Editor’s note: Our Mind Upon Mind series is a nod to a 1937 Chips from the Chisel column (also featured in “Honest Labour: The Charles H. Hayward Years”), in which Hayward wrote, “The influence of mind upon mind is extraordinary.” The idea being there’s often room for improvement. To that end, we’ve asked you what else you have thought of, tried out and improved upon after building projects from our books.
Send us your own ideas! Email kara@lostartpress.com. You can read more about the submission process here.
Today’s pick is courtesy of Philip Otterness. Thanks, Philip!
— Kara Gebhart Uhl
Like many others, I find one of the more challenging parts of making stick furniture is consistently drilling holes at a set angle, especially without a laser or without another pair of eyes to make sure I’m keeping both the drill and bit at the proper angle. My solution is very simple.
First, I go to the kitchen and dig out the plastic bag holding skewers for making shish kebabs. I pull out several skewers and find one that is reasonably straight.
Second, I tape the skewer to the top of my drill, which is made easier in my case because the plastic casing on my drill has two grooves, one towards the back and one towards the front, that are centered along the top and aligned with one another. I place the skewer in the grooves, with one end extending over the drill bit. Using duct tape, which sticks to plastic more securely than painter’s tape, I tape the skewer securely in place.
Third, I line up my bevel, set at the proper angle, along the sightline and tape it in place so that it will be about 1/4″ in front of the skewer when the drill is held in place to drill the hole.
Fourth, I drill the hole. Lining everything up is super easy at this point. Because the skewer is right next to the bevel, it isn’t difficult to keep the two parallel with one another. Also, when sighting down the skewer, you can easily keep it aligned with the leading edge of the bevel.
— Philip Otterness