Drill press question

Venge · May 23, 2016

Thanks all!

I knew I'd get alot of info on here haha. I think I'm going to watch these videos and maybe read up some more before I buy anything, but it sounds like I don't really need to break the bank.

shovel1966 · May 23, 2016

I had two drill presses, and realized that I only needed one. Listed it on Craig's List and it sold within hours. A lot of people must use CL to buy and sell tools.

I also agree that speed options are a big plus. Mine happens to have 5 speeds via belt/pulley combinations and wish it would have one more slower speed. 300rmp or so.

Ranchero50 · May 24, 2016

I have an ancient Buffalo that needs a new home. The base is @ 2'x3' and has two spots for the drill motor column to bolt on. Minimal adjustment and it's a 1/2" chuck if memory serves.

The OP really didn't say what he was doing. What size metal and what size drill. For the price of most bench models I'd recommend a decent floor model.

Venge · May 24, 2016

Ranchero50 said:
I have an ancient Buffalo that needs a new home. The base is @ 2'x3' and has two spots for the drill motor column to bolt on. Minimal adjustment and it's a 1/2" chuck if memory serves.

The OP really didn't say what he was doing. What size metal and what size drill. For the price of most bench models I'd recommend a decent floor model.

First project: drilling 4 holes, 6/8ths of an inch (? I think. around that.) into either one plate of steel or two thinner bars to create a backing plate/plates for a pit bull TRS. The plate/bars are probably going to be like 4mm thick.

It's all about creating a larger surface area than fender washers to distribute the force of the TRS as it receives road forces. I haven't had a problem yet but I'd much rather do something like this since it will be much more secure.

I've considered just ordering a plate to spec from pitbull or custom from some fabricator, but I figured this is a good time to learn how to use one of these.

iH8DemLibz · May 24, 2016

Venge said:
First project: drilling 4 holes, 6/8ths of an inch (? I think. around that.) into either one plate of steel or two thinner bars to create a backing plate/plates for a pit bull TRS. The plate/bars are probably going to be like 4mm thick.

It's all about creating a larger surface area than fender washers to distribute the force of the TRS as it receives road forces. I haven't had a problem yet but I'd much rather do something like this since it will be much more secure.

I've considered just ordering a plate to spec from pitbull or custom from some fabricator, but I figured this is a good time to learn how to use one of these.

You'll want to pick up a 3/4ths of an inch drill for that project.

And once you get your drill press, you'll wonder how you ever lived without one.

PapiBarcelona · May 24, 2016

Need to make sure you drill chuck can open 3/4" first. If not, you can always buy a drill with spun down shank to like 1/2".

Just starting out with a 3/4" and drill a complete 3/4" diameter in .157" (4mm) thick piece of steel is A LOT of push for a drill bit, not to mention a weak drill press might not be up to the task. Going to guess the very point of the drill to the land/cutting edge on a 3/4" standard 118 degree is a lot more than .157"

smdub · May 25, 2016

Belt drive presses in the lowest range don't have enough pulley wrap to transfer the required torque to run a 3/4" drill in steel even with a pilot. The belts just slip. I thought about converting the pulleys to toothed/timing varieties but found someone else who tried it first and they said it will just twist the splined shaft (and ruined his press as you can't fully retract the quill anymore.) So sold it when I found a small radial arm drill.
You will be able to run a 3/4" hole saw though.

Ranchero50 · May 27, 2016

Looking at their instructions, they use 3/8" bolts. I'd drill the hole to 3/8th or 7/16" with a hand drill. At 3/4" you are creating more problems for the fastener than you need. 3/16" plate should be fine. Use the top plate as a template, center punch the center and have at it. Use a wood backer and use light pressure as the bit starts to break through.

Jmorrismetal · Jun 2, 2016

Used equipment auctions are good places to find industrial quality drill presses.

Might even look on eBay.

I picked up this burgmaster for under $50.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fAVaOMdBkc

CSHS · Jun 11, 2016

smdub said:
Belt drive presses in the lowest range don't have enough pulley wrap to transfer the required torque to run a 3/4" drill in steel even with a pilot. The belts just slip. I thought about converting the pulleys to toothed/timing varieties but found someone else who tried it first and they said it will just twist the splined shaft (and ruined his press as you can't fully retract the quill anymore.) So sold it when I found a small radial arm drill.
You will be able to run a 3/4" hole saw though.

My belt drive, http://www.homedepot.com/p/JET-15-in-Woodworking-Floor-Drill-Press-354166/100375606 easily put 3/4 holes through 3/16 steel. Bit was necked down to 3/8. Slow speed, light on the down force and lots of tap oil. Any large bit, necked down or not, look for a fluted shaft--it'll keep it from slipping in the chuck.

smdub · Jun 11, 2016

CSHS said:
My belt drive, http://www.homedepot.com/p/JET-15-in-Woodworking-Floor-Drill-Press-354166/100375606 easily put 3/4 holes through 3/16 steel. Bit was necked down to 3/8. Slow speed, light on the down force and lots of tap oil. Any large bit, necked down or not, look for a fluted shaft--it'll keep it from slipping in the chuck.

