# Drill Press indexing Jig



## jttheclockman (Dec 19, 2018)

This question is for the machinist nerds or people who like to make jigs of all kinds. yes that could be you Skip.

I want to set up an indexing wheel system for drilling holes on my drill press. But I want to be able to do this on 2 different planes if that makes sense. One on the flat and also on edge. This is for a project unrelated to pens but the same idea is possible. Want to be able to set a round pipe in a fixed jig laying flat. I want to be able to drill holes in it on line at equal spacing all around the pipe, (thus the indexing wheel) and then be able to move down and repeat the process. Something sort of like a perforated drain pipe. 

Now everyone will say do it on the lathe, well the pipe is 4" in diameter and will be quite long. Longer than my lathe ability. I can probably make something from wood scraps and incorporate a hand drill but the idea of a drill press would be more efficient. 

So my question is do you know of an indexing wheel system that can be adapted for a drill press that is commercial. Maybe something used in the milling or metal working field??? Would save me some time from building a jig from wood.


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## Woodchipper (Dec 19, 2018)

I made a chuck for turning fishing rods to dry the thread epoxy. I measured the circumference of the PVC pipe and found that it divided into four sections, exactly. Drilled and tapped four holes. I think my pipe was three inch diameter.


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## Ed McDonnell (Dec 19, 2018)

Sounds like a dividing head with a tailstock might meet your needs.  I didn't understand the 2 plane requirement.  Drilling along the pipe and then turn it vertical to drill on the end of the pipe?  If you need to flip the pipe vertical, a tilting rotary table might do what you want.  You would still want a tailstock for holding the pipe horizontal.  

You would probably be looking at $200 - $300 minimum for commercial components.  If that busts your budget, you could get a lathe indexing plate for $30 - $60, a piece of threaded rod to match your lathe chuck and cobble something together to work on your drill press.  

Good luck!

Ed


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## More4dan (Dec 19, 2018)

Not exactly sure what you are trying to do but I’m thinking you might be able to use a V block to support the pipe and find a way to attach and angle finder to the pipe to allow fixed rotation. 

A tilting rotors table would give you the best accuracy but to hold 4” material will be very expensive. 

Or you could use an indexing head on a lathe just to mark the material for drilling. 


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## skiprat (Dec 19, 2018)

JT, check out the fourth pic in the 6th post of this thread.
All it is, is a 3 inch rotary table with a collet chuck, mounted on a bit of angle iron and a small tailstock. The collet chuck can be swapped for a regular 3 jaw and the angle iron can be any length you want.  
Is this what you want?


Sorry, I meant Channel iron, not angle iron


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## Curly (Dec 19, 2018)

5C Index is an alternative to a rotary table. There are a variety of collets and some small chucks for them. You can rig up a centre for the other end if you need the support.

https://www.shars.com/products/workholding/collet-fixtures/5c-spin-index-fixture

If your lathe has an index that has the divisions you need can you position the DP over the lathe to drill the holes?


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## dogcatcher (Dec 19, 2018)

Build a small lathe with an indexing head and add a tilting table vise to hold it.  It can be a simple lathe are as complicated as the indexing feature that Sherline sells.  https://www.sherline.com/product/3200-indexing-attachment/

Tilting table vise.  5" Tilting/Swiveling Milling Vise | Grizzly Industrial

Those 2 pieces will set you back almost $500, but I used a homemade lathe with an indexing feature using maple scraps.  The tilting vise can be found cheaper or you can cut angle pieces of wood to create specific angles for nothing.


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## jttheclockman (Dec 19, 2018)

Curly said:


> 5C Index is an alternative to a rotary table. There are a variety of collets and some small chucks for them. You can rig up a centre for the other end if you need the support.
> 
> https://www.shars.com/products/workholding/collet-fixtures/5c-spin-index-fixture
> 
> If your lathe has an index that has the divisions you need can you position the DP over the lathe to drill the holes?



There are some good ideas here. 

Pete I looked at those. Do you think they can index 360 degrees??/

The idea of using my indexing wheel in construction is good but so is using the lathe as the indexing feature and just chuck a rod off to spin some sort of rack to hold the pipe as I drill with drill press.

Skip I got a hernia just looking at that thing. My idea with both planes is I need to drill holes along the length of a pipe in 360 degrees space between each row to be determined. Then I need to be able to drill holes in a plate 360 degrees around evenly spaced. Hope that makes sense. 

