Evil Appetite Posted January 18, 2012 Posted January 18, 2012 I have never seen one of these before. Can this be used to find dead centre on a styrene rod? http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/gpm/gpmgpmr8130.htm
disabled modeler Posted January 18, 2012 Posted January 18, 2012 I use to work for a pattern shop still have the one i used then there great tools to have for special jobs.
heatride Posted January 18, 2012 Posted January 18, 2012 Mike I was a watchmaker by trade ,retired now I am not sure if the tool would do the task but have a question . Are you trying to find the ( center of the end of the rod ) or ( the center of the side of the rod )? If that tool you showed in the link (and I can not tell from the picture) has a bevel at the base then you could get off center depending on how much depth you need. With all that said If you have a drill press of any type I can tell you how to find the center of the end very easy . This may not help one bit but give a old man a few brownie points for trying !
MikeMc Posted January 18, 2012 Posted January 18, 2012 Mike I was a watchmaker by trade ,retired now I am not sure if the tool would do the task but have a question . Are you trying to find the ( center of the end of the rod ) or ( the center of the side of the rod )? If that tool you showed in the link (and I can not tell from the picture) has a bevel at the base then you could get off center depending on how much depth you need. With all that said If you have a drill press of any type I can tell you how to find the center of the end very easy . This may not help one bit but give a old man a few brownie points for trying ! Great answer Glenn. As a retired camera and optics repairman You are spot on.... ;)
Evil Appetite Posted January 18, 2012 Author Posted January 18, 2012 Mike I was a watchmaker by trade ,retired now I am not sure if the tool would do the task but have a question . Are you trying to find the ( center of the end of the rod ) or ( the center of the side of the rod )? If that tool you showed in the link (and I can not tell from the picture) has a bevel at the base then you could get off center depending on how much depth you need. With all that said If you have a drill press of any type I can tell you how to find the center of the end very easy . This may not help one bit but give a old man a few brownie points for trying ! I'm trying to find the centre of the end. My apologies, I should have specified that. I dont have a drill press yet...but I do plan on picking up the Dremel Roary Tool workstation. Does that count as a legit drill press? If so, fire away Glenn!
heatride Posted January 18, 2012 Posted January 18, 2012 Perfect Mike . Basically you take a board of your choice and clamp it on the vise table . Then take the desired drill bit chuck it up and drill a hole in the board . Then take the bit out of the chuck and put the shaft side in the hole you just drilled . Then chuck up the rod in the press turn it on and the plastic rod will spin as you move it down on the fixed bit . You may have to hold the bottom of the bit with pliers but I doubt it since its plastic . This will give you a dead center hole in any rod you got . If you need me to take a few pictures just let me know and I will post up here tomorrow .
jeffs396 Posted January 18, 2012 Posted January 18, 2012 I'm trying to find the centre of the end. My apologies, I should have specified that. I dont have a drill press yet...but I do plan on picking up the Dremel Roary Tool workstation. Does that count as a legit drill press? If so, fire away Glenn! Mike, I didn't look at your linky, but I'll save you from buying it! Get a section of styrene TUBE with the ID the same as the OD of the rod you want to drill... Mark the end of the rod you want to drill with a sharpie to make it easier to see your mark. Place the section of tube over the rod. Using a drill bit the same size as the rod, twist the bit inside the tube, contacting the end of the rod you marked. Remove bit & section of tube, and you'll be left with the center perfectly marked, as well as a dimple to act as a pilot for your desired finished hole size.
Evil Appetite Posted January 18, 2012 Author Posted January 18, 2012 Thanks guys..that helps alot. Glenn, i understand what you're describing. doesnt sound like it'll be a problem. Jeff..thats a great technique! Never would have thought of that! Thanks again guys! I really appreciate the help!
heatride Posted January 18, 2012 Posted January 18, 2012 If you can swing it that Dremel Rotary Tool workstation would be a nice tool to have around . Its basically the same thing I use on one of my setup's . I mount my flex shaft in a press stand . The only problem I see with Jeff's technique is if you found that piece of stock you wanted to use , and did not have the OD .
Foxer Posted August 25, 2017 Posted August 25, 2017 (edited) I have looked for the same with little luck as I find myself trying to drill holes in the end of small rods. I use a series of brass rods with the smallest the size of the drill bit and the outer to center on the rod. Edited August 25, 2017 by Foxer
Jon Haigwood Posted August 25, 2017 Posted August 25, 2017 I do as Foxer does with aluminum tubing. I use aluminum tube for various scratch building projects so I have it around anyway.
BigTallDad Posted August 26, 2017 Posted August 26, 2017 That arrangement also works well when drilling distributor caps.I have a tutorial using the brass tubing for drilling distributor caps but, thanks to PhotoBucket, it is now difficult to follow.
Muncie Posted August 26, 2017 Posted August 26, 2017 I have never seen one of these before. Can this be used to find dead centre on a styrene rod? http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/gpm/gpmgpmr8130.htmI've noticed that this is an old thread. The tool in the original post is not described very well on the web link but it is for transferring a mounting hole in a model aircraft engine bracket to a flat bulkhead. It would be of little use for finding the center of the end of a rod piece of rod. However, we have a great forum here that has supplied several good methods that will get the job done.
BigTallDad Posted August 26, 2017 Posted August 26, 2017 ...It would be of little use for finding the center of the end of a rod piece of rod...I disagree. I constructed a piece similar to the one shown and it is perfect for centering a drill bit on the peak of a distributor nipple.
Muncie Posted August 26, 2017 Posted August 26, 2017 I disagree. I constructed a piece similar to the one shown and it is perfect for centering a drill bit on the peak of a distributor nipple. There is no disagreement - we're talking about different things. Telescoping sections of tubing can be used can be used to locate and drill a hole in the center in the end of a rod - no doubt here. I like the ideas that have been posted and they answer the important "how to " question in the first post. Just adding some information to identify the tool in the link on the first post. It's a different tool that is used to transfer the mounting hole locations from a bracket to a bulkhead and drill a specific size hole for the hardware. There is a cone at the end of the tool that fits into the hole on a bracket to locate the drill. It's a strange spring loaded device with one function. I ended up with one in a closeout grab bag that had some things I needed at the LHS. Figured out what ii was but no use for it. difference is - one tool locates from the outside diameter of a rod, the other locates from the inside diameter of a mounting hole.
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