The tools you may not know existed thread

[Cadman-iac]

Ideally, the hole should be chamferred as the hinge bit tool has a bevelled edge which is intended to slide into the sloped, downward edge of the pre-drilled hole. The tool is then centered, so consequently the drilling is in the center. Can try and get a photo if you like. Clay/Lexi

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I picture a spring-loaded sleeve on the outside of the bit to center it in the hole is what I imagine. Is that what it is?

[Lexi]

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I picture a spring-loaded sleeve on the outside of the bit to center it in the hole is what I imagine. Is that what it is?

You got it! That is how it works. To avoid reflections, I shot the blister package at an angle which unfortunately reduced detail at the business end of the tool. But you are correct in how the tool operates. Clay/Lexi

[TJ Hopland]

Those bits are basically the same as a transfer punch aren't they?  It doesn't look like you are drilling much of a hole, its mostly marking it?

[Lexi]

I would not compare them to a transfer punch, as this is a drilling tool designed to self center. So it will eliminate locating center and punching your work, as it does the centering and then the drilling all in one. Clay/Lexi

[Lexi]

This is probably among the most if not the most useful "different" tool that I have. Yes, it is a vise, but it is a cross vise. So it has 2 cranks on it which move the jaws incrementely along 2 axis points. For precise drilling projects this is extremely crucial. This is my large one, an 8 inch and arguably entry level machine shop quality. At nearing 100 pounds in weight, there is lots of mass to further stabilize your work. Also pictured is my former "go to" cross vise, a 6 inch lower quality unit. Still, worked very well for some 25 - 30 years. These types of cheaper cross vises are more commonly produced with jaws in the 3 to 4 inch width size, but try and stick with 6, or 8 if in your budget. Not nearly as common but worth the purchase. These are sort of similar to the so-called XY/XYZ compound sliding tables for milling machines. While the later would prove superior, for us, these cross vises are probably all we need for the kind of work we are doing in relation to our automotive work. Once you use one you will seldom go back to fidget with a regular vice again. I cannot begin to tell you how useful this type of tool is. Run out now and buy one. Clay/Lexi

[TJ Hopland]

So on those drill bits it does drill a reasonable depth hole.  With what I saw just casually searching it wasn't clear how deep they went.  The demo video I did watch it looked like it was just making a dent which was one reason I was confused why it seemed to be such a large assembly.

[Cadman-iac]

This is probably among the most if not the most useful "different" tool that I have. Yes, it is a vise, but it is a cross vise. So it has 2 cranks on it which move the jaws incrementely along 2 axis points. For precise drilling projects this is extremely crucial. This is my large one, an 8 inch and arguably entry level machine shop quality. At nearing 100 pounds in weight, there is lots of mass to further stabilize your work. Also pictured is my former "go to" cross vise, a 6 inch lower quality unit. Still, worked very well for some 25 - 30 years. These types of cheaper cross vises are more commonly produced with jaws in the 3 to 4 inch width size, but try and stick with 6, or 8 if in your budget. Not nearly as common but worth the purchase. These are sort of similar to the so-called XY/XYZ compound sliding tables for milling machines. While the later would prove superior, for us, these cross vises are probably all we need for the kind of work we are doing in relation to our automotive work. Once you use one you will seldom go back to fidget with a regular vice again. I cannot begin to tell you how useful this type of tool is. Run out now and buy one. Clay/Lexi

So does that have 3 adjustments to it? One for actually clamping the workpiece, and two for moving it back and forth, and in and out?

 I need one of those. I have a vise for on my drill press, but if I want to move the work, I have to move the whole thing.
 Very nice.

[Lexi]

So does that have 3 adjustments to it? One for actually clamping the workpiece, and two for moving it back and forth, and in and out?

 I need one of those. I have a vise for on my drill press, but if I want to move the work, I have to move the whole thing.
 Very nice.

