Tip #69
Drilling Equidistant Holes
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A cheap, expendable setup for drilling equidistant holes needs only a piece of scrap wood, a clamp, and a dowel or bolt of the same diameter as the hole to be drilled.

First drill a hole in the scrap and then clamp it to the table. Have the drilled hole set to the right or left of the bit, at the distance you wish to maintain between holes.

Place your work on top of the scrap and drill the first hole in the desired position. Move the work over and push the dowel or bolt through the hole in the work into the hole in the scrap. You may then drill as many additional equidistant holes as you wish by moving the work and replacing the dowel each time.

The scrap under your drill bit will not provide a good back-up for much soft wood drilling; you must be careful to avoid feathering or burring soft wood. Hard wood should not be too difficult to work with in this respect, but care must be taken. For soft wood, extra dowel holes can be easily drilled in the scrap.

This jig is particularly useful for repetitive drilling operations, such as making holes for adjustable clips for shelves.