I ordered a case of AO95s and have been making tressles, a gate entry for our property and other whatnots using the Timberlinx connectors, and have discovered that a guide is a must.
Getting the tube hole perfectly in line with the vertical axis of the post, and perfectly perpendicular to a girt/tie beam is a perfectly hair pulling experience without the aid of a precise drill guide.
The website has a picture of a jig but this is not what I'm referring to. I need a guide, which Neal says he has but isn't pictured on the website like the jig.
My question is, has anyone hear used this guide or even seen one?
We installed a bunch of timberlinx without the guide....
a long ship auger is a help,
I've also used speed squares set beside the auger to help keep square, the hard ones are the holes in the ends of the timbers......
Just coming into this, in steel I've bored holes using a mag base drill press, obviously not the ticket here. Could you just get a machinist to lop off a tube the right diameter for the bit and weld a squared up base to it to use as a guide for you auger?
The other idea would be to make a jig like what the metal tube notchers have where there is a bushing in the jig and a shaft with a chuck on it. You chuck the drill up to the shaft and the in that case hole saw to the shaft. Makes straight as an arrow cuts and has angle adjusters.
Ken
Quote from: mark davidson on January 24, 2006, 05:33:32 PM....the hard ones are the holes in the ends of the timbers......
Yes that's the toughest challenge for me too.
Quote from: slowzuki on January 24, 2006, 08:38:36 PM
Could you just get a machinist to lop off a tube the right diameter for the bit and weld a squared up base to it to use as a guide for you auger?
That's why I was asking if anyone had seen one of the Timberlinx presses, to see if what they are selling isn't much more than what I could make myself.
Quote from: slowzuki on January 24, 2006, 08:38:36 PMThe other idea would be to make a jig like what the metal tube notchers have where there is a bushing in the jig and a shaft with a chuck on it. You chuck the drill up to the shaft and the in that case hole saw to the shaft. Makes straight as an arrow cuts and has angle adjusters.
I can't quite visualize what you are describing here.
Here is a picture of one, I'm not going to bring it right into FF but a google search for tubing notcher will bring up many pics quickly.
http://www.blindchickenracing.com/Tools/Tube%20Notcher/notcher01.jpg
Aha. Tubing notcher eh. Not exactly what i was looking for but I learned something useful that might come in handy in the future. Thanks.
Mostly just the angle base and sliding guide thing I wanted to point out.