Many Uses For Electric Drill Guide

Many Uses For Electric Drill Guide FARM SHOP Tools 2-5-29 One of the most versatile shop tools we've seen is the Portalign drill guide. It can turn your hand drill into a precision shop instrument. Billed as the "super guide", the Portalign attaches to your conventional drill between the chuck and drill itself. Once mounted, the guide can remain for any job - precision 90? drilling, angle drilling, routing and more. The Portalign can be attached to any 1/4 in. or 3/8 in. drill with a removable chuck and a body width of less than 3 in. Removing the chuck is not difficult if your drill, like most, has the chuck threaded on. With the chuck removed, the Portalign is screwed onto the shaft of the drill and the chuck attached to the adaptor shaft. Portalign can be used with twist drills, wood boring bits, spade drills and hole saws up to 21/4 in. in dia. For 90? drilling, the guide rods are set so the baseplate rests flat on the work surface. If you are not drilling through the piece, the depth stop can be set to drill an accurate depth. For drilling angled holes, simply extend the guide rods through the baseplate a measured distance for the right angle. The rod ends and the edge of the base form a tripod for accurate and repetitive angle drilling. V-blocks on the guide's base hold small round stock for 90? drilling. Round stock can be drilled either with the V-blocks supporting the work, or with the V-blocks reversed and resting on the work. The baseplate can be bolted to the underside of a bench or table so that the tool can be used as a fixed shaper, rotary file or drum sander. This may not be the most practical idea, though, since the drill would only be supported by a single fingertightened set screw. To be safe, the drill should have the additional support of some type of makeshift sling, says the manufacturer. The Portalign can also be used, in a lithited way, for routing and shaping. The Portalign is cast aluminum, with steel guide rods. Sells for $19.99 and is available from Sears, Montgomery Ward, J. C. Penny and other chain stores. For more details, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Portalign Tool Corp., 4903 Pacific Highway, San Diego, Calif. 92110 (ph 714-297-7750).

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