Here's my stand and why.Part II.

Hello readers,

In this post I'll be writting about another fixture that can be attach to a hand drill.Despite it's being disqualified as a drill stand,it could do the job pretty good too.With a bit of careful positioning and some DIY jigging(on arc top guitars),these fixtures or better known as drill guide in general could do a job of a big drill press without breaking the bank.However some do cost more than one might expect.I think the plus point here is mobility.

Having said that,I have to confess as I didn't do as many research as I did as the previous post and I'm aware of many manufacturers has some similarity derived from the same mechanics.So here goes.

The first drill guide attachment was invented by Millers Falls Co in 1883.The manual hand drill was called a breast drill.I'm sure the drill guide attachment came to be out of common sense.this had solved the how to drill straight down question at the time.No doubt this drill guide had inspired all the drill guide makers of today.A couple of facts,Thomas Edison discovered electricity in 1879.In 1895 the first electric power tool was invented in Germany by Emil Fein of Fein Elektrowerkzuege.From my Internet digging Edison had wrote to Fein requesting a catalog.As for who made the marriage of the electric tool and the drill guide I have no idea.Could be the Germans too?


From then on emerged many variant derived from the original..Most will have a keyed chuck permanently attach in case your power drill has terrible spindle run out.You should research about the the stock chuck if concentricity is a priority.Some has the ability to do angle drilling,spring retention and depth stop bushing.Google and you get brands like Kanzawa,Craftsman,Milescraft,Wolfcraft, and generic.

Why put a chuck when most of the worlds famous power tools with good chuck comes from your country.That's probably the reason this Wolfcrat Tecmobil 4522000 don't come with one.Talk about build it like a boss.Comes with 10 year warranty.








The boss made another one.The Tecmobil 200.I'm beginning to like green color schemes from this company.It's easy for the eyes.
The Tecmobil 200 comes with 10 year warranty too.









The Rockler Jig It has a two drill guide design that away does away with angle drilling.It's very ideal if you only do straight drill.  

Another type of Rockler drill guide.

This Famag is for millionaires,celebrities,oil sheik etc.Its being sold by the same shop that sells the DUSS.Price? Don't ask.










I will conclude this write up in part 3,where I will share my stand and why I bought it.
Till then.

Here's my stand and why.Part I.

Quest for the ultimate stand I could afford.

 Its been a very long since I bought anything big from oversea.My past big spending was 5 years from Stewmac when I started my journey as a wannabe guitar tech.A year after that I bought myself a drill press locally which was a normal thing to get when one venture into this field.The drill press was bought in haste and soon after I came to realised not all drill press are created equal.I have a bit of buyers remorse but I was not entirely disappointed about my mistake.This thing happen for a reason more overly when you're buying a piece of machinery that you know nothing about.

 I didn't loose a lot with my old drill press as it's able to aid most of my drilling chore but I had to pass all work that involve bridge mount drilling particularly on a Strat,Tele and LP type guitars.My drill press didn't have enough throat to column for it.However Floyd Rose stud drilling didn't face any problem. I should've known about this from the beginning.It's not only about drilling down,the space needed is important too.Well what's done is done.Time to look for another Drill Press or Drill Stand + Power Tool Combo.Unlike before I'm doing as much research as I could before parting my money which I would share as we go.

The machine has to have no less 150mm of throat from spindle to column.However manufacturers sometime omit the Throat measurement with Swing factor as that would make the number look bigger and better.When you see Swing,divide that by 2 then you would get the actual Throat clearance.In German a drill press throat is written as "Ausladung".Yup,my research in the subject has made me pickup german.At least a word or two.Don't worry about the other part..As the ausladung increases so does the size and features.













As usual my search began locally from the comfort of a cyber cafe.Between MYR800 - MYR2000 had fruit many choices.Some models from the likes of Boky,Dacho etc did fit my criteria.Among them all I had my eyes on a Hitachi B16RM.Its has what I need,furthermore Hitachi is a familiar name, but the thing is it's heavy and tall.It alone would take up a significant space in my tiny workshop.Wherever should it stood its going to be just it and there can be nothing else there.I wish there's a bench top version of it.At this point I'd moved my interest toward modular stand or fixtures.Something that would accept the normal hand drill,discrete and mobile.Something that requires two things to make it work.If one of it has design flaw I'm able to say "Aha! you fucked up real bad here,I'm reporting this to the world but will email your company the post link".

