How-to: Straight Holes, Rod Stock, Small Drill Press

So I built this new foot clutch rod and looks okay, but it is a complete failure as a functional part. It's too short and I built around a clutch release arm that was adjusted wrong, too. As a learning experience it was great and the next one will be perfect.


Here's what I learned and wanted to pass on. I probably didn't invent it first, but I figured it out by myself and it worked.

I needed to put a threaded hole in the clutch release arm. The cable end needed to be cut off first. But how the heck am going to chuck this weird piece into a drill press to get a nice straight hole to tap?


I drilled the cut off piece in my drill press, with my drill press vice and v-jaws.


Nice straight hole.


The v-jaws in the bench vise and use the cut-off/drilled piece as a drill guide for regular hand drill.


Straight and tappable.




The next trick was putting a straight tappable hole in a three foot rod with only a benchtop drill press. And the same technique works here, too.




Perfect!