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Drill presses?

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quicksilver

Sun Aug 10 2008, 02:05PM

Registered Member #1408 Joined: Fri Mar 21 2008, 03:49PM
Location: Oracle, AZ
Posts: 679

I have lots of Dremel items including their scroll saw (which is really better than the DeWalt IMO) but I did get a cheap Delta drill press so that I could run slow on things like aluminum.....Just my opinion but if you get a really high quality vise(actually several different types) you can make most common drill presses do many things that you would pay dearly for.

A guy I once knew showed me that whole concept of using various vises to make up for the deficiencies of the lower priced milling machines, & for the most part it works well for one off piece stuff. When I considered a drill I though of how slow it could run, not how fast. As after a certain point for what I would do thousands of RPM are the same; but to get that thing slow - saved a lot of problems with certain materials.

Hazmatt_(The Underdog)

Sun Aug 10 2008, 06:12PM

Registered Member #135 Joined: Sat Feb 11 2006, 12:06AM
Location: Anywhere is fine
Posts: 1735

You do have to be careful what direction you feed the material in when chipping Aluminium, also you should be using a rough cut end mill, all I had was a finishing end mill, as well as a 3/4 HP motor on the press, NOT a good combo!

For milling I really need ~100 rpm, 2HP and a roughing end mill, as well as bearings that will handle a lateral load, none of which this press is rated for, but we all get a little desperate at times, especially when we see $$$ and want to do something ourselves. ( home made the little chemistry clamps out of T6 rather then shelling out $40 each, at the cost of the bearings of course).

So long story short, don't back feed while chipping, that will cause chatter, and don't feed fast or you'll chip the teeth off the mill. Use a finishing mill when finishing, and I wouldn't mill at the highest spindle speed withouth guards and protection, it gets kinda scarry.

aonomus

Sun Aug 10 2008, 06:57PM

Registered Member #1497 Joined: Thu May 22 2008, 05:24AM
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 801

So for the cross sliding vise...

The first one is cheap (ie: I can afford it) but I'm afraid the screws have low tolerances (ie: the vise has some play), while the second one is likely much more durable, but also darn expensive (and I'd still need a vise to go with it).

Also my drill press would be 1/2HP so I'm gonna end up having a heck of a time milling unless I take it *really* slow.

HV Enthusiast

Sun Aug 10 2008, 08:02PM

Registered Member #15 Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 01:11PM
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Posts: 3068

Just use a regular drill press with regular bits. I've made literally hundreds of homemade boards using standard microbits which i purchased from digikey with no problem. Just go slow and take your time.

Plus, if you are going to through the expense of buying expensive carbide tipped drill bits, and a specialized press just for this, than just go out and have ExpressPCB or similar make your boards for you. They'll be much nicer looking, and cost you much less in the long run - in both time and labor.

Hazmatt_(The Underdog)

Mon Aug 11 2008, 08:27AM

Registered Member #135 Joined: Sat Feb 11 2006, 12:06AM
Location: Anywhere is fine
Posts: 1735

my 2 axis table was a little over $200 from Grainger. It's the cheapo Chinese thing, but I tell you, once you run into the problem where you need 'more table', that's the end of the story... there's nothing you can do unless you can fab an elaborate jig.

As far as having the boards made for you... After 9 years of doing this, I totally vouch for having someone else do it. It can be a real pain sometimes, and if you have to do 40 pin chips, the table is going to wander all over the place even with 1* of error.

If you really want to do it yourself, that's great, you'll need to maintain a bucket of etchant too. If you don't have much free time.. have someone else do it for you.

Coronafix

Mon Aug 11 2008, 10:43AM

Registered Member #160 Joined: Mon Feb 13 2006, 02:07AM
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 938

Dr. GigaVolt wrote ...

Just use a regular drill press with regular bits. I've made literally hundreds of homemade boards using standard microbits which i purchased from digikey with no problem. Just go slow and take your time.

