Vee-blocks for drill press for round stock

David Agnew

Member
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I need to drill some 1" or 1.5" OD pipe. To clamp it in place, I'm going to make some Vee-blocks out of wood using my table saw.

Couple questions
1) I assume I should cut the Vees perpendicular to the grain to resist splitting. Is that correct?
2) Should I make both an upper and lower Vee block? Ie, make a sandwich out of the pipe: table->Vee-block->Pipe->Vee-block all clamped together? Or is it enough to clamp the pipe directly? I think we'll be using schedule 80 pvc pipe, so it's pretty tough, but it's not black iron pipe.

Thanks!
 
Just rip a 2X4 in half at 45°, then reverse the halves and glue them to a plywood base.. Drop the pipe into the 'valley' and drill away.
 
Thanks for the feedback, guys. Sandpaper is a great idea too, especially because these pipes are going to get really beat-up anyway. A little surface marring in the name of safe drilling is no problem at all!
 
Well I don't think with a 1 1/2 inch 2x4 this will be an issue....

Right...The (non-adjustable) 2 X 4 "V" should handle most pipe.

The "V" will be about 3" wide at its top, and that'll handle pipes/dowels 6" or more in diameter.

Widening the gap between the halves will allow the pipe/dowel to touch the base before the "V", and that'll defeat its purpose.
 
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