Sun Oct 19, 2014 3:42 pm by jones
Just so You are sure, the Strong Arm mini rig drill templates are threaded 1/2 x 13. However the way that rig works, there is a "foot" that screws onto the plate, with two 8x32 screws, then the 1/2 x 13 screw goes in the middle. The 1/2 x 13 screw is drilled through the center to act as a drill guide and the whole rig snaps in place (it is spring loaded on the sides) over the "foot", which allows a relatively quick way to pull it off, to examine your work, or for me to change to a hardplate drill bit when I hear the regular drill bit spinning too fast with no chips coming out of the hole. Man using a fixed rig is the difference between night & day, for me. I used to expend a lot more hardplate drill bits with my chain rig, not to mention the that hopefully small lunge made when you break through the hardplate and do your best to keep from hitting the wheels. One thing I have had trouble with is creating a ridge upon breaking through the case of the safe lock, which will keep the fence from lowering into the gates, once I have them lined-up, by itself. I keep a few "old hickory" ice picks around for probing. Your rig is looking good, I bet you save $500 or more on buying a rig!