I agree, I have never had any problems even at slower RPMs. I use a seperate chuck that fits into the drill press chuck because it can only accept bits down to 3mm. The only problem I have is that the spindle is not completely true and with a very small bit the eccentricity is exaggerated.

quicksilver

Mon Aug 11 2008, 01:37PM

Registered Member #1408 Joined: Fri Mar 21 2008, 03:49PM
Location: Oracle, AZ
Posts: 679

+1
I've found that I can't make up for patience and experience with high end goodies in areas that demand the above. Unless I think out the procedures; I usually rely on the promises of the manufacturer to do what I should have done with research and fore-thought. That being said, some of the best ideas I've heard of came from men who took some time in their work. (That NOT to say high-end goodies don't have their place!

)

I recently heard about using a Bar-B-Que motor used as a coil winder; this after I had planned out a DIY coil jig that would have cost perhaps hundreds of dollars. I actually laughed at myself for my lack of fore-thought. The concept and end result will dictate the tool and more than once it will be a simple solution.

aonomus

Tue Aug 12 2008, 02:27AM

Registered Member #1497 Joined: Thu May 22 2008, 05:24AM
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 801

So I did a last minute little change and got (ironically enough) the cheapest drill press I could find which had the least amount of wobble when the arbor was fully extended. Max RPM 3050, but I've got to get another chuck to fit the tiny little 0.05" or smaller bits....

Edit: finally found my camera card reader, so I can post a photo of the workbench

Second edit:

I recently heard about using a Bar-B-Que motor used as a coil winder; this after I had planned out a DIY coil jig that would have cost perhaps hundreds of dollars. I actually laughed at myself for my lack of fore-thought. The concept and end result will dictate the tool and more than once it will be a simple solution.

I actually was thinking about a coil winding jig solution today, I'm going to build a pwm H-bridge out of mosfets to drive a DC motor which will drive (through a pulley I suppose) the winding portion of the jig. In the photo above that tiny box with 2 oversized pots on it is actually a PWM servo tester which I was tinkering with to drive a half-bridge out of boredom.

quicksilver

Tue Aug 12 2008, 03:13PM

Registered Member #1408 Joined: Fri Mar 21 2008, 03:49PM
Location: Oracle, AZ
Posts: 679

In my experience, the simplest method for accomplishing a task often works as well as the more complex IF the task is direct and has few complications.

With a coil winder there ARE some issues that I've found need study. Stability yields a tight well wound coil. The base / platform appears to need weight (stability). Control of the core or tube needs to be tight and sturdy.

I have also heard of using a pottery wheel. But all designs benefit from foot controls as the hands are limited to two on most people.

Ryobe is a cheapy but that doesn't mean it won't work for your needs. Interestingly enough that company has many model changes through out the years as they went from one labor source to another, etc. Parts are widely available and OFTEN there is inter-changeable features with higher end tools. I suggest a quality vise (or two) as that's where I've found the quality can be made up for in a simple procedure. A good vise provides the stability needed for both large and small projects and can be used MANY different ways!
Bolting down the press will also help add stability even in a low HP motor & you have a simple wood platform that is a great starting point for any hobby.

aonomus

Tue Aug 12 2008, 03:51PM

Registered Member #1497 Joined: Thu May 22 2008, 05:24AM
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 801

I was limited in time and transportation the day of, I'm definitely going to have to shell out some more cash for a cross sliding vise, and like you said quicksilver, the chuck itself is a [standard?] JT33 chuck, so all I have to do is find a chuck that goes down to zero, and swap it out.

Anyone ever try drill press + sanding drum + variac for coil winding?

While its a Ryobi and it was the cheapest thing I could find, I've found that any drill press that has some mechanism for changing drill press speeds ends up leading to more lateral movement. My 'test' was to extend the arbor all the way down, then see how much the chuck would move back and forth. The biiiig 100lb+ models which cost $200-$400 all were high hp high capacity models at the cost of accuracy. I suppose alot of people, myself included get the mentality of 'bigger is better' with power tools.

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