Pool Fence DIY Drill Guide with Bubble Level Upgrade

This is very easy to install, and the fence is good and sturdy.I bought 10 sections of fence (as well as the gate) and from first getting the product out the box to having the gate leveled and adjusted took about 8 hours. That included the time to actually read the instructions and plan out the fence route.The drilling base is essential, and also sturdy. The bullseye system and leveling bolts work fine, there are two bushings in it so the drill bit rotates freely, and you need to put some angle on the fence posts, depending on the shape of your pool. If you have a square pool, then you could get by without the base, but if you have some curved shape to your pool, then you set the posts at a slight tilt in order to get the right tension on the posts. I would not want to try doing that drilling without the guide. You need an 18" bit in order to get deep enough into the pool deck with the drilling guide.The gate was probably the most complicated bit of the installation, but still easy enough to do.Even with buying a Bosch rotary drill specifically for this job, 18" long 5/8" drill bit and the guide base I paid about a quarter of what I got quoted for this job.

Easy to use and worked perfectly for my 50+ holes, without a hiccup.I've seen a few complaints that the bearing holes are significantly larger than the 5/8" drill bit. But, from my perspective, I'd rather have some clearance to avoid the risk of the bit binding up in the jig. A 10-amp rotary hammer drill suddenly grabbing the guide could cause some injury. Plus, the drilling angle isn't THAT critical. The instructions for my fence talk about "light lean" or "heavy lean" for the poles. So, we're not looking for anything too exact here. I tried to keep the drill centered in the guide by concentrating on the upper bearing and focusing on keeping the upper bearing from spinning, which indicates that the bit isn't contacting the bearing.In sum, the guide simply lets you set up to drill a hole much more quickly, with confidence that your are within the acceptable range. If you're like me, when you start getting bored/tired/hot, you're more likely to make a mistake. Without this guide, I'm sure I'd have more than a few poles that are way off. This guide goes a long way to preventing mistakes relating to the angle of the holes.

Essential if you are installing a pool fence yourself. Very easy to use.

Not worth the investment. The baseplate is too small to hold the guide securely in place. Drilling into concrete causes significant vibration, and this guide was bouncing all over despite my standing on the baseplate.The vibration also caused the bolts on the angle adjustment to slip while drilling only the second hole. The bit caught and bent, tearing the drill out of my hand, and cracking it into my knee. Despite a likely sprained wrist and seriously bruised knee, I finished the rest without the quide. Whatever precision I might have lost without the guide was made up for by being able to hold the drill securely and not awkwardly trying to do two things at once.I should also note that the theoretical level of precision offered by this guide is pointless if you have a curving pool. You have to adjust the angle of the hole based on the curve of the pool, and the angles needed are guesses at best. Going around curves the fence poles all pull on one another oddly, such that accuracy of drilling doesn't seem to have much of a direct relationship to the resulting fence appearance. I have several holes in a row drilled perfectly as intended, but the poles stand a odd angles from the tension going around curves. I have other holes drilled poorly, but the poles stand upright thanks to the rest of the fence pulling them into place.So my advice is to save your money and go freehand. If you really want to use the guide, work out a way to attach it to a larger baseplate, so you can hold it in place without turning yourself into a pretzel. Also note you need a 16-18" bit for this, despite Amazon suggesting a 12" bit.

I picked the cheapest drill guide I could find as I only intended to use it for one pool fence install. This got the job done but by the time I was done the base had started to bend from the stress making it harder to level with the small screws. Otherwise it did a good job and the fence looks great.

I purchased the DIY-DG Drill Guide and a couple Bosch HC2107 S4L SDS-Plus Shank Bit 5/8 by 16" drill bits to install my new Life Saver Pool Fence sections and Gate. This guide was easy to use and does have a bullseye level on it. I didn't know it already had one. I purchased a level almost identical to the one that is on it, hoping to accomplish the same thing. Now I have an extra level in my tool arsenal which is never a bad thing. The guide is easy to adjust for light lean and heavy lean which is required for the fence install. The bearings in the lower section did pop out after roughly 25 holes drilled, but I could easily smacked it back into place with a hammer and didn't have any issues since then. Although it may seem a little pricey, I highly recommend this product if you want quick, accurate holes drilled.

This item made it harder to drill the hole require to install my fence.

Yes, get it. The reviews about it being thrashed after a few uses makes me wonder what the heck they did with it. I drilled over 30 holes, and it barely shows any wear. As far as tolerance, the holes in the guide are slightly larger than the 5/8" drill bit you use. But this is not an exact science, it's a friggin guide! Works fine. I have a few holes that were 1/4" off, but it's not a problem at all (yes I started drinking after about 10 holes=)). Be sure to set the lean on your curves and corners, again, it's not an exact science, but it all worked fine for me.