Tool:

Bosch CC2430 Self-Centering Bit Assortment
http://amzn.to/2wUslNQ

Transcript:

For this week’s Cool Tools review we’re going to take a look at this self-centering drill bit set from Bosch. Great for makers and DIY home repairs. I wish I’d bought these years ago. This set cost me around $23, and if you want the same one, clicking the Amazon link in the show notes helps to support my videos and the Cool Tools blog.

If you’ve ever tried to attach some pre-drilled piece of hardware to something — a hinge, a latch, a coat hook — you’re probably familiar with the challenge of placing the hardware, marking where the holes need to be, and then carefully drilling. But if your pilot holes are just a little off — even in just one hole, the whole placement of the hardware will shift. It bugs the crap out of me.

A self-centering drill bit makes this process foolproof. The bit has a spring-loaded collar that sits into the hardware you’re attaching and keeps the drill bit dead-center. So long as your hardware doesn’t shift, the holes will be perfectly center.

This set from Bosch comes with three common bit sizes — a #6, #8 and #10. They’re also a quick change design that can just drop into an impact driver, making it easy to drill and screw with the same tool.

I will say that if you’re only using this occasionally, you could spend less and just get the smallest size. That will give you a centered pilot hole that you can expand with any regular drill bit. That said, for bigger projects, having the right size bit keeps you from having to drill the same hole twice.

So that’s the deal with self-centering drill bits. A link to this set from Bosch is in the video description. And remember, you can see thousands of reader recommended tools like this at Cool-Tools.org.

I have one other tip to share with you this week, but it’s super cool. On the Raspberry Pi blog I found out about this Pi software called Info-Beamer that allows you to play a single video across a mix of screens.

It’s essentially video wall software built specifically for Raspberry Pi. Let’s say you have a bunch of scavenged video monitors of different brands and sizes. You connect each up to a separate Raspberry Pi, each running the Info-Beamer Magic Wall software. Each display’s it’s own unique QR code. You take a picture of the arrangement on your phone and the software optimizes the grouping into one giant screen with video playback over local network.

The only drawback I see is that the screen grouping magic takes advantage of hosted software you have to pay a little to access as you need it. It’s not much, and it’s probably worth every penny if you have a need for it — but it’s not free from what I can tell.

Maker Faires! We have three this weekend, including Izmir Turkey, Grand Rapids Michigan, and Chicago Southland. If you’re near one, go check it out.

And that’s it for this week’s show. Be sure to subscribe, leave me thumbs up or leave me a comment. And leave me some ideas for what Maker stuff to check out while I’m up in the Northwest.

And as usual, links for everything in this show are included in the description here, and with an extended version on MakerProjectLab.com, where you can also get on the weekly email list for each show. Alright?

Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you next week.

Find more Cool Tool reviews here:
http://kk.org/cooltools