As of right now this whole job is on spec and the person who I am talking to is wavering and trying to think of another alternative for what he is after. I am trying to be prepared in case it is a go and I can sound like I know what the heck I am talking about. Yea I know there is a first time for everything.:biggrin::biggrin:


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## Curly (Dec 19, 2018)

John the spin index does 360. There are 36 holes in the shaft and 10 in the body for a total of 360. You count holes and move the pin. You can do any number of holes that evenly divide into 360. Those like 7, 11, 13, 17 and so on don’t divide so they are out. I have one. 

Rotary tables can do more because they are able to go to finer divisions and you can be off a few seconds of a degree and you’re not going to notice with what you are making. Some come with a tailstock and index plates and can be laid flat or stood up so you can get both drilling on the end of a cylinder or on the end. That’s why skiprat suggested it. I have a 6” and an 8” but no tailstock. 

skiprat’s 4” rotary table likely weighs about the same or less than the Spin index.


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## More4dan (Dec 19, 2018)

I would think you could use a protractor, rule, and compass to mark the pipe or plate for drilling.  Or make a templet using a CAD program to mark for drilling.  Just center punch the centers and drill away on the drill press.  What accuracy are you trying to achieve?


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## BRobbins629 (Dec 19, 2018)

Just another idea. This is a slow speed turner running with a stepper motor and arduino controlled, but could just as easily be manual with a indexing wheel.  Basically 2 pillow block bearings, a 5/8 shaft and an adapter for 5/8 to 1x8 (Shopsmith adapter from amazon).  Any chuck or 1x8 faceplate or collet chuck could be used. If electronic, you could also precisely set rotation to any degree.


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## dogcatcher (Dec 19, 2018)

I have to say Bruce's rig would be my choice, but in reality, unless you want powered indexing I know the 5C indexer is the better choice.


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## jttheclockman (Dec 19, 2018)

I do not need power. I can turn it by hand. I do not want to spend alot of money because I may never need to use again but will have the capacity if I do. I have to take a closer look at the C5 setup. Have to give this all some thought after the holidays. Maybe by then he will decide what he wants to do. How accurate does it have to be someone asked. I am not to sure. I do not have all the details yet on this. I am going by his verbal explanation of what he is telling me and in my mind this is what I am thinking I need. 

The more thought I give this and from looking at Bruces photo,  I believe the lathe is key. I have an indexing wheel already for it. I can take the tailstock off and make a support for the tail end of the pipe and be able to spin it accurately as I move through the indexing. I can chuck the front end up with a jam chuck or something in end of pipe. Then make a board for front of lathe so that I can run a drill motor mounted in a jig and slide it down as I go. Put it on a Tee track so that I can keep accurate and also index left to right easily. From what I am hearing 30" is the length. No threads on either end. Everything needs to be secured to keep accuracy. Also looks like there is 2 and they need to be matching. 

Thanks everyone for the ideas. I got more than I thought. This is one of those friend things so no money to be made here but will bank  a favor if he decides on this project or not.   Even if he doesn't I still am banking a favor for the brain cells I burned up. Not sure how many I have left you know.:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:


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## Paul in OKC (Dec 19, 2018)

Use a plug for one end with the # of flats to match the # of holes. A 1x6 or..... long enough for a base to attach to the DP table with some scraps mounted as ‘rails’ to slide the pipe between. Drill holes for a dowel spaced along it for the spacing lengthwise. Or you could.......or......or.......


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## randyrls (Dec 20, 2018)

jttheclockman said:


> Skip I got a hernia just looking at that thing. My idea with both planes is I need to drill holes along the length of a pipe in 360 degrees space between each row to be determined. Then I need to be able to drill holes in a plate 360 degrees around evenly spaced. Hope that makes sense.



John;  Many (most?) rotary tables, can be positioned either horizontally or vertically.  Also, my mill has a DRO that can calculate "bolt circles".  Just clamp down the stock, set a zero point and number of bolt holes. The display will let you move from hole to hole.  There are many bolt circle calculators on the net that will allow you to do the calculations for flat plates.

For round stock, maybe clamp a Wixley angle gauge to one end of the jig and rotate a certain angle?

