If you’ve ever tried to drill a centered hole through the side of a dowel and had less than stellar success, the new Big Gator V-Drill Guides could come to your rescue next time. The guide is a piece of nickel-alloyed steel, heat treated for durability, similar to drill bushings. Its bottom surface is precision ground flat, to ensure stability for drilling perpendicular holes with a handheld drill. But, there’s also a V-groove along the bottom for locating the Drill Guide over a curved surface or an outside corner to prevent the bit from wandering or drifting off center. The standard model fits 17 imperial drill diameters, ranging from 1/8- to 3/8-in. in 1/64-in. increments. There’s also a metric version from Big Gator Tools that offers 17 guide holes for 3 to 9.5mm bits. Rockler offers the standard version (item 49531) for $26.29 or the metric model (item 45597) for $24.95.
