Big Gator Tools MDG1000NP V-Drill Guide

Great little thing. Well-machined. Used it so far with wood drillbits but tested with a titanium coated HSS & didn’t seem to have a problem (might worry about heat buildup if drilling thick metal but take it slow). Pity it doesn’t go below 3mm but suspect that with bits less than 3mm being a bit more fragile they might risk catching & breaking. Obviously not as good as a drill press, but more convenient, better for tight spaces & cheaper even at what seems a bit of a steep price. Works well held on by hand (on wood at least) - just make sure that drill bit is straight in hole so it doesn’t catch - but would imagine better results could be had if clamped in place. Not had reason to use the feature but allows drilling into a square corner using groove on base which a drill press might struggle with without a jig.

This is a product that I didn't know existed and didn't even know I needed until a few days ago. I was looking for a way of making sure I drilled holes straight through 36mm MDF board, so the screws came out in the right place on the other side without wandering, not that easy to do. I looked at small portable drill presses, but these seemed awkward to use and rather expensive. Then this product popped up in my search, a well machined block of steel that guides the drill bit accurately through the workpiece. It's a simple idea but works really well and is very nicely machined. It's the sort of tool I like, a real little gem, and it will be staying in my toolbag at all times. Costs a few quid but more than worth it if you are going to use it regularly.

The drill guide is not a replacement for a pillar drill, but it is very handy when you need to drill holes in places a pillar drill couldn't reach. I used it a lot on a recent project and was very pleased with it. Accuracy is very good if you can hold the guide firmly in place whilst drilling. I have found that to be difficult sometimes as it's not very big and clamping it is sometimes difficult. I'm not enthusiastic about having to hold the guide down with one hand whilst drilling a few inches away with the other, but that's what I've had to do a number of times. It ain't cheap! In addition to the high sticker price, they have carefully selected the hole sizes so that you are quite likely to need the bigger size as well. That is getting to be serious money. It is by no means a universal solution for drilling accurate holes. It cannot handle any drill bit where the cutting edge is wider than the shaft, for example, masonry bits, Forstner bits or hole cutters. There is no way to set a depth stop (apart from marking the drill bit with tape) In summary, it's a big help drilling accurate holes where a pillar drill wouldn't reach, but it has its limitations.

Useful for drilling accurate, square holes even on flat stock (I've actually never used the V-slot feature). I use this with brad-point drills, put the drill through the guide, place the brad-point on the mark where I want my hole, and then lower the guide down onto the workpiece (and hold it steady or clamp it) before drilling. Kinda expensive for what is basically a piece of steel with a few holes in it, but it feels very high quality and I don't regret the price.

I needed to fit a door knocker to a hardwood door and there was no room for error - the bolts needed to screw perfectly into the cast knocker. I wasted 5 minutes watching a You Tube video to get advice and all the person said after waffling about irrelevancies was "make sure you hold the drill parallel". Wow - why didn't I think of that. I looked at other solutions like jigs to hold the electric drill but concluded there was likely to be too much play for complete accuracy. I know this cost even more than a jig but it is spot on. It is recommended the guide is clamped in place but this was not feasible for my application and I was only using a 4mm drill. I just made sure I held it firmly and it worked perfectly. I would clamp it whenever possible for obvious reasons. Not something I will use often but invaluable whenever drilling a perpendicular hole.

As someone who couldn't drill holes and have them to 100% square or perpendicular to the surface, this is an absolute god send. If you want accurate holes, you can hold in it place by hand. If you want super accuracy along the lines of using a drill press, clamp in place first with a G-Cramp or quick clamp. Its such a simply neat piece of kit, that you can drill perpendicular holes on material where the use of a drill press would be nigh on impossible. For instance, I used mine to drill holes to fasten pre-assembled shed panels together. Sure- its expensive, but the range of drill sizes is excellent and it works. It lives in the drill case and goes everywhere with me now! I really rate and recommend this little block. Wish I bought one ages ago.

Very well made tool and easy to use. The HSS drill bits glide very easily and securely through the guide holes. I found it needs to be clamped firmly at both ends to avoid any wobble for the most accurate work. I found that I could tap the drill bit into the centre punched hole (or pilot drill marked hole) on timber to accurately locate the required hole position, and then carefully position and clamp the Gator over the drill bit as a guide. Once clamped in position, can then drill holes in normal way. Using some depth stop collars or tape avoids over drilling depth of hole, and hold drill firmly as there can be a tendency for the bits to "snatch". Because of this, I found it easier to drill larger holes incrementally. The price reflects the quality: a really useful tool for working where a drill press is impossible (or not available) and wish I had bought one ages ago.

バイクの改造加工に使用しました。 概ね良好です。

Massiv verarbeitet, gute Qualität, täglich im Gebrauch - super Hilfe. kann man kaufen. hält ewig.

Je cherchais un moyen pour percer droit er j ai testé plusieurs systèmes plus ou moins encombrant et pas toujours efficace. Le Big gator est une solution que je recomande volontiers. Testé sur la mise en place de lambris, le système est simple et permet de percer correctement à la perpendiculaire. Ça ne vaut pas un tour de perçage mais c est pratique et transportable. L outil tient bien dans la main et le foret engagé dans le bon diamètre ne présente pas de jeu. Il a l air assez qualitatif pour faire dans la durée. Le seul petit reproche que je peux lui faire et qu' il demande d être bien maintenu. Bon, je l ai fait à main levée et ça demande un peu de force... Si j avais un établi, j aurai simplement bloqué l outil avec un serez joint. Donc c est vraiment un petit reproche qui n en est pas vraiment pas un :)

Oggetto che ammetto un pelo costoso, ma di eccezionale fattura. Blocco di acciaio spesso, lavorato a laser per le tacche di precisione per poterlo posizionare e fori perfetti per forare dritto in tranquillità. Fa il suo lavoro alla grande essendo spesso non permette movimenti alla punta e fai i fori dritti. Più che soddisfatto. Arrivava da Amazon UK ed è arrivato veloce e puntuale come sempre.

String & Heavy, easy to use, alredy used it for drilling floating shelves. I recommend it.