Hence broadening my search in the web/youtube brought me to some sites in Europe,Germany to be exact. I stumble upon several drill stand fixtures which are quite genius in its own right.To begin with I never thought few companies are actually serious about making it,I mean given the prices of some of these drill stand you might as well be better off with an actual drill press itself.I guess there's many out there like me that don't want anything tall and heavy in there workshop as well.This is the time I've pickup a few german words.Below are some of my finding and my thought about them.


This is a Proxxon MB200 copy sold by Aliexpress.It's the lightest stand here.3Kg of birds feather.I didn't bother to even consider this stand but it's still a cheap mistake if it did came short of your expectation.The throat is 124mm and the swivelling plunge ability factor is a bonus for any hobbyist.Could be good for PCB drilling.Unlike the Proxxon MB200,this accepts any 43mm drill and comes a collar mount reducer for smaller power tools.You could buy the same stand in green from Banggood.




The Wolfcraft 5027000 with its car parts like name is a solidly built stand with all metal contruction but with only 130mm throat factor it made me question myself whether it's worth the money and future regrets.It weighs a beefy 7.1Kg.I'm sure it's as good as any drill stand from Germany.I think I saw this stand sold by Ace Hardware 10 years back.Back then I didn't gave any thought about it.It must've been the price that putted me off.It comes with 10 years manufacturer guarrantee.







  Weighing a good 6.6Kg,the Record DS19 has the ability to swivel from 0 to 90 degree but lacks the throat depth that I need.At only 125mm I would take my money elsewhere.If weight isn't a factor get the Chinese made instead.Nothing againts Record Co itself.I'm sure your other products are good but this isn't one of them.At least to me.






I have to confess,the first time I heard the name Metabo,I thought it was Chinese or at best Japanese as like Makita of Japan.No sir, its German like most stand displayed here.The Metabo DS890 has the furthest throat of 165mm with a substancial weight of 5.5Kg.From the get go it's practical not to mention its unique column placemen in the base corner.Thumbs up.Who makes for who here?








 I have to confess,the first time I heard the name Bosch,I thought it was BOSS of Japan.No sir, its German like most stand displayed here.The Bosch DP500 has the furthest throat of 165mm with a substancial weight of 5.5Kg.From the get go it's practical not to mention its unique column placemen in the base corner.With its clamping lever attached at 3 strategic spots,you could now put away that hex wrench.2 Thumbs up.Who makes for who here?

Personally the Proxxon BFB2000 is the most interesting drillstand among all.It's a part of a design from Proxxon that combines 3 important elements to become a Mill/Drill system.The best part is you could buy the drill stand,milling motor or XY table complete or seperately.The stand weighs at 6.5Kg making it a no nonsense tool.All the drill stand here has the depth stop pin but this one has a few more things up its sleeve.You could do fine feed drill/mill.It can be swivel.The precision(I think) milled dovetail allows for smooth drilling plunge to any angle you need.Despite having just 140mm of throat,with a bit of positioning of the work piece.It's still workable on Strat and LP."Tools with character".This sure fits my character.Maybe one day.


For some of us that has the money to blow on a stand.Something that would be the talk in town but would look good in the living room too.The DUSS KB43 is the crème de la crème.Although the throat is just 140mm,it's priced between EUR490 to EUR640(depending on model) each making it the most expensive and heaviest drill stand in this category.The drill stand alone weighs 15Kg.Well that explains where those money went into.Would I buy this if I had the money? of course I would.I'm a tool loving guy.The DUSS KB43 has a realistic tool usage value compared to Gibson Les Paul R7,8,9 put together.This is not just a piece of stahl.It's a piece of German Prazision Werkzueg.It's the Porshe of bohrstander.Precise and practical that anyone can rely on.Click here to buy.



It's believed to be of Russian origin.Brand,model and specs are unknown.Quiet a good design.Rumours has it the company stop making it due to low demand.To whoever that owns the rights of this drill stand,here's a tip.Sell the design to the Germans and they will sell to the world with quality or licence it to the Chinese and they will sell like hot cakes but be quick about it.Cause once they see this,it's a matter of time before they figure out its mechanics.By then it's to late and not one cent given.
 Anyway I could be wrong about its nationality.Someone shed some light please.




