider the three legged candle stand that I have pictured Above. First there is no common center reference line that all the legs would share that would give you one convenient sighting and resultant angel. That is easily simplified by just sharing a common resultant angle and then drilling them every 120˚ in relation to one another, moving around the center point of the table top. 

The harder part is figuring the stretchers that are tipped down in one direction and up in the opposite, as well as, being 60˚ in relation to each other and entering the legs that are at a resultant angle of 6.5˚ sighted from the center of the table top. This can make you start scratching your head as to how you will figure these angles and then drill them accurately. Well, it is time to put the calculator down, the angle gage, protractor, or whatever it is that you might think to use in this instance, and just use some practical thinking.

First, I know that, in the simplest therms, I simply want to drill a hole in one leg that is in line with another hole on an opposite leg. In other words to go from point A to point B, whatever that angle might be in relation to anything else. So then, why not just drill from point A to point B. Let me show you how I do just that, rather than take my measurement, disassemble things, and then drill, only to put it all back together again.

Below I show the two points I want to connect.

Second, I know that in order to do that I need to keep everything lined up just as it will be in its final constructed position. Since my top is so thin and doesn't have enough surface within the joint to hold the leg at the correct angel while applying pressure from drilling, I constructed this base, pictured below, that will keep all the legs at the point where they are intended to be placed at the floor. There are holes drilled at the proper locations and the end of the legs are placed in those holes. (I wouldn't do this, if drilling for a typical chair leg, since the seat is thick enough to hold the leg at the correct angle while I drill.)

Third, I need to make sure that all my legs are at 90˚when sighted 120˚, relative to one another from my center point, to confirm that my resultant angles for all legs will be what I intended. I do this by checking all three legs like I show in the photo below. Now comes the drilling!

I didn't have anyone to take a shot of me doing the drilling so, in the photo below, I simply show the drill bit in the leg after drilling to show how I line the shaft of the bit to correspond with one hole location while drilling into the opposite hole location. Ok, but you say, that my hole is not in line with the other hole, it is offset to the outside of the leg. This is simply brought into line by turning the leg a few degrees to line it up. This is not a problem if you are doing something like a side stretcher for an H pattern undercarriage. Since only one stretcher enters each leg then you can turn it a few degrees and everything is in line. But this case is different since we have two stretchers entering each leg. Take a look at the next photo.

Notice that when drilling the lower hole on the same leg I simply drill with my shaft on the inside of the opposite leg, rather than from the outside, thus offsetting it in the same direction. Now that both holes are drilled proceed with turning the leg a few degrees and the holes line up.

If you want to keep all the growth rings in perfect orientation to the table top or seat then simple turn the leg a few degrees prior to drilling so it will fall back in place after everything is assembled.

So, there you have it. Drilling angles without complex calculations. I hope this helps you expand your design possibilities.  

Remember when drilling to let the drill do the work. A light touch and a little practice will make drilling this way quite successful. If you grind your own drill bits, then use a shallow relief angle brad point which will make your dill bit less aggressive, aiding in control while using one hand. If you need some advice on drill grinding, check out Peter Galbert's blog post here. A must see. 

Enjoi!

Drilling - A View From The Top

When it comes to working in the shop, I am not a die hard fan of any one method for every application. For example, it is easy enough to do all my drilling for a seat with just a battery powered hand drill. But I have been known to use my drill press and an adjustable angle jig to drill critical spindle holes for referencing an arm bow for a continuous arm chair. On the other hand, I drill many holes with a bit and brace. For instance the leg holes and the arm post holes. I love the set up that I starting use for this that I will show below. I have learned that really as much as I like the hard work in making things with muscle power, I am lazy. I mean, as long as I am not compromising quality, I will take the easiest route to complete a task. As much as I admire the set ups used by Pete Galbert, like his mirror and bevel gage combination, which work super accurately, I tend to just grab my tools and start going at it. I dislike setting up things. So when I got this extension for my bit brace I suddenly knew I was going to be drilling differently. 

This extension allows me to set my angle gage, place it next to my sighting line and not have to move it while drilling or looking over at it from the side to see if it lines up. Look at how I sight up to drill in the next two photos. 

Above, I just keep the shaft of my extension in line with the gage and it is dead on. Since I am so far above it that is easy to do and of course it is nice and close to the drill shaft which is usually not a possibility. An added advantage is that the additional length on both the gage and the drill add to the accuracy, where as, the shorter angle gages and drill bits don't show discrepancy between the two as dramatically. 

Here I am looking down the sighting line in order to keep it 90˚ to my resultant angle. (Not sure if that is technically the accurate way to say it but you get my drift) This again works well because of the long shaft. Aiming this is a bit different than the other angle but does well once you get the sense of it. Just keep the shaft pointing down the line. It will be dead on as long as you are aiming while the square is on the line as well.

Below, the results speak for themselves. Here is an arm post hole, with a dummy place in the hole for reference, that was drilled and you can see it is dead on in both planes. The nice thing really is that you can drill all in one go without stopping. No stopping and checking your progress or worse yet asking someone to watch you as you drill to keep you in line.

As a note, the seat blank is set up about 11" off the floor while drilling. I have a cross bar on my bench at that height to support one end and a stool for the other. A clamp keeps everything from shifting.

Well, I love this method. Maybe you will too, maybe not. By the way, there really is no reason you couldn't try this with a battery powered drill and an extension. Give it a whirl! (Pun intended) 

If I get around to it, I will show you my even lazier way of drilling for my stretchers. It doesn't require the use of an angle gage, which is a plus.