Tips & Techniques

Mar-Free Drill-Press Fence Alignment

Place a pencil in the drill-press chuck to align the fence without marring the wood's surface.

Issue 320 - Dec 2023/Jan 2024

When I need to drill a series of holes in line along a work surface, I have found that the easiest way to set the distance from the floating fence on my drill press to the drill bit is to put a sharp, straight pencil in the chuck and then mark and measure a board up against the fence as I adjust the distance. A pencil will leave marks that need to be removed, but it won’t mar the surface like a drill bit would.

—Chris Steck, Seattle

Edited and illustrated by Charles Miller.

From Fine Homebuilding #320

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