Hey Cadmaniac. Technically speaking, you are right. There are 3 adjustments. In the photo you should see the large "T" handle with threaded balls at either end. That, as in regular vises, is the crank for the jaws used to hold your work. To move the vise's carriage assembly on the 2 axis points, there is a smaller chromium, hand crank, for each lateral adjustment. These adjustments eliminate the need to "move the whole thing", as you put it, rather the 2 smaller hand cranks just move the upper body of the vise. This helps so much in lining up delicate work. At least one of these smaller hand cranks is visible in the photo. Clay/Lexi

[Lexi]

Attached is the photo that I have had trouble attaching, the companion piece to the one above showing the large 8 inch Cross Vise. The attached photo shows the 6 inch Cross Vise I also mentioned. In this photo you can see both of the carriage adjustment handles. The 8 inch vise is the same, just better built and overall much larger. Clay/Lexi

[Cadman-iac]

Attached is the photo that I have had trouble attaching, the companion piece to the one above showing the large 8 inch Cross Vise. The attached photo shows the 6 inch Cross Vise I also mentioned. In this photo you can see both of the carriage adjustment handles. The 8 inch vise is the same, just better built and overall much larger. Clay/Lexi

 I can see it now, very nice tool. Thanks for the picture.

[Lexi]

So on those drill bits it does drill a reasonable depth hole.  With what I saw just casually searching it wasn't clear how deep they went.  The demo video I did watch it looked like it was just making a dent which was one reason I was confused why it seemed to be such a large assembly.

Hmmmm... Interesting TJ. As these are primarily designed for mounting hinges to door jambs, cabinet work, etc., the holes made are deep enough to accept the usual length of brass screws. You have to match the size of encased drill bit to the size of screw you are using. So it centers your hardware, and drills slightly undersized to provide a good tight fit to accept the screw so as not to split the wood, or pull/tug the hinge plate one way or another to cause it to mount incorrectly.

I first used these this fall when I built door jambs for a pair of French, leaded glass doors. Everything had to be quite precise, especially as I left the original jambs in place, then built a frame work super structure to "narrow" the entrance, so as to accept my set of vintage doors. Then ornamental plaster work done. Everything had to be spot on and within 1/32 to 1/8 inch. So I picked these up for the mounting of my 4 hinges and they worked quite well.

Used in conjuction with what I think is called a door hinge "butt" tool, (templates to mark out common hinge sizes), you can get accurate work done. I then use a sharp hand chisen to mark the outline and a router with a straight bit set to the narrow depth, to cut out. While these steps are not for most automotive work, I can see some using these tools making cabinets in their shop to store their automotive tools. Using these self centering tools for vintage automotive wood projects and even the fabrication of jigs or metal brackets would be other uses. Clay/Lexi
Clay/Lexi

[Lexi]

I can see it now, very nice tool. Thanks for the picture.

Long story short, this is a shot of the 8 inch Cross Vise in action. Clamped is a Cadillac carburetor with a broken, stuck air cleaner mounting rod. As the rod is steel and the carburetor is zinc alloy/pot metal, this creates lots of problems. I needed the mass of the large vise as well as the fine increment carriage adjustments that it is capable of. Moving the carriage assembly is not sloppy and is very fine. Not like cranking a table saw blade up or down, but fine almost like clock work. I still had issues, but would have been more problematic with just a regular vise. Once drilled out, a heli coil fixed it along with a new threaded rod I made to replace the snapped one. Clay/Lexi

[Lexi]

I can see it now, very nice tool. Thanks for the picture.

So on those drill bits it does drill a reasonable depth hole.  With what I saw just casually searching it wasn't clear how deep they went.  The demo video I did watch it looked like it was just making a dent which was one reason I was confused why it seemed to be such a large assembly.

TJ and Cadmaniac. Here is a close up of the Hinge Bit business end, next to a typical Stanley brass hinge. Note the chamfered receiver hole in the hinge plate and the bevelled nose of the tool. The drill bit is spring loaded and is visible through the slot cut in the hinge bit's shaft. Pushing down on this I would guess that this drill bit protruded about 1/2 inch or more when fully compressed. More than enough for average wood screws in a hinge drilling operation or for metal bracket fabrication work. That 1/2" projection might be even more when one considers it also had to pass through the hinge plate itself, (another 1/8 inch perhaps?). Clay/Lexi

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

I got my two-way vice when I purchased my Drill Press in 1982.

Notice the bolt head sitting in an unusual position above the top adjusting screw?   Had to do a repair when I accidentally broke the casting by applying too much pressure to the vice many years ago.   Inserted the Bolt into the position slider rod, and still keeps everything together.

I got a standard vice with the press, but have never had to use it.

Bruce.  

