[daddywoofdawg]

does anyone have a good easy way to drill three hole on the same line?I need to drill 3 holes on a pipe they all have to be the same axis/line;but when I have try this before and it ends up in a spiral of holes as the pipe seems to rotate or the line isn't straight in the 9-3 12-6 orientation.I don't know how else to say it.any tricks,how to?

[ger21]

Clamp the pipe into a piece of angle or V block so it can't rotate, and drill on a drill press. A fence on the drill press makes it easier.

[Devastator]

Sounds just like when I built my Solsylva 24X48. Lots of pipe to drill straight. I didn't have V blocks or a fence on the drill press. Here's what I did:

I got the smallest steel angle iron they make and strapped it tightly to the pipe. Then I used a sharp scribe to score a straight line on the pipe along the edge of the angle iron. Then I removed the angle iron and measured for the hole placement along the scribed line. After they were all marked out, I used a punch and hammer to make dimples for the drill bit to sit in. Then drill at the dimples.

This method can even work on pipe if you are using a hand drill as long as you are using a nut inside and the holes are drilled oversize. If you are tapping the holes, you'll need the drill press to make sure they are drilled and tapped straight.

[daddywoofdawg]

I like the angle iron Idea.I'm building the Solsylva 25x25;question do you think I could build the X and Y out of 3 x 3 x 48 Aluminum T-slot material size 3030 to replace the 2x4's and T-Slot 1.5 x .75 Aluminum Extrusion 15 Series 1575 to replace 1x4"?what did you use for lead screws?

[Devastator]

I like the angle iron Idea.I'm building the Solsylva 25x25;question do you think I could build the X and Y out of 3 x 3 x 48 Aluminum T-slot material size 3030 to replace the 2x4's and T-Slot 1.5 x .75 Aluminum Extrusion 15 Series 1575 to replace 1x4"?what did you use for lead screws?

I have no experience with the aluminum T-slot. I used laminated plywood faced with steel angle where the pipe rals bolt. My build thread is here: http://www.cnczone.com/forums/cnc-wo...lva-build.html

For lead screws I used 1/2" dia. 5 start acme screws and I don't regret it. If I had to choose one place to spend money it would be on good lead screws. They are not really that expensive anyway if you order them from mcmaster. The five start is fast but still has great resolution, at least for my needs.