clamping in the drill press

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

newby here.  Just moving up from GPR kits to a TVM kit.

I've got the buttplate inlet.  Now I've gotta drill the holes for the screws.  I also have a newly acquired drill press.  How to you guys clamp up the gunstock in the drill press at such weird angles?  Or do you just have a shop assistant hold it steady?

[Mauser06]

I'd be interested in hearing from some experts...


I struggled bad on my first install....



I plugged the holes twice...3rd time I finally got it...


I drilled and countersunk the buttplate....then held it in place and used a hand drill with a Vex bit and drilled the top hole...installed the screw...the other screw was easy as it was being held in place already....

[Ed Wenger]

Certainly not an "expert", and try to keep things simple...   I place the butt piece on the side of a work bench, make sure the tang is level, and drill by hand.  The butt part of the piece rests against the edge of the table and prevents it from spinning or riding up the drill.  After the hole is counter sunk, the butt piece is screwed onto the stock, and the second hole drilled while attached to the stock.

If the butt piece has a hole for a box release, I attach it to a jig made of 2X4, and drill with a drill press.

I have drilled screw holes in a butt piece with a drill press, by clamping it to a piece of larger wood stock, like a 4x4.  I use short parallel clamps to secure the butt piece to the wood, then clamp the wood in the drill press vise.  Hope that helps.....


          Ed

[Mike Brooks]

I usually drill those with a hand drill.

[flehto]

Only the buttplate holes are drilled and ctsk in the drill press....and after taping the bplate to the stock, the 2 holes are located from the bplate and the hole in the bplate return is moved forward 1/32" to ensure that it's against the  wood.

All the holes in the wood are done w/ an electric holeshooter by "eyeballing" the angles. Both holes have a shallow re-drill for the unthreaded length of the screw.

The stock or blank is clamped in a bench vise for drilling all the holes in the wood.

Putting some soap chips down the  drilled holes makes it easier to install the screws. .....Fred

[Joe S.]

scroll down to the next page and look at the "getting butt plate screws straight" thread.Some tips there.Gave me a little trouble too,getting things straight was a pain

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

I read that other thread and there wasn't much described except that "yeah I screwed that up too . . ."

[frogwalking]

I have begun using the drillpress to drill pilot holes in the buttplate with the diameter bit I want to use for the woodscrews.  I then tie the buttplate onto the buttstock with strips of bicycle tube I have cut lengthwise.  I chuck the pilot drill bit into my hand drill and use the holes in the buttplate as guides.  It seems to work at least with a cast buttplate.  Might not with a thin forged one.  Afterwards, I redrill and countersink the buttplate on the drillpress. As said previously, I make a shallow enlargement into the wood to accommodate the screw shank.  I also use a piece of 1/16 wire to put some beeswax into the hole to lubricate the screw.  This seems to work better than applying the wax to heated screws.  (Disclosure)  I am only a hobby builder.  Your results may vary.

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

Frog,

What do you use to clamp the buttplate into the drill press so that the hole is perpendicular to the plate surface?

I am guessing that the hole through the plate and wood must be plumb with the countersink so that when the screw head enters the countersunk area it does not push the plate out of place.  Tricky work indeed.

Would it help to drill both the hole through the place and the wood all in one step?  Maybe put Bondo or wood putty under the buttplate so that there is no air gap between plate and wood?