 In part 2 of 3 I'll be writting about another type of drill stand which cost much much lesser than any of the above.Its pros and cons too,leading to part 3.What I went for and why.So see you in the next series.

Stand,Over is better than Under.
yustech

Marshall Valvestate 8008

This isn't a repair reporting post.If I remembered correctly the owner came to have me make a 1/4 inch jack with proper speaker wires from it leading into a cabinet.
These thing rarely make an appearance in my workshop.From the outlook I sensed it's easy to have a peak inside.First look,it's a no nonsense gear with proper weight distribution between the donut and the main PCB.On the main PCB there's two identical circuit layout almost mirror to each other for stereo or bridge output.It's like looking at an old straight forward brittish HiFi power amp.Tidy like a lady should I say handsome like a gentlemen.

 The board is single sided(I think) so every componet is visible to eyes,smellable to the nose and feelable to the fingers(in case you want to know what's not suppose to feel hot.Where's the valve?
This don't qualify to be in the "Past Tech Job" label but I guess I put it there anyway.At least those who didn't peruse this post may think I repaired it in some way.Well I don't mind getting busted for it as I like to think these pictures would add benefit on top what's already published out there.Where's the valve?

Bottom line it's well built,simple to figure out and most importantly it's still alive especially in todays era of Apps and Binary generated guitar tones.Are rack mounts a thing of the past? Maybe but its definitely not for this Marshall 8008 power amp.

Never like any Marshall guitar amp
yustech

One upping the Ibanez Edge Zero and ZR bridge by 6 fold.

Hello readers

Its been 9 month since my last post and for that I owe many of you a very big apology for my absent in Cyber space.Reason being I've been busy as we all are.During that time I took a chuck of the time learning new stuff and techniques in the net and facebook.Most of it are still beyond my ability but surfice to say it'll come in handy one day.For now I saved all of it in my mind and hard disk.Haha

As the title goes and as some of you have known I have a love and hate perspective towards Ibanez guitars or shall I say towards Hoshino itself.I mean whatever you see or saw in any Ibanez products old or new are what was decided by Hoshino.That's a fact.

I suspect there's an power struggle going on between the lutherie camp(is there a thing?) and the financial camp(there is a thing!) within Hoshino itself.

Before I go much further let me explain what is the Lutherie Camp.For start they are an an influential camp that understood guitars and its mechanics.Finding its flaws,redesigning it and offering the improvement to guitar/bass player out there.Though I come to know that Ibanez don't have their own manufactring facility but at least this camp knew what they want and knows someone who has the know how to do it for them.I speaking about Fujigen Gakki of course."Here's the drawing and specs,don't call us,do it right and we'll call you". It was no doubt a very smart decision.  "Anything but traditional"

What about the Finance Camp? Simple,take more and give less."New ideas for todays idiots" ops I meant to say musicians.They're the ones who are responsible for Edge III and STD DL not to mention the thinned powder coating on all post 2003 trems system that's susceptible to pitting and wear.

In my theory Hoshino was lead by the lutherie camp from the beginning of time all the way through the 90's.As a player you could sense the right people was streering Hoshino by the trems that was on their guitars(Lo Pro Edge,Edge etc.).What came after has been written by me in previous post.

So off to the tips shall we.Alright first of I thought I posted this tech tip 4 years ago until my x student(S320 with ZR bridge) and his friend(RG550 with Edge Zero bridge) came for a setup.How indeed I've become forgetful about this...haha...well anyway not wanting to take out that Ibanez's intonating tool on the bridge itself I opt to add 6 set screws there permanently in place hence one upping its improvement by 6 times.By that I mean 6 times the speed,the pleasure and the ease.It's merely by common sense and sooner or later someone's gonna put it there anyway.I'm just confirming that it can be done.So locktite the default tool and head to the local or online fastener store.

One more tip.Once you're set with the intonation procedure,tighten the saddle moving cap screws.Loosen all the new intonation set screws and have them all snugg but not TIGHT!

So I hope this post would forgive my hiatus.If you have any question about this tech tip,pop it in the comment.Unfortunately the spelling checker not doing its thing so forgive any spelling errors.
Until next time thank you and goodbye.