How to drill a hole on an inclined curved piece?

Messages
5,629
Location
Catalunya
Hi guys.

I’m working on the design of my next project and I will need to make a round hole on a curved piece to pass a metal bar through it as in the pic.

tenon.jpg
The problem is that the bar will behave as a stretcher, so I need to make the hole right and paralel to the floor line.
Any hint about how I could do it?

My only idea is using a squared piece of wood, make a perpendicular hole on it at the right height and of the right diameter, then and adapt it to the curve, clamp it to the piece to drill and use it as a guide, (see drawings) but I’m not so sure if it will work or not.

This would be the squared piece.
tenon2.jpg

This would be piece adpated to the curve and being used as a guide.
tenon3.jpg


Any hint or better idea will be greatly appreciated
Thanks in advance.
 
Hi guys.

I’m working on the design of my next project and I will need to make a round hole on a curved piece to pass a metal bar through it as in the pic.

...My only idea is using a squared piece of wood, make a perpendicular hole on it at the right height and of the right diameter, then and adapt it to the curve, clamp it to the piece to drill and use it as a guide, (see drawings) but I’m not so sure if it will work or not.
...

Your idea will work quite well, That's exactly how I'd do it.

Another alternative would be to drill the hole before you cut the curve. Mark out the shape, then drill the hole while the stock is still straight, then cut the curve last.
 
My first choice is to mill such things prior to cutting the curves. If the piece is not cut from a large blank or is bent lamination (or just steam bent) a jig to hold it in position would be my approach. My one-off jigs sometimes get a little involved but, experience has shown me that the time and effort spent on the jig is less than the time and effort spent doing it other ways. Your squared off piece drilled and then cut to shape looks good. I would want another piece as a backer. What are the overall dimensions of the piece to be drilled?
 
My first choice is to mill such things prior to cutting the curves. If the piece is not cut from a large blank or is bent lamination (or just steam bent) a jig to hold it in position would be my approach. My one-off jigs sometimes get a little involved but, experience has shown me that the time and effort spent on the jig is less than the time and effort spent doing it other ways. Your squared off piece drilled and then cut to shape looks good. I would want another piece as a backer. What are the overall dimensions of the piece to be drilled?

They are the legs of a bench I'm designing, so the height will be 45cm and the bar will be about 20-25cm (10") from the floor, I am tweaking the design to avoid having to buy more lumber.
 
Top