[Lexi]

Once you use a compound vise, there is little incentive to go back to using a regular type vise, at least on a drill press. The compound device is basically a drill press tool. Clay/Lexi

[TJ Hopland]

I got a mill so I never got a drill press but after looking at what a mill cost these days I see where one of those tables is much more practical for a DIY person.  A clapped out Bridgeport cost what an elcheapo does so only advantage to an elcheapo is a DIYer can actually move one and may have the space for one.  I do see 20+ year old drill presses that look pretty decent pretty cheap and those tables are not that expensive so for like $500 you can have a pretty flexible setup. WIth a drill press you don't have to invest way more than the machine cost for basic tooling.

[PHIL WHYTE CLC 14192]

Long story short, this is a shot of the 8 inch Cross Vise in action. Clamped is a Cadillac carburetor with a broken, stuck air cleaner mounting rod. As the rod is steel and the carburetor is zinc alloy/pot metal, this creates lots of problems. I needed the mass of the large vise as well as the fine increment carriage adjustments that it is capable of. Moving the carriage assembly is not sloppy and is very fine. Not like cranking a table saw blade up or down, but fine almost like clock work. I still had issues, but would have been more problematic with just a regular vise. Once drilled out, a heli coil fixed it along with a new threaded rod I made to replace the snapped one. Clay/Lexi

Clay, I had to have my 54 Carter welded where the aircleaner stud went in. The man that TIG welded it for me said he had never worked on such pure aluminium. He said new aluminium has more impurities in it as it has been recycled many times. It's not pot metal!
Also, at risk of being a smart ass, if you'd used a left handed drill bit it probably would have unscrewed that stud.
Phil

[Lexi]

Clay, I had to have my 54 Carter welded where the aircleaner stud went in. The man that TIG welded it for me said he had never worked on such pure aluminium. He said new aluminium has more impurities in it as it has been recycled many times. It's not pot metal!
Also, at risk of being a smart ass, if you'd used a left handed drill bit it probably would have unscrewed that stud.
Phil

Hello Phil. After typing I thought about that and should have changed it. Thanks for keeping the info accurate. I was not aware that they were comprised of such a pure aluminum though. The rod however, was not possible to unscrew. All attempts failed, with the last resulting in the rod actually snapping off at the top of the carburetor. Hence the need to drill it out. Something I wanted to avoid, as that raised many separate issues. The clearance between the bit and the edge of the aluminum was negligible. Like a neck in a collar, to use an analogy. Eveerything had to be dead center and perpendicular. Bit wanted to "walk"once it became more fully extended deep into the carburetor shaft due to flexing. As I was drilling out both steel and some aluminum, I also think the steel kept causing the bit to veer off course and flex in the process. At the very end it did break through the thin skinned aluminum wall, but is above the carb jet action and above where the heli-coil eventually would go. So a dab of JB Weld patched this tiny hole. Glad to have had the cross vise for this one. Clay/Lexi

[Lexi]

Another oddity, but one that has come in useful. A machinist's high quality depth gauge; when you need precision. Made by one of the best, Brown and Sharpe. Clay/Lexi

[PHIL WHYTE CLC 14192]

Hello Phil. After typing I thought about that and should have changed it. Thanks for keeping the info accurate. I was not aware that they were comprised of such a pure aluminum though. The rod however, was not possible to unscrew. All attempts failed, with the last resulting in the rod actually snapping off at the top of the carburetor. Hence the need to drill it out. Something I wanted to avoid, as that raised many separate issues. The clearance between the bit and the edge of the aluminum was negligible. Like a neck in a collar, to use an analogy. Eveerything had to be dead center and perpendicular. Bit wanted to "walk"once it became more fully extended deep into the carburetor shaft due to flexing. As I was drilling out both steel and some aluminum, I also think the steel kept causing the bit to veer off course and flex in the process. At the very end it did break through the thin skinned aluminum wall, but is above the carb jet action and above where the heli-coil eventually would go. So a dab of JB Weld patched this tiny hole. Glad to have had the cross vise for this one. Clay/Lexi

After I wrote my post I realised that there would be more to the story, thanks for explaining. If I understand you correctly you had tried a lot of ways to remove it and it snapped? Out of interest did you try heat? A welder I worked with would weld a bar to the top of a seized stud and use it as a handle to undo it. The heat of the welding would loosen it.