Quick Squaring Trick

Quick Squaring Trick

Any time you tip your drill press table off of 90° to bore an angled hole, you’ll need to square the table to the chuck again when you return to normal drilling. Here’s an easy way to check for squareness: install a large-diameter Forstner bit and place a scrap of MDF on the table.

Start the motor and slowly feed the bit into the MDF until the outer rim lightly scores the material. As soon as the cutting starts, raise the bit and check the pattern it leaves in the MDF. A perfect circle indicates your table is properly square to the bit. If there’s only a partial circle, the table isn’t quite square yet and needs more adjustment.

– Bob Kelland
Newfoundland, Canada

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