I had almost the same press. Look up the specs. Even from the manufacturer the rated max drill is 1/2" in mild steel. Lowest speed says 200rpm. Thats 40sfm. Below optimal for steel but still in acceptable range. A 4 thou chip load (per flute) will give you a cut time of about 7 sec and will require ~350 lb of downforce. That style drill press just can't do that. With the light pressure you were using you aren't properly cutting the material but more rubbing through it and just dulling the drill. You would have surface hardened a pc of stainless or alloy steel and made it impossible to go further. Heck a common 118deg 3/4 drill has almost 3/16" lead in the tip so you weren't even cutting with the whole flute the majority of the time anyway.

For not much more than the one you got at HD I brought home an older version of this:
http://www.jettools.com/us/en/p/j-720r-3-arm-radial-drill-press-230-460v/320033
Overkill for nearly any garage

Though I've seem Arbogas and other much smaller geared heads go for similar. My orig point was you can buy *WAY* more drill press for the money used. The V-belt drive heads just can't properly drill a large hole. The physics won't allow it.

IME skip the fluted shaft bits and get a real drill chuck to put on your press. Something like a Jacobs ball-bearing "superchuck" will NOT slip. You can get a nice 14N on ebay for sub $50.

antco · Jun 11, 2016

smdub said:
I had almost the same press. Look up the specs. Even from the manufacturer the rated max drill is 1/2" in mild steel. Lowest speed says 200rpm. Thats 40sfm. Below optimal for steel but still in acceptable range. A 4 thou chip load (per flute) will give you a cut time of about 7 sec and will require ~350 lb of downforce. That style drill press just can't do that. With the light pressure you were using you aren't properly cutting the material but more rubbing through it and just dulling the drill. You would have surface hardened a pc of stainless or alloy steel and made it impossible to go further. Heck a common 118deg 3/4 drill has almost 3/16" lead in the tip so you weren't even cutting with the whole flute the majority of the time anyway.

Are you looking at a cheat sheet or is this all in your head? You just threw out a ton of great information that I've been wanting to learn but can't find a good source. I have a 1958 Bridgeport that I want to get proficient on but am getting stuck on learning feed and tip speeds as I haven't found a good source of this information.

smdub · Jun 12, 2016

Most from my head and using a calculator. 100sfm for HSS tooling is easy to remember for ballpark optimal 'production'. Cut in half is still OK. At the mill I have a cheat sheet,why rerun the math when you're using the same diam tools 95% of the time? Can't remember where I downloaded the chart/sheet but tons avail if you Google. Lots of online feed/speed calculators avail too if you remember the 100sfm number. I have a networked pc at the mill now so can just look stuff up as needed - it's handy. 1/4-1/2 end mills keep 1-4 thou chip load per tooth depending on material. Little bitty end mills I often run down to a couple tenths. Any less is just rubbing if doing conventional (vs climb) milling. W/ a manual mill, calculate how fast you have to crank to go X ipm fed. Once you do it 'by the book' a couple times you'll get a feel what the right chip thickness looks like. Most go too slow (myself included).

Though I readily admit I have to go to something like kennametals online calculator for drill thrust. I don't have any of that in charts and no 'feel' for it. I know the number always seems surprisingly high

Might be a touch overkill for simple manual milling but 'g-wizard' is an AMAZING program to calculate lots of handy stuff. Only runs on Windows though. I haven't tried to run it under wine on Linuxcnc yet.

Ranchero50 · Jun 12, 2016

Since we are on the topic of drill presses I'll admit we used a mag drill to solve an interesting problem on a press last week. Goal was to move a roller .100" closer to the paper path. Original idea was build an adjustable hanger and mount it in the side frame. instead I used a 11/16" HSS end mill in our biggest mag drill and bored a slot in the 2" thick chunk of steel on each side. Used a baby chain fall to hold the 100lb drill in place until the magnet held. Once finished I was able to get the tram within .004" to the other rollers.

3/4" drill through 3/16 is OK if you clamp it to a piece of plywood and drill a 1/2" hole first. That cuts the downforce required and heat load on the S+D bit a lot. Hard to keep the hole concentric without holding it well though.

antco · Jun 12, 2016

smdub said:
Most from my head and using a calculator. 100sfm for HSS tooling is easy to remember for ballpark optimal 'production'. Cut in half is still OK. At the mill I have a cheat sheet,why rerun the math when you're using the same diam tools 95% of the time? Can't remember where I downloaded the chart/sheet but tons avail if you Google. Lots of online feed/speed calculators avail too if you remember the 100sfm number. I have a networked pc at the mill now so can just look stuff up as needed - it's handy. 1/4-1/2 end mills keep 1-4 thou chip load per tooth depending on material. Little bitty end mills I often run down to a couple tenths. Any less is just rubbing if doing conventional (vs climb) milling. W/ a manual mill, calculate how fast you have to crank to go X ipm fed. Once you do it 'by the book' a couple times you'll get a feel what the right chip thickness looks like. Most go too slow (myself included).

Though I readily admit I have to go to something like kennametals online calculator for drill thrust. I don't have any of that in charts and no 'feel' for it. I know the number always seems surprisingly high

Might be a touch overkill for simple manual milling but 'g-wizard' is an AMAZING program to calculate lots of handy stuff. Only runs on Windows though. I haven't tried to run it under wine on Linuxcnc yet.

Thanks for the info! I'll do some digging through that and see what new questions pop up.

/hijack

Drill press question

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