Patent ID: 6955508

Claim:
An apparatus for separately boring precisely aligned opposing screw holes in individual first and second frame members to be matingly joined at a miter joint, each frame member comprising a front, back, inner edge and outer edge surface, said inner and outer edge surfaces being substantially narrower than said front and back surfaces, and the back surface being substantially flat, each frame member further comprising two ends at least one of which is cut at an angle to form a miter-cut end with a miter-cut surface in acute angle to the outer edge surface at a corner where the two surfaces meet, the apparatus comprising: (a) a first boring means for boring a first screw hole in the miter-cut end of said first frame member; (b) a second boring means for boring a pilot screw hole in the miter-cut end of said second frame member; (c) a carriage assembly on which said first and second boring means are mounted and positioned relative to the miter-cut end of said first or second frame member so that said separately bored first and pilot screw holes share a common centerline to assure a precisely opposing location and a perpendicular alignment of said holes relative to the miter-cut surface when the first and second frame members are matingly joined at the miter joint; and, (d) positioning means connected to said carriage assembly for supporting and precisely positioning the miter-cut end of said individual first or second frame member in a repetitively consistent location relative to the corner, to the back surface and to the miter-cut surface of the frame member and to the first and second boring means to ensure that the first screw holes are identically located and aligned on each of the bored first frame members and that the pilot screw holes are identically located and aligned on each of the bored second frame members; whereby said individual first and second frame members may be efficiently prepared with consistently and precisely located and aligned opposing first and pilot screw holes to assure a perfect mating when any first frame member is joined with any second frame member at the miter joint, thus enabling the interchangeability of all first and all second frame members and eliminating the need to custom bore the first and pilot screw holes through two opposing frame members simultaneously.