Drilling template for dowel and confirm. Jig for drilling holes: how to use and how to do it yourself? Conductor for confirmation of variety and the possibility of manufacturing

25.10.2019

A furniture jig is a simple mechanical device that speeds up and simplifies the process of drilling holes. The use of this device allows you to create technological holes without pre-applied markings and do it with perfect accuracy, as well as a verified inclination. The device is indispensable during the assembly of furniture structures, during carpentry work. For home use and small scale production furniture conductor DIY is very easy to make.

In fact, a furniture conductor is a regular template with holes of the desired diameter. The working part of the device is a rectangular block of solid material with holes located according to the required markings. For convenience, it can be equipped with regulating and fixing mechanisms. Based on the simplicity of the design, you can quickly make stencils for furniture with your own hands from improvised means.

The jig provides the desired direction of the drill at an angle of 90 degrees to the surface, eliminating the possibility of deviation. This is especially important when working on narrow pieces of furniture, such as the ends of walls or doors. Without this device, it is quite difficult to maintain the desired angle, which can lead to marriage, because even a slight deviation in the direction of the mounting hole can make it impossible to assemble individual elements into a single structure.

For perfect matching of furniture elements to each other also great importance has the accuracy of the location of the holes for fasteners. Those who make furniture with their own hands are often faced with the need to create a series of identical holes at a certain distance from each other. To facilitate the work, to make it faster, it is easier not to markup each time, but to apply a template.

With the help of the conductor, you can work with different furniture materials: wood, chipboard, MDF.

The choice of model for manufacturing

Conductors of industrial production are highly specialized and universal. Templates of the first type are used to perform certain operations on typical parts. Universal devices suitable for work with different materials and objects of various configurations.

By design features and functionality conductors are divided into the following types:

overhead - when used, they are applied to the surface in the desired area, fixed with clamps or held by hand. Used for drilling holes in flat parts;
rotary - the working part moves both in vertical, and in horizontal planes. It is used when working with elements of complex geometric shape and for creating holes, the axis of which should be at an angle;
tiltable - used to create holes in perpendicular planes.

To mark the places for drilling holes, a marking jig is used. It is much thinner and lighter.

The conductor device can be specially created for a certain type of fastener: dowels, confirmations, screws, corners. There are devices to simplify the process of installing fittings.

According to the type of fixation, furniture conductors can be sliding or fixed. The former move freely over the surface if necessary, the latter are rigidly fixed in the right place. The presence of an adjustment mechanism will help to combine the device with different types of workpieces.

For large furniture manufacturers, the availability of a variety of accessories plays a decisive role, as they significantly reduce time costs. In this case, the cost of the tools does not really matter. A completely different approach to acquiring the necessary equipment from those who have a small furniture production or from independent craftsmen who make certain types of furniture. In this case, making furniture templates with your own hands is much cheaper and more practical. The choice of the right options, the complexity of the fixture is determined not only by production needs, but also by the skill and experience of furniture manufacturers.

Overhead

Turning

Universal

Materials and tools

For the manufacture of the device, it is necessary first of all to determine the tasks that it will perform. Accordingly, the necessary material is selected from which the furniture template will be made by hand. The most durable, reliable and "long-playing" is considered to be a metal conductor. To create a furniture conductor for drilling with your own hands, it is permissible to use wood, plywood, textolite, plexiglass. This is due to lower labor costs and low cost of material. All this is important, especially if you are going to make several different templates yourself.

For the manufacture of a conductor, a piece of reinforcement, a bar or a plate is suitable - something that is sure to be found in any garage or home workshop. To make a simple marking device, you can take a regular school ruler - wooden, plastic or metal.

Of decisive importance in the manufacture of the jig is the exact calculation of the location of the holes on the workpiece. You can take a ready-made scheme or make it yourself. The latter option is preferable, since the dimensions in the drawings must correspond to the tasks being solved.

Of the tools you will need:

drill;
grinder or jigsaw;
a set of locksmith tools;
clamps;
vise.

In the manufacture of the jig, perfectly precise drilling of pilot holes and hardening of the finished fixture will be required.

