A simple question regarding angles and Drillpresses

[Des804]

Ok I know there are no stupid questions but I feel this might be one once I find the answer. I just got my Drill press back from a friend and was able to fix it and was wanting to start drilling angled holes for bowls and things like that. My question is there an easy way to do this without having to buy any new tools ( I have a Drill Press and a Scrollsaw as my only tools atm ) to figure out what angle the wood is at before you drill. I plan on doing the method of having a block of wood underneath and just moving it closer to make the wood angle up or moving it further away to have the angle go down I just need to figure out how to find the angle doing that method. I ask to know how to do it without having to buy more tools because I can't buy anything else atm.

[Dan26]

If you have some scrap plywood, you could cut two 8" x 8" squares, hinge one edge and clamp the bottom piece to the drill press table. Then cut small blocks to tilt this jig to certain angles. Be sure to mark the little blocks. This would give you a little sturdier work surface.

[countryscroller]

Steve has a protractor pattern you can download and spray adhesive it to a piece of wood and use that or if you have a protractor. Just sit it on the piece of wood already at the angle and match it up to the drill bit to see your desired angle. A little expense way to do it is get a digital angle reader. They have them at Harbor Freight or other stores for like $30 I think. Another idea is to make a table top out of wood that has an angle on the surface of it as a jig I guess it would be. Then put it over your existing table and the table you made would be the angle you want to drill.

[Rapid Roger]

Set the scroll saw table to the angle you want to use. Using the gauge underneath the table and lock it down.
Make an angle gauge by bolting or screwing two small strips of wood together as a hinge that can be moved but fairly tight so as to hold the angle for a while. put one of the legs of your new gauge on the table and move the other until it is parallel with the blade. That will give you the correct angle but you need to tighten the hinge bolt to hold it firmly. Now move to the drill press and using your angle gauge tilt the table to the same angle as the saw table by holding one leg parallel to the bit and tilting the table to match and lock it down.
A bit fussy and time consuming I guess but, it is cheap and give you a fairly accurate way of doing it.

OR....Cut a piece of cardboard to the angle you need and use it to set both the saw and drill press.
Just some ideas.

Rog

[Des804]

ok I thought about lining it up with a protractor to the drill and didn't know if that would work thank you very much. And thanks everyone for the other great ideas.

[EIEIO]

If you still want to try your original method, you can use a block of a known thickness (say 1.5" like a 2x4 layed flat or 3.5" like a 2x4 on its side or 0.75 like a 3/4" lumber laid flat). Use it to tilt the piece you're cutting by placing the block a given distance from the end of your board. Table below shows location of block to get various angles.
The calculation is
        Distance = Thickness/tan(angle).
You can make the calculation using the Windows calculator or most any other. Be careful to secure the piece so it does not slip while drilling.


[degree]  |     0.75"          1.5"          3.5" [Block thickness]
5         |     8.5"                 
10        |     4.25           8.5
15        |                    5.6          13.0
20        |                    4.12          9.6
25        |                    3.2           7.5
30        |                    2.6           6.1

[Des804]

I was still planning on using the method just using protractor on top of the board below the drill bit. Thanks for the calculations those will come in handy.