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I don't see an archtop room so I hope it is ok to post this here.

I am carving my first top. When I drilled the contour holes for the top, I was unable to drill holes in the center due to the depth of my little drill press. This was not a problem since the center is the apex. After a lot of gouging, scraping, flap sanding and sanding, the top is pretty much done. But now I need to contour the back, and drill holes, mostly in the center, which my drill press will not do.

So I am wondering how to contour the back. Some ideas are:
-freehand the carving with the gouge or angle grinder, frequently checking the thickness with a gauge
-make a thickness gauge that my hand drill mounts to, limiting the drilling to an adjustable depth
-make a holder for my router similar to a pin router

Any thoughts are welcome.




Thanks,
mark

Mark, assuming you have a thickness gage I'd drill a hole in a block, chuck the drill & slip the block over as a depth stop. Mark an X at a point on the inside, measure the thickness, and expose the bit (out of the block) by the thickness LESS plate thickness you're targeting (3/8"?). Drill 'till block bottoms... repeat elsewhere.

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Dave
Milton, ON

Ya well, me gotts the same situation with me drill press

so...
I do it the old fashion way and just wing it with the chisels.

blessings
the
Padma

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