Drawing homemade conductor for drilling holes for confirmations

Manufacturing steps

Consider the process of creating a metal conductor device for confirmations. This fastener is most often used in furniture assembly:

a piece of the desired length is cut off from a metal bar of square section (10x10 mm) using a grinder. The ends of the resulting segment are leveled with a file and cleaned of burrs. Corners and edges can be rounded for convenience and safety of use;
holes are marked on the workpiece. Their centers should be located at a distance of 8 mm from the side face (chipboard sheet thickness - 16 mm). From the end and between the holes should be 32 mm, according to the generally accepted system of furniture fastenings. For marking, you can use a carpenter's corner or caliper. It is better to make marks on the part with a sharp metal object - an awl or a large needle. You can use a core and a hammer to make holes for the initial installation of the drill. It is important when drilling holes to prevent displacement of the drill and make them strictly perpendicular to the surface of the workpiece;
using a drill with a diameter of 5 mm, make holes;
to create an emphasis, you need to cut a piece of the desired length from a metal plate (1x25 mm);
finish the edges with sandpaper;
bend the workpiece at a right angle, holding it in a vise. Fold the parts, aligning them coaxially;
fasten the parts in this position with a clamp;
on the side of the plate along the length of the device and at the end, drill holes corresponding to the size of the screw. Cut threads and fasten parts;
cut off the excess of the stop plate, process the edges.

Video

When creating furniture, almost all the details have to be joined end-to-end. This is done with the help of dowels in which holes are made. This is where a special detail is needed. You can buy it or make a furniture conductor with your own hands.

What is a furniture conductor

The conductor is a bar that has several holes and sleeves. It is applied to the desired part, the drill is inserted into the sleeve and a hole is made. To fix two parts, you will need the help of one conductor, while the parts are fixed as securely as possible.

Conductor Benefits:

precise drilling;
simple and fast creation of holes.

At the same time, conductors are used not only during construction, but also in mechanical engineering. Also, this device allows you to drill cylindrical blanks and pipes.

Different types of conductors

Depending on the industry, conductors are divided as follows:

Overhead. They got their name because of the scope. This device is superimposed on the workpiece and fixed, with the help of which holes are made.
Swivel. They are used to drill cylindrical holes. In this case, the rotary axes can be located both horizontally and vertically, and at an angle. The housing here is equipped with swivel bushings.
Overturned. They are used when holes are created in several planes.
Sliding. Used to make each individual hole. In this case, this model is not fixed on the surface, which means that it is not the most convenient.

Do-it-yourself furniture conductor

As we wrote above, this product is needed when assembling furniture. Someone prefers to buy it, and someone to make furniture holes with their own hands. Such products are sold in any hardware stores, it is important to choose finished products for a specific purpose. The cost of a furniture conductor will depend on its size, purpose and manufacturer.

The simplest option is inexpensive, but professional equipment with various additional functions costs a lot. Therefore, today more and more often do-it-yourself furniture conductors and templates are made.

They are produced using a metal sheet or wooden board. They make holes that will serve as guides. This job is easy and anyone can do it.

How to create a conductor

So, creating a furniture conductor with your own hands is not difficult. To get started you will need:

welding machine;
Bulgarian;
drill and some locksmith tools;
you also need to prepare reinforcement 10 x 10 mm in advance.

First, the workpiece is cleaned with sandpaper and marking is performed. The distance from center to center is approximately 32 mm. Next, each template hole is drilled. After that, an emphasis is created - for this you can take a metal plate 1 mm thick. It needs to be bent and a place for carving prepared. The last step is the connection of these parts.

The product must be made as accurately and accurately as possible, otherwise there will be no benefit from it, and in an unfavorable situation, it can even damage furniture. You can learn more about how to make a conductor by watching various video tutorials. The easiest way to make it is according to a furniture template, which can also be peeped from specialists.

In order for drilling not to cause complications, a conductor is needed. This device is really needed when assembling furniture. Of course, you can buy everything today, but it’s better to make a furniture conductor with your own hands, because then such equipment is exactly right for each specific purpose.

When working with a hand drill, it is sometimes difficult to maintain a predetermined direction of the hole. Also, conductors are used if it is necessary to make a number of similar holes according to the pattern. For example, in carpentry. In this case, the master does not waste time marking the tree, and is guaranteed to get the same result.