I got this tip somewhere (not original to me).  Start your spread sheet program.  Enter the same number (say 5) in the number of cells that define the number of index marks you want around the circumference.  This number can be odd or even.  7 sides or 9 sides is no problem.  Now high-light the cells and pick a pie chart for those cells.  Print out the pie chart to mark the  flat.

Hope this helps...


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## jttheclockman (Dec 20, 2018)

OK I am going to be totally honest here. I do not do metal work and have no metal lathe. I need to do some research on what the heck a rotary table is. Skip mentioned it and now Randy and a few others. With that said I need to see how that can be applied to what I want to do. Not able to wrap this old head around the theory. Sometimes I get locked in on one idea and do not come off it. I got locked into the lathe thing and indexing and the mind is not comprehending this rotary table thing. If it is what I think it is where you have 2 wheels and you can change the axis position of a piece north to south with one wheel and east to west with the other, I can not see how that helps me. 

I mean no disrespect to those helping with ideas but I just do not have the machining background and the knowledge of metal working. I probably could make some fancy pens if I had this knowledge and metal lathe I do thank everyone again for the help.


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## Curly (Dec 20, 2018)

A rotary table just turns in a circle. You can on most, position it horizontally or vertically. The little hand crank divides the circle into 3600 divisions (I think) much like when you read a manual micrometer barrel. Some have provision to put dividing plates on the mechanism to index with the holes. Look at the link to get a better idea of what they are like. 

What you are thinking of is an XY Table. They let you move from left to right and back and forth. There are XY compound vise that do the same with a built in vise.

https://www.shars.com/catalogsearch/result/?cat=701&q=xy+table

https://www.harborfreight.com/6-inch-cross-slide-vise-32997.html

https://www.shars.com/products/workholding/rotary-machining-tables

I should have mentioned that Rotary Tables and cross slides are for use with drill presses and milling machines. Not normally put on lathes.


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## dogcatcher (Dec 20, 2018)

Think of a rotary table as a headstock without a motor, a small knob turns it.  It can operate vertical or horizontal.  It needs a base as in an XY table so you center it and move it left to right.

Cheapest option is a 4x4x8 block of wood, drill a 1" hole through it.  Through that hole stick a 1" bolt about 4" long, add index plate, and screw on a chuck.  For a tailstock, another 4x4x8 block of wood with another 1" hole with a 2mt blank inserted into the hole.  2 pieces of angle iron for ways. You will need to shim the ends of the bolt with nylon washers, these can be made with milk carton plastic,   Bolt will cost about $4, angle iron, a 72" piece is about $25, the 2mt sock will be about $20.  Basically you now have an indexer in lathe form.

When finished set it up as an indexer for your router cuts in to pen blanks for inlays.


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## jttheclockman (Dec 20, 2018)

Getting an education here. These ideas may transfer into other things.


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## skiprat (Dec 21, 2018)

I was browsing fleabay and came across this little gadget.

Maybe you could adapt something like this..
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/240V-36W...4b57015367:g:BMIAAOSwXgxcBnIZ&redirect=mobile


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## jttheclockman (Dec 21, 2018)

skiprat said:


> I was browsing fleabay and came across this little gadget.
> 
> Maybe you could adapt something like this..
> https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/240V-36W...4b57015367:g:BMIAAOSwXgxcBnIZ&redirect=mobile



Man there are a few things in there that spark up my interest. The thing is it is a UK ebay thing. Not sure how all that works for us Yanks. Maybe I can transfer those tools to our fleebay and see what comes up. You actually could be useful after all Skip:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:


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## Curly (Dec 21, 2018)

John copy and paste the discription from the UK eBay site into ebay.com search and they should show up. I did it and if the link works you should be able to see them. 

https://m.ebay.com/sch/i.html/searc...ding Head DIY Woodworking Power Tool      Be


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## jttheclockman (Dec 21, 2018)

Curly said:


> John copy and paste the discription from the UK eBay site into ebay.com search and they should show up. I did it and if the link works you should be able to see them.
> 
> https://m.ebay.com/sch/i.html/searc...ding Head DIY Woodworking Power Tool      Be



Thanks Pete. They are based in China and is a 12V dc little drill press. If I can get one reasonably priced I may take a run at one for pen use. Who knows we all like new tools.


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## RSQWhite (Dec 25, 2018)

jttheclockman said:


> Curly said:
> 
> 
> > John copy and paste the discription from the UK eBay site into ebay.com search and they should show up. I did it and if the link works you should be able to see them.
> ...









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