SHOP TIPS // How to // Aligning drilled holes in round materials

Workshop Tips & Tricks - How to accurately align drilled holes in
round materials such as pipe or tube or solid wood stock.
How to quickly and reliably locate and drill holes in virtually any round material.
In this how to shop tip tip I will share with you a simple technique to align drilled holes that is otherwise frustrating and difficult to do without expensive machine shop equipment.
I will demonstrate how to easily layout a center line on round materials like pipe or tube, as well as how to make a simple set up to insure your drilled holes will be perfectly (well darn near perfectly) aligned with each other.
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[@PRODIGY5369]

Out of the blue, I needed to drill into a scaffold tube. I came here looking for helpful tips. And found your video. Thank you sir. 👍

[@BuildswithBrian]

Your welcome sir, thanks for watching

[@paul-ld9vh]

Great idea for straight lines on a tube. I have found that the miter slots on my table saw work well (on smaller tubing).

[@joshuaschoessow3993]

Thanks for the tip. Very helpful.

[@HouseDoctorRay]

Very helpful tips. Thanks for sharing.

[@exhibitdesign901]

Thank you for this! I am repairing a client's display that is made from tubing. I needed this exact advice!

[@BuildswithBrian]

You’re most welcome, Luck with your project

[@ronkellis769]

Great tips! Talk about a blinding flash of the obvious with the angle or channel. I worked for a guy who set fence posts by eye for decades. My job as the noob/kid was to move the poles in the holes by hand signal then, after setting them, plumb them with a torpedo level. So we used both your techniques.

[@apacheliz213]

Great tip! Thanks!

[@jimgibson4760]

Simple...but the best ideas usually are. Thanks for sharing.

[@BuildswithBrian]

Thanks hope the tip helped you 👍

[@SkyJamVideos]

Excellent video. Thank you.

[@NowNow25]

Brilliant! Simple and effective!

[@BuildswithBrian]

Glad you found it helpful, thanks for watching

[@456456459]

Reference this video every few months. It works really well.

[@BuildswithBrian]

I’m glad it helped you, thank you for watching

[@abeljimenez594]

Excellent job

[@hoangky1240]

Thank you sir. Great methods. You explain it very well.

[@9and7]

This is fantastic! Thank You for this! Cheers!

[@BuildswithBrian]

9and7 You’re welcome 👍

[@shabbirantaria1523]

great inovation. Thank you

[@punkhazious5340]

Thank you so much, have a last min build at work, this video saved my butt getting all this work done ( 20 swing gates in 4 days) you're awesome!

[@BuildswithBrian]

Glad it helped you, thanks for watching 👍

[@BuildswithBrian]

Do you work in a metal fab shop ??

[@colincrooky]

Very good, thank you.

[@azizgrigri4887]

thank you for sharing us this idea

[@BuildswithBrian]

You’re welcome 👍

[@nickcats9171]

Love it! Like that you give lots of options!👍Now, off to work…

[@BuildswithBrian]

Hope the video helped you, thanks for watching 👍

[@kenkelly5510]

Thank you!

[@hipairbrush1053]

Great tips

[@bryanperido3734]

Thanks!

[@BuildswithBrian]

My pleasure thanks for watching

[@jeddinger6138]

Nicely done! A magnetic Wixey digital angle guide would be just the thing on that all-thread if you wanted some confirmation of your precision. Thank you for the tips.

[@BuildswithBrian]

That’s a great idea 👍 It’s for watching and the tip

[@simonbanderas3806]

Very smart.

[@VadymZakrevskyy]

Thank You!

[@BuildswithBrian]

You’re welcome!!

[@BuildswithBrian]

My pleasure! Hope it helped you

[@mervinanding4652]

Nice! thank you for the tips :-)

[@BuildswithBrian]

You’re very welcome!

[@zoozolplexOne]

Cool !!

[@user-kb9mf3ji3x]

Nice

[@chuckfischer7202]

Great suggestion. How about lower & lock the drill bit 'ti nearly touching the work piece. Position yourself where you can sight past the bit to the bolt at the other end. Adjust so that the bit & bolt are parallel. Then it won't matter if the machine isn't dead plumb.

[@BuildswithBrian]

That’s a good tip thank you

[@salem8588]

Thanks good video .

[@BuildswithBrian]

Youre welcome

[@chrisswartzwelder8494]

Excellent I wish I would’ve watch this before I drilled the incorrect holes

[@anthonytuccinardi]

Well done video with great tips. It would be interesting to know drill those holes without a drill press. Can it be done with a hand drill with reasonable accuracy.

[@commentatron]

Big Gator Tools Drill Guide is one way: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iqGzg2iAnbl5msU

[@Mgiusto]

Great video and love the tip on ways to draw the center line on pipe. I have a unique issue. I have a basketball pole that's installed on my property and I just got a new backboard with height adjustment system and the poles that came with it have 5 sets of holes (10 total holes) that I will need to drill into the pole that's already vertical on my property. How would you go about this project to get the holes lined up properly? My initial thought is to wrap a piece of cardstock around the new pole and press where the holes are to get them embossed into the cardstock, then cut those holes out of the cardstock with a razor knife and then wrap the cardstock around the installed pole and line the holes over the centerline and draw these circles on my pole, then find the center of this circle on my pole and indent, then drill one side, then go over to the other side of the pole and do the same thing. Would this be a good way of going about it or is there a better, easier way? Thanks for any help!