The conductor is indispensable when drilling holes in pipes. But the main application is the passage of holes at a given angle.

Consider various options this useful tool:

Jig for perpendicular drilling

A simple furniture jig for drilling holes when assembling metal furniture. Details in the video

Purpose - obtaining passes in thick workpieces, strictly at an angle of 90 °. It is a set of bushings in a single housing, or a bracket with interchangeable working nozzles.

By setting the fixture above the drilling point, you can start working without first punching. The drill exactly hits the center of the sleeve and does not deviate from the axis.

Important! The only problem is that the tool must be held on the workpiece, especially at the beginning of work. Otherwise, it may move due to vibration.

Such a jig for drilling can be made by hand. Thick textolite or solid wood is used. Perfect option- the use of bushings from the extruder for drawing the wire. Worn bushings can be found at the factory.

Nozzles for the extruder are made of alloy steel, with the addition of Pobedit. The service life is practically inexhaustible.

Jig for cylindrical blanks or pipes

Making a hole in a sloping surface is almost impossible. It is especially difficult to start the process - the tip of the drill jumps off a given point. The device will fix the direction, and will allow you to perform work with high accuracy.

By adjusting the length of the fixing bolts, a hole can be drilled tangentially to the center. If there is no such tool at hand, it can be made from improvised materials. For example, from a bar of hard wood and a strip of plywood.

So that the guides do not break so quickly with the sharp edges of the drill, they can be reinforced with sleeves from tubes of different diameters.

Very often, when repairing furniture or assembling it, it is necessary to accurately drill holes for the firmament, dowels and other fasteners. If you drill a chipboard sheet, then it is almost impossible to do this with a simple drill, since the hole breaks and it is not always possible to make a right angle. Therefore, for such work, it is imperative to have a tool called a jig.

Classification of conductors

The main function of conductors is to ensure straightness in drilling wooden surfaces throughout the entire depth of the hole. Such fixtures in metal processing are used quite often and, as a rule, are supplied directly with the machine. In connection with the need to create such holes in the production of furniture in in large numbers such devices are in great demand among craftsmen.

There are such types of conductors:

If the conductor has sufficient rigidity, then it can be used not only on flat planes, but also for curved pipes, etc. In this case, it is fixed with a clamp. But in no case should it be used for mounting on wooden surfaces, as furniture can be damaged. You can buy it in the store, as well as do it yourself.

The conductor is in fact a template for making holes, with which such work can be done with maximum accuracy. Due to the simplicity of the structure of the structure, they are often used not only in the areas of furniture production. In particular, they are actively used in the field of mechanical engineering for drilling holes in various workpieces, etc. Do not forget about the furniture industry, where such a device is used for a variety of needs when assembling furniture fittings.

Features of independent production

When designing a conductor for confirmation, it is necessary to correctly calculate what functions it will have to perform in the future. You need to do it under the most commonly used fasteners in the house. If such a device is required by furniture makers for permanent work, then it is better to buy a factory sample, which is distinguished by great accuracy of work. In addition, manufacturers often include additional fasteners, stops and templates in the kit.

The price of such a device for professional use ranges from 400 to 1100 rubles. It depends on the immediate capabilities of a particular unit, the number of holes being made, their length, and so on. Many are interested in how to make a furniture jig with your own hands. Dimensional drawings are a must for novice craftsmen, as they allow you to make a design with high quality on the first try. Similar schemes can be found on the Internet.

Basically, the conductor has the following elements:

Product base. It is directly applied to the plane of the furniture, on which holes will be drilled.
Guide bushings. A drill goes through them.
Parts for surface clamping. As a rule, they are located on the end of the conductor.

To start designing your own conductor, you need to choose the right corner. It is better to make a non-equivalent corner, since it will have much more opportunities, and choose the maximum thickness of the shelf.

Next, you need to take care of the correct direction of the sleeve. It can be made from stainless steel. The length of the sleeve must be at least twice as long as the hole in which it will be located on the corner. The bushing in the hole should sit with an interference fit. The simplest and most common option is a shaft fit. Under the already known diameter of the sleeve, a corresponding hole is drilled in the corner, and then a landing is made. It is recommended to use a low interference fit.

