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Give me your drill-press tips! (Patreon)

Published:
2018-06-18 12:30:01
Imported:
2026-06

Content

The people have spoken! 

In my recent poll, I asked which video I should do next and the results were clear: make an introduction to the drill press. 

No problem. I have a lot to say on this subject. 


I think I'll do a multi-part series on the basics. Here's what I have in mind: 

1.) Do you need a drill press?

2.) Work-holding on the drill press. 

3.) Speeds and feeds. 

4.) Surprising things you can do with your drill-press. 

So, since my Patrons are also smart and inventive crafts-people, I thought I could crowd-source some drill press tips from you. 

Things like: 

  • How do you judge which machine to buy?
  • How do you hold your work?
  • How to you drill tricky shapes (cylinders, etc)?
  • Which drill bits do you favor?
  • How much do you adjust your speed to the job?

Any other tricks/hacks that people should know about?

Leave me your ideas in the comments to this post and I'll include everything I can in my upcoming videos. 

And as always: thanks so much for all you do to support my work!

--Rex

Comments

James Boatright

If you need an OFF CENTER hole in a rod, or a hole at an odd angle especially on a curved surface, an end mill can be a huge help before switching to a drill bit.

James Boatright

When drilling through metal, there's no such thing as too much lube, or too slow a feed rate.

James Boatright

These things are just as true for handheld drills

Rex Krueger

James: Excellent tips. The end mill one is an especially good idea. I have never done that myself. Do you have any suggestions for cheap end-mills that the hobbiest might buy?

James Boatright

I own this set. They're a little brittle, go dead slow on steel. On aluminum or brass or plastic or wood they're great and $14 for six bits from 1/8 to 1/2 is hard to argue with. The idea, of course is to use the end mill to cut a flat place where you can punch a center and then drill without the curve causing the drill to drift. Off center holes in cylinders is the classic case but I have occasionally wanted to drill holes at 30 or 45 degrees into flat plates. Plenty of oil and dead slow feeding of the mill gives a nice flat surface to punch and drill. Note that these mills are 4 fluted and don't do plunge cuts, but we're not talking about playing cuts... <a href="https://www.amazon.com/tool-home-Speed-Steel-Straight-Cutter/dp/B00ZZYJU2U?crid=16A9LF1HW6JIW&keywords=end+mill+bits&qid=1529378587&sprefix=end+mil&sr=8-3&ref=mp_s_a_1_3" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.com/tool-home-Speed-Steel-Straight-Cutter/dp/B00ZZYJU2U?crid=16A9LF1HW6JIW&keywords=end+mill+bits&qid=1529378587&sprefix=end+mil&sr=8-3&ref=mp_s_a_1_3</a>

James Boatright

If you did want two flute center cutting bits instead, I liked this det at $21. And in thinking about it.. you well might want a center cutting bit if you want to have the mill cut hole be the exact same size as the drill bit. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/tool-home-Speed-Steel-Straight-Cutter/dp/B00ZZYJU2U?crid=16A9LF1HW6JIW" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.com/tool-home-Speed-Steel-Straight-Cutter/dp/B00ZZYJU2U?crid=16A9LF1HW6JIW</a>

Rex Krueger
>>13189629

So, and I admit to being ignorant about end-mills, is only one type good for the use you suggest? Can I only use the 2 flute to make my flat spots?

James Boatright

The 4 flutes have a hole in the center. For the purposes you're considering, let's stop with 'yes'. I'll write a longer bit later.

James Boatright

Drill press plus sanding drum plus board with hole cut in it = fake drum sander. Soft wire wheels for cleanup run at lower rpm in the dp vs ths bench grinder and are better for some jobs. Also, you can use small diameter wheels to get in places. If you're drilling centered holes lengthwise in dowels, drill a hole in a piece of MDF, stick the dowel plug into it, and you're automatically centered - of course you may need a jig to keep longer pieces vertical.

James Boatright

As promised, writing "more later". End mills come in two types with slightly different purposes. If you want to cut a channel across a piece of metal, for example the channel on your table saw that the protractor slides in, it runs all the way across the piece. So, when you're cutting it, you can start off the edge and drag the cutter across the piece, each pass taking a deeper cut. For this, you would typically use something like the four flute bits above since they have FOUR cutters. But the problem is, they have a hole in the center, They're great for cutting across a piece, but they can't do "plunge cuts." If you want to cut a slot in a piece of metal that doesn't reach the edge, you have to be able to cut a hole "right here were we are" -- a plunge cut. Two flute mills are sharpened continuously across the middle, and can do that. They're not as strong (duh) but they're for a different purpose. For THIS purpose, you want the two flutes.

Matthew Leigh
>>13216064

"drill a hole in a piece of MDF, stick the dowel plug into it, and you're automatically centered" - genius!