[@BuildswithBrian]

mgiusto.com ... yes I believe your idea will work great, provided the poles are the same outside diameter. Take your time marking the holes and cutting, and you will do great

[@Mgiusto]

@@BuildswithBrian I did this project this past weekend and noticed that the installed pole had been filled with cement so drilling the holes would have been close to impossible because there was also rebar in the middle. I wound up cutting off the top half of the pole with an angle grinder then slid the new pole with the holes on it onto my existing pole. Everything came out perfect!

[@BuildswithBrian]

mgiusto.com , glad it all worked out for you 👍

[@googlebookmarks9270]

Great, just marvelous, but will you agree that we will be aligning with eye accuracy only. Is there a more accurate way, if I have a pipe only 6 inches long and only have to make two holes aligned. Thank s

[@BuildswithBrian]

There are many other methods to achieve accuracy, but what level of accuracy or precision do you need?

[@alangriff1]

Good tips. How would you line up the holes if they only went through ONE side of the pipe?

[@BuildswithBrian]

Cant say I’ve ever had to do holes Like that, but I would just draw the line down the pipe 👍

[@nathanielselvidge4157]

I was thinking the same thing lol. Working on a motorcycle seat pan

[@brandtag44]

daym!

[@thahiraumer7236]

It is OK for 2 - 3 holes. If we need too many holes on different pipes, it is time consuming!

[@LaserrSharp]

Nice tip. I am building a Swedish ladder. I am using 4x4 lumber for the uprights and galvanized steel pipes for the rungs. I plan insert the ends of the each pipe into holes that I will drill into the uprights with a Forstner bit. The problem is that I'm not sure how to go about fixing the pipes into the wood so that they don't spin or slip. I want them super secure. If you have any ideas, please send them my way. Thanks!

[@BuildswithBrian]

Will this be kept inside or outside and exposed to weather ? And is finished appearance matter ?

[@LaserrSharp]

​@@BuildswithBrian Indoors in my garage. The climate in my area is usually hot, dry, with short and mild winters. Appearance is not too big a deal. Thanks.

[@BuildswithBrian]

Well for starters, I wouldn’t use a pressure treated 4 x 4, they are notorious for twisting and splitting as they dry out, if you use a Douglas fir 4x4 maybe ok, Another solution is to laminate 2 2x4 pieces, as far as using steel pipe, and making it super secure, There are quite a few options, but it depends on what tools and abilities you have available, like can you weld? If so then you can weld an end plate onto the pipe and bolted into the 4 x 4, if you can’t weld you can drill and pin the pipe through the 4 x 4

[@LaserrSharp]

Builds with Brian I can’t weld. Pinning the pipe you mean just drill a hole in the uprights and drive a screw so it pushes up against the pipe?

[@BuildswithBrian]

To guarantee the pipe Won’t spin, you need to drill a hole through the wood and through the pipe and mechanically lock Them together with either a metal pin or bolt

[@turboduckhead6179]

How do I find the top dead centre of the tube in the drill vice. I struggle to drill directly through the “tip” of the circumference.

[@BuildswithBrian]

Unless I am working on the milling machine, I just find eyeballing it to be good enough. But this guy made a video that might help you kzbin.info/www/bejne/bqDYXqGvi8lontk

[@rdkuless]

Hello.. So what if you have 2 pipes on the same plane.. and you want to put a threaded rod through both at the same angle. I can see how you anchor and center a pipe to drill a hole with a press.. What if there are 2 pipes that are tied together in a U shape and you want the holes to line up on the same plane.. ?

[@BuildswithBrian]

I don’t see the difference, use the same method I describe and they should be aligned As long as your drill press table is level

[@RM-lu4hy]

How about posts already in the ground?

[@BuildswithBrian]

You’re on your own there chief 😁

[@jarredmattingly5369]

Straight lines on a tube....... just walk to any door jamb and place the round stock along the the vertical frame, and scribe yer line.

[@BuildswithBrian]

😆😆😆

[@nesc39]

You would need to put a level on the pipe lengthwise and on the dowel.

[@BuildswithBrian]

Not necessarily, if you keep the pipe or round tube you are drilling flat to your drill press table, then level is irrelevant. As the drill press table is perpendicular to the drill bit. The trick to getting it perfectly square is having your drill press table level, and then you can either plumb the Dowel with a level, but I always find eyeballing it plumb is close enough 😁

[@edjharris1]

What's the trick if you don't have a drill press keep the holes straight

[@BuildswithBrian]

I can’t think of everything 😆

[@frilink]

How do you align a hole on a curved pipe?

[@BuildswithBrian]

Do you really have a need to know that, or are you being a smart ass😜

[@adsdentiste]

you must of course be careful not to suffer from astigmatism, because in this case you will definitely be wrong

[@ralphwatten2426]

Not round, tubular.

[@BuildswithBrian]

Thanks for clearing that up 👍

[@ralphwatten2426]

Great video none the less. Thanks for posting.

[@ralphwatten2426]

@@BuildswithBrian No problem Brian. Thanks for the video. I already used the info this morning. Thanks again for taking the time to post.

[@BuildswithBrian]

Ralph Watten .... you’re welcome, glad it helped you