There are cases when the conductor needs to be made for drilling deep holes. Then the sleeve is made with a collar. The number of possible holes, their length and the distance between them is chosen according to the specific needs of each master.

Several options can be used to mount the device:

Design for confirmations and dowels

Furniture jig for drilling holes for dowel and confirmat - very necessary fixture for furniture makers. Especially if chipboard material is used.

For these purposes, two types of conductor are used:

Clamp-on dowel jig with multiple functions. The basis of this design is a corner made of thick aluminum. Since the fixture is quite long, there is an additional mount in the middle. When turning the corner ninety degrees, the increased thickness of the fixture helps a lot. The bushings on the structure are located at the distance most often used for confirmations and dowels in the manufacture of furniture.
A two-slider jig, which is used to make a hole in two parts fastened together. The design consists of two strips, which are connected by fasteners. It has several holes, so you can install devices at different widths.

Scope of use

Furniture conductors are devices that no furniture maker can do without in the process of work. Such devices avoid the main problem in the production of furniture, namely, the entry of the drill at the wrong angle. If you make such a mistake, then it is subsequently very difficult to correct or even impossible. Such a device not only makes it possible to correctly direct the drill during operation, but also allows the tool to constantly keep the desired trajectory (even, perpendicular or at an angle).

Such devices are used both in the design and manufacture of furniture, and in assembly, when there is a need to make holes for attaching elements to each other. Often, for such actions, conductors are used for confirmations or dowels, without which even holes cannot be made. Also, this device is indispensable if it is necessary to make holes at an angle or at the end of a thin plate (it is especially important to use the device when working with chipboard plates).

When drilling holes using this design, the process itself is quick and simple. Fasteners allow you to work at any distance from the edge of the plate, and also regardless of its width.

In the furniture industry, dowels are very often used as fasteners. But at the same time, this option has already existed for a long time, and their use requires the mandatory presence of a drilling jig during operation. The only condition and at the same time a problem is the factor that the parts to be connected to each other must have a right angle when working. Therefore, such elements must be located exactly perpendicular to each other. When making holes for dowels and adding parts, it will be very difficult to do without a jig.

Furniture production is not the only scope of such devices. Often they can be used to make holes in pipes and other rounded parts. Special devices allow you to make high-quality holes even in the smallest tubes.

The principle of their work and dimensions may be different. Some narrow-profile models are better to buy than to produce on your own. But, on the other hand, the price of such devices is not small, so this is a disadvantage when compared with home-made models.

How to DIY

Most simple designs are cheap, and professional furniture makers are not puzzled homemade production, and prefer to buy factory models. But there are also such masters who want to make such a device with their own hands.

To create a conductor yourself, you need to use the drawings, of which there are a lot on the Internet. With your own hands, you can make simple designs for confirmations and more complex ones for dowels.

For production, you need to prepare a tool:

drill;
classic set of tools for a locksmith;
welding;
Bulgarian.

The simplest conductor can be made from improvised means, which are basically found in any household, in a workshop in a country house or garage. To create it, the simplest materials are suitable, such as fittings, metal sheets and wooden bars etc. They allow significant savings in the production of such a device.

The manufacture of such a device should be carried out in several stages:

In order to have little dust during operation, it is required to mount half plastic bottle. It will also collect dust.

A drilling jig is an indispensable attribute in large-scale production, no matter which one. Where there is a lot of drilling, it is really necessary, especially when production is serial or mass.

With the help of a conductor, production is greatly accelerated, the work of the worker is facilitated.

A drilling jig, as a rule, is a bar (plate) with holes and bushings (sleeves). By means of a conductor, it is much easier, for example, to drill pipes.

As for the production of furniture, they are also used here, although relatively recently.

With this equipment, the manufacturer is relieved of the following problems:

Markup.
Punching (point recesses in the material for the drill).
Drilling with observance of perpendicularity.

The latter is especially difficult to do, since it requires serious skills acquired only over the years.

Some operations, such as dowel drilling (short wooden rods designed for concealed joining of parts), require very precise marking, and no less precise drilling at an angle of 90 °.

With such a device as a conductor, these tasks are solved easily and simply.

