20

My drill press doesn't have a "stop".

How do I make a drill hole the same depth every time?

Matt
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NipFu
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  • I would be interested in a picture or model number for your drill press. – Adam Davis Feb 25 '16 at 20:33
  • I believe its this one RYOBI Model # DP102L. – NipFu Feb 25 '16 at 22:17
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    Page 21 of the manual shows that this model includes a depth stop and how to adjust it: http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/pdfImages/6d/6d1eec48-c004-451d-a647-978ea2cc66e3.pdf – Adam Davis Feb 25 '16 at 23:34
  • Good grief man - that is exciting. I just checked my documentation and that is indeed the model. 100's of people have been using this drill press for several years and never noticed this. I am used to seeing a different style. Next time I'm in the shop, I will see if the knob is broken off or something. – NipFu Feb 25 '16 at 23:45
  • This is an opiion question there will be a lot of opinions about how to do this. – Evan Carroll Sep 26 '22 at 20:49

6 Answers6

41

Ashler's answer is the simplest and cheapest way to get holes the same depth. But as an extra there are bit collars that can be put on the bits which will enforce exact depth stops.

enter image description here

bowlturner
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  • Ah ... great minds think alike – Matt Feb 24 '16 at 03:38
  • @Matt Yes! And you beat me to the punch because my image links weren't working! :) – bowlturner Feb 24 '16 at 03:39
  • You seemed to have come out on top of this as well. – Matt Feb 24 '16 at 13:34
  • I'm surprised! I think it was mostly luck... – bowlturner Feb 24 '16 at 13:53
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    These are the good sort. Some cheap stops have a grubscrew trying and sometimes failing to grip the drill bit. Get the good sort if you can. – Chris H Feb 24 '16 at 15:16
  • @NipFu On the drill tang coming out of housing when drilling make a two red marks when first drilling to maximum depth. Go fast up to first mark, then slowly up to second. – Narasimham Feb 24 '16 at 16:55
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    These stops work, however, care needs to be taken that the stop does not touch the surface of the wood since it can leave marks. To reduce the risk of leaving marks, cover the area you are drilling with a piece of masking tape first. – Jason Hutchinson Feb 24 '16 at 17:21
  • @JasonHutchinson Another way I like to do that is hold a piece of scrap wood (of consistent thickness) on top and drill through it. – Jason C Feb 26 '16 at 07:08
  • For those in Europe, Wolfcraft sells such items. Search for "wolfcraft 2751000" and see which provider is close and acceptable to you. – Andrei Rînea Jul 25 '18 at 22:15
38

A lot of people drill a hole through a suitable length of wood dowel (or small square cross section) and use that as a stop-collar on the drill.

enter image description here

Example

You can also just use an external chunk of wood

enter image description here

Example

One benefit of both these is you don't need an Allen key and can very quickly swap back and forth between two or more different depths (useful for e.g. dowelling)

Unlike some pieces of tape or rubber/plastic grommets, they can't be pushed out of position by overenthusiastic pressure.

RedGrittyBrick
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24

The simplest means is to place a tab of masking tape on the drill bit at the desired depth. When the spinning tab lowers to the surface of the wood and sweeps away the wood chips, stop.

Ashlar
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    When using this technique, make sure that the tape is securely wrapped around the bit. The tape can slide up the bit and make you drill deeper than you intended. As a precaution, check the position of the tape after every few holes to make sure that it remains consistent. – Jason Hutchinson Feb 24 '16 at 17:23
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    when my brother showed me this trick, he put the tape on the drill bit, then slid the bit into the chuck until the tape stopped it. presto: no tape slipping. – teldon james turner Feb 25 '16 at 00:27
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    Also make sure that the tape is applied in the "spin" direction, so that it doesn't come undone just from the drill's spin – user2813274 Feb 26 '16 at 03:43
22

You can also adjust your drill press table to be at the desired depth when the drill reaches the end of it's stroke.

popdan
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  • This is also an elegant solution which I never considered. I suppose the repeat-ability also depends on the quality of the drill press table (which don't always lock down well on cheaper ones) whereas the tape or depth-stop collars are accurate regardless. But still, this is an interesting technique as it is less dependent on eye-balling than the tape and less expensive than the collars. – NipFu Feb 24 '16 at 06:56
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    It also won't mar the surface like the collars will. – Mazura Feb 24 '16 at 12:22
17

Tape is what I would have suggested and continue to use but if you wanted something a little more robust my suggestion would be depth stop collars /nuts

enter image description here

Image from AliExpress

Easily removed off the bits and adjustable as well which tape would not be as much.

Matt
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0

if this is not a big project and you're just trying to get very close sized holes.. (maybe you don't want to punch through the other side), i've used electrical tape on the drill bit. just tape above the depth you want to stop. when you hit the tape... stop...

dave
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