25 - Special Table Saw Issue, страница 15

GREAT TIPS

Keyhole Hangers

Drilling and cutting a mortise in a picture frame for a keyhole hanger can be a time consuming process. So can locating where to mount the screw in the wall for the frame to hang on.

If I'm not concerned about mounting the frame so it's flat against the wall, I take a shortcut by drilling a hole just large enough to fit the slot in the hanger, see Fig. 1. Then I mount

Knobs & Pulls

■ When mounting hardware, the last thing I want to happen is to drill a hole, mount the hardware, and then decide I don't like how it looks. To avoid this, I often car-

and take a step back to see how it looks, see Fig. 1. This way, I can try different pieces of hardware and different positions.

Once I've found what looks

minutes to make a drilling-guide from a piece of Ma-sonite and a scrapwood cleat, see Fig. 2. The guide eliminates tedious layout and helps lo-

pet tape the hardware in place best, I'll often take a few extra cate the holes in the same place.

5elf-Centering Prill Bits

o

HINGE

SET SCREW FOR SETTING DEPTH

INNER-^ SLEEVE

DRILL BIT

TAPER CENTERS BIT IN HINGE

V

■ Before discovering self-centering drill bits, drilling perfectly-lo-catecl pilot holes for hinge screws was hit or miss at best. Sometimes the holes would end up where they should — in the center of the hole machined in the hinge. Other times the bit would catch the grain of the wood and get pulled off center — resulting in a misaligned hinge.

But not anymore. With self-

No. 25

ShopNotes

15

the hanger over the hole.

To locate the screw in the wall, a wire brad (with the head removed) is nailed in the frame and used to mark the wall, see Fig. 2.

KEYHOLE HANGER

f HOLE DIAMETER EQUALS LENGTH OF

HANGER SLOT

centering bits, pilot holes end up exactly where they should. The reason? The drill bit is housed in an outer case that's tapered at the bottom, see drawing. As the bit is pushed down, the taper of the bit centers it over the hole in the hinge just before it enters the workpiece.

These bits are commonly sold as Vix bits, spring-action bits, or self-centering drill bits.