Types: choose the one you need

Overhead. They do not need fixing before their intended use. Structurally simple, mobile, but they need to be kept free from the drill by hand, since often the equipment is not fixed in a special device, which is not very convenient. Given the simplicity of the design, making it yourself is quite simple. It is used when drilling chipboard and MDF.

Conductors for drilling holes at an angle. The design is easy to imagine as the name speaks for itself. Such equipment can also be consignment note. In the production of high-quality furniture, there is also drilling at an angle, which is not the easiest operation in manufacturing process- it takes skill. Although in this case, the desired angle is sometimes violated, the assembly as a result will no longer be of such high quality and suffer appearance furniture, especially if it is not made of chipboard, but of wood - here you can’t putty on ugly drilling. The equipment of the desired design completely eliminates unnecessary problems.

Rotary conductors. They have folding brackets, and this allows drilling on two adjacent planes.

Sliding gearboxes. With their help, without reinstallation, you can drill several holes. To work with such equipment, however, the necessary skills are required.

Device for drilling holes for dowels and confirmations

Despite the fact that today a lot of new fittings have appeared in the furniture industry, the good old dowel is still used. This is due to the fact that the joints are not visible through this piece of fittings, and this is especially valuable in the production of natural wood furniture.

As already mentioned, dowel drilling creates a lot of problems for furniture makers, especially those who are not qualified enough.

In order for the furniture planes to be perfectly joined, accurate marking is necessary, and this equipment allows you to speed up the work and bring the quality to the desired level.

Working with confirmations - special furniture screws - although less troublesome, but also requires certain skills. And given how many holes you need to mark and drill before screwing the confirmation in one piece of furniture, such a device will greatly speed up the work, and its quality too.

The simplest devices

The conductor is two-slider. It allows you to drill holes in two adjacent (mating) parts. The fixture is constructed from two rulers that serve as guides and are connected to the mounting plate. The holes made in it make it possible to install a bar on parts of different widths. Housings moved along the rulers (replaceable) have a set of guide bushings, where the distances between them are different. The conductor is fixed by means of a connecting strip, on the opposite side there is a travel limiter, which is pressed with a thumb screw.
The conductor is multiposition. Attaches with clamps. The design allows for vertical drilling. It is made from thick-walled aluminium. Since the fixture has a significant length, it is equipped with an intermediate mount in the center of the structure. The thick wall of the corner was very successfully applied, which cannot be overestimated at the moment of applying the fixture to the surface of the part and when reinstalling the conductor by 90 °. The selection of the distance between the bushings is carried out according to the most common values \u200b\u200bfor the installation of dowels or confirmations.

How to work with a conductor:

The device is fixed on the workpiece.
The sleeve is inserted into the hole.
Drill through the sleeve.

Do-it-yourself furniture conductor: drawings with dimensions to help

Principle of this equipment:

Corner case. It is superimposed on the plane of the parts, which will then be connected to each other.
Guide bushings. A drill will enter through them.
Clamping devices. They fix the conductor and are made from the end part.

Designing your own jig should be based on the fact that with this equipment you can do most of the work performed related to fasteners of various types.

Important! If you need a universal assistant - this applies to professional furniture makers, then it would be better to purchase industrial equipment, which is made more accurately and efficiently. It is such a device that will be preferable and will quickly pay for itself, especially if you also take into account the fact that this device often comes with a lot of different templates, stops and other little things that are also necessary in the work. They are much cheaper than buying at retail.

And yet this device, if necessary, can be made with your own hands.

Such equipment, perhaps, is needed not so often in a particular production, and even more so for a home master. So for many users, doing it yourself will be much more profitable.

If the design of such remains relevant, then you need to prepare materials for the manufacture of a home-made conductor for drilling for confirmation:

Corner. You should stop your choice on the unequal type of this rental - its possibilities are wider. The corner shelf must be chosen with the greatest thickness, which can reach up to 8 mm. This is well justified, since then guide bushings with an outer diameter of up to 6 mm can be inserted. Based on this, drills from 3.5 to 4 mm can be used. Even if that diameter is not enough, then the material is drilled with a large drill, without using any other devices.
Guide bushings. Here it will be preferable to use stainless steel pipes, which are selected, first of all, according to the inner diameter. Example: a 6×1.5 pipe is suitable for a drill no larger than 2.7 in diameter. Explanation: its inner hole will be 3 mm, and a small gap along the entire inner diameter is taken into account due to the thermal expansion of the material. The sleeve length is the depth of the hole in the corner, multiplied by two or more. The fit of the bushings is either transitional, or with an interference fit, or according to the shaft system. The latter is the most appropriate.

