How to find the spot at the top of my hilts curve so the drill hole isint crooked?

[SamTheSaberSmith]

Im trying to drill a blade retention screw into my saber and was wondering if theres a method for me to drill the hole at the exact center of the hilts width so i don't make it crooked. Also i read the tapping guide and saw that i can't use a drill press to tap, do they mean when the press is on? Because maybe i couls just turn it off and turn the chuck with the tap inside to tap. Otherwise i don't know how to tap straight.

[jbkuma]

As to the tapping, I believe that is referring to the need for speed and force control. The tap needs to pull itself through, and a drill press complicates that.

As for drilling the top of your hilt, do you mean finding the center line, or ensuring your hole is centered? Use a punch, then pilot hole to guide your larger bits, step up the hole increasingly larger bits.

[SamTheSaberSmith]

As to the tapping, I believe that is referring to the need for speed and force control. The tap needs to pull itself through, and a drill press complicates that.

As for drilling the top of your hilt, do you mean finding the center line, or ensuring your hole is centered? Use a punch, then pilot hole to guide your larger bits, step up the hole increasingly larger bits.

Im talking about drilling the top point of the circle, if you were to look at the sink tube from the emitter or pomell, this point would be in thec middle like this. ( . ) and are there any methods for a straight tap besides my hands?

[ARKM]

When it comes to drilling a hole in the side of a cylindrical object, if you want "perfect" centering and properly aligned holes, you will need a drill press with a vise or a milling machine to use as a drill press. If doing it by hand, all you can do is eyeball it and hope for the best. Try to use at least a vise and if you already have a predesignated "top" of the saber, center that "side" of the saber in the vise facing straight up, using your best guess. I hope that helps.

For tapping, same thing about trying to use a vice and centering the top side of the saber facing straight up and just eyeballing it while tapping. While I do use a lathe and mill for drilling, I never use a machine to tap. That's all done by hand and works fine for me.

[Silver Serpent]

I've found that if you get the hole drilled straight, then the tap will want to go straight as well.

[hapki]

Mad cow had a video about finding the center using a piece of paper. Wrap the paper around the tube, tape it, and then fold it in half. The folds indicate the 180 degree marks. Maybe that's not what your were asking my, but that's my best answer.

[hapki]

The video explains it better.

[snilam]

what tools do you have available?