Instead of pipes, of course, you can use ready-made bushings used in wire drawing machines - such are available, for example, in mechanical engineering. Such parts (even used ones) will come in handy: they are made of alloyed steels and have an almost unlimited service life.

Choice of mounting method

Options:

Fixation with self-tapping screws. They are screwed into the part, which prevents the device from moving due to friction. This is convenient because these marks will be needed for subsequent drilling of other holes.
The emphasis is spring. It will securely fix the conductor on the part. For such an emphasis, a flat spring with an appropriate clamping force is suitable.
Clamps external. Under them it is necessary to lay rubber gaskets. Corrugated rubber is ideal as a material. This, of course, slightly increases the weight of the tool, and the elasticity of the pads can negatively affect the squareness of the bushings. To prevent this from happening, the drill is inserted into the sleeve in order to mark the hole, and only then the clamps are clamped.

For drilling pipes and cylindrical parts

AT modern furniture not only chipboard, fiberboard, MDF and wood are used. As additional elements may apply steel pipes different diameter. Covered with chrome or stainless steel, they perfectly complement the overall furniture ensemble.

It is very difficult to drill a spherical surface - the drill strives to slip to the side. Yes, and marking is not so easy when there are a lot of holes and they are arranged in several rows.

In order for the notorious colander to turn out of the pipe, but the correct part with precisely made holes, you will need a jig - this is the ideal solution in this situation.

There are steel conductors made in the form of an adjustable clamp. This design feature allows you to clamp pipes of different diameters in them and drill holes in them with high accuracy.

Without being able to make such a device, you can use waste materials, making an even simpler device using a bar and a strip of plywood. So, a bar cut diagonally lengthwise into circular saw, can be nailed or screwed with screws at an angle of 90 ° to plywood. The resulting device is superimposed on top of the pipe, and a strip of plywood, resting against a table or workbench, does not allow the specified angle to be violated. Holes of the required diameter pre-drilled in the bar are placed taking into account the required distances between future holes, which will allow you to quickly and accurately drill the pipe exactly according to the drawings.

Do-it-yourself furniture conductors and templates

How conductors are made is now clear, as well as their need for furniture production.

Not only conductors, but also templates are necessary in furniture production. The simplest template will sometimes save a lot of time and enable no less accurate drilling than a jig.

For example, the simplest metal prefabricated invoice template, consisting of two sheet blanks measuring 130 × 70 mm and a steel square with a cross section of 20 mm. They are interconnected by screws in the upper part of the structure - this is how they are attached to the square. The square is drilled under the bushings, where the latter are pressed. Such a device for drilling holes in the end of a part made of chipboard will make it possible to drill without thinking about marking and perpendicular drilling at all. And the price of this equipment is below any idea of \u200b\u200bsavings.

Instead of metal, you can and should use those materials that are inexpensive and easy to process.

Materials:

Plywood.
Textolite or fiberglass - preferably thick.
Hard wood.
Hardboard or its equivalent.

It must be borne in mind that these materials are short-lived, and so that the devices do not have to be made every day, it is quite reasonable to press metal tubes into them.

In conclusion, it is worth summarizing what has been said. Making a jig or a template yourself or buying it in a store is up to each individual. If a home craftsman needs to make some kind of furniture in a single copy and there is material for the conductor, as well as the possibility of manufacturing it, you can use this. It is possible that such equipment will never be useful to the master again.

But even if a small furniture workshop is engaged in the production of mass-produced furniture, and enough people work in it, it is probably easier to purchase something ready-made, especially since they will need several copies of these irreplaceable assistants to the craftsmen.

In the latter case, it makes sense to purchase more expensive, accurate and wear-resistant conductors instead of making handicraft ones that are less accurate and durable.

Good luck in your work!