New Cheap Drill Press

K

KB1SYV

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Hey Guy's,

I nervously spent a chunk of my immense wealth yesterday or was it today...Anyway, on a drill press. It isn't a name brand that I ever heard about, but it was in my price range...Kinda...I'm just worried about it being square and plumb, so it will drill a true straight hole. Below is the link to the drill press:

Jeffs Super Duper Drill Steel Like a Hot Knife Through Butter Drill Press-(Made in China)

How can I check and ensure that it will drill a perfect 90 degrees?

Thanks,

Jeff
 
I used a little 70$ Harbor Freight benchtop drill press for 15 years or so before I stepped up and blew a whopping 100$ on the Craftsman unit I have now (ironically the little HF press I used to have is cheaper now than it was when I bought it almost 20 years ago) . As long as there is nothing mechanically wrong with it the little press you bought will probably serve just fine for knifemaking for a good while. If you use it for side-loading tooling like sanding drums it will lose accuracy much faster though and the bearings will eventually be worn beyond use.
I have read/heard of some pretty tricky and supposedly very accurate ways to check the squareness of a drill press, but I have always gotten by using simple methods like a small carpenter's square. The few times I have needed a very straight hole, I do not recall having any particular problem.
 
Would I get away with using it as a psuedo-mill sometimes without damaging it? You know, to file out slots and such. My big thing is if 1/3 hp is enough to take care of what I need the press for?

Jeff
 
Hey Jeff , I wouldn't try to use it as a mill . I tried years ago with my $90 Delta and a mill vise from HF. Never worked well enough to rely on most of the time . I used it a few times but still did a better job with a file . The vise did help to line up , then accurately drill a straight line of holes though . Get a couple of C - clamps as well to help hold things down . Bill
 
Oh , and to check table flatness try this . Take a small piece of a wire hanger 6" or so and bend it with two 90 degree bends so it is like a squared "S" . Put one end in the chuck and adjust it and the table so the other end barely touches the table . Then hand spin the chuck and listen for the sound . You'll know when it is level . Bill
 
Truly Bill, I value your input immensely, but that sounds a little hokey and inaccurate. I wouldn't know how close the hanger was to correct 90 degree bends and then the straight areas, really straight. Remember I'm relying on me to get the hanger right.

Jeff

Jeff

Bill T said:
Oh , and to check table flatness try this . Take a small piece of a wire hanger 6" or so and bend it with two 90 degree bends so it is like a squared "S" . Put one end in the chuck and adjust it and the table so the other end barely touches the table . Then hand spin the chuck and listen for the sound . You'll know when it is level . Bill
Click to expand...
 
It doesn't have to have any definate angle - it just has to reach the table from the chuck . It doesn't matter the shape - it could be a Z . Think about it some more , you'll see what I mean .
 
Bill T said:
Oh , and to check table flatness try this . Take a small piece of a wire hanger 6" or so and bend it with two 90 degree bends so it is like a squared "S" . Put one end in the chuck and adjust it and the table so the other end barely touches the table . Then hand spin the chuck and listen for the sound . You'll know when it is level . Bill
Click to expand...

Nice trick, worked well for me, have some play in my table height adjustment.
Thanks,
Jim
 
That's a slick trick. I'm going to have to try it!

What's the lowest speed on that drill press, KB1SYV?
 
You know, I can't find that info anywhere in detail. It is a 5 speed. I'd estimate the slowest would be maybe 600 rpm??? I don't know for sure.

Thanks,

Jeff


DrThunder88 said:
That's a slick trick. I'm going to have to try it!

What's the lowest speed on that drill press, KB1SYV?
Click to expand...
 
You turn the chuck by hand with one end of the "Z" shaped wire in the chuck and the other end barely touching the table at any spot on the table. Does the wire not touch in places or start to drag ? On one small drill press I overlaid another piece of metal and shimed it to make it level. I use four drill presses. Frank
 
Jeff, it's hard to tell for sure, but there's a very good chance that press is the exact same as my Black&Decker, just with different stickers/colors etc. If that's the case, you'll be happy, mine works surprisingly well. In fact, I'm a little mad, I paid more for mine! :D

Mine goes down to 660 or 600 RPM if I recall, that's slow enough to drill steel. I even sometimes drill hardened steel with a solid carbide bit and haven't broken one yet.

Buy bits made for steel, not wood. Look at the tips and you'll see why. Always start your holes with some kind of center-punch. Use oil on your bits. 3-in-1 oil, tap cutting oil, almost anything like that will help keep your bits cool as you drill. They cut better and last longer that way.

You'll eventually want a small machinist's vise for holding small parts, but you can get by without it. Ask Santa for one ;)

Practice basic stuff like "pecking" at the hole to let chips lift out of it, and slowing down your pressure when you're close to popping thru the piece; that's when it will want to grab and whip the work piece around. Check the video link in this thread, it's a good one with lots of little hints. Our buddy Big Ern made one about chamfering/deburring holes, in this thread.

I sometimes apply a sideload to mine, for taking a bit off of/roughing up pin stock etc. Once I had to turn some Corby bolts down with a fine file to fit existing holes in the tang of a re-handle project, that's not really the right way to do it but it worked fine. Just be gentle, let the speed and the file or abrasives do the work.

I do most of my handle shaping with a rotary tool, don't know where I'd be without one! But I'm sure sanding drums would work fine in a press like ours for final sanding and polishing, again just be gentle.

I'm not a trained machinist, so I hope someone jumps in and corrects anything I may have said wrong here. But for the last year or so, this is what's worked for me. I've made a heckuva lotta holes with this thing and no problems so far :)

I know you're on a budget like me, but I tell you what... if I had to start over again, I'd buy my drill press BEFORE a grinder. I think you made a good choice.
 
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Next thing you know, you're going to have a full-on shop!

Congrats on the purchase, I'm sure it will do well for you.
 
Milling with these little presses usually turns out to be more trouble than it is worth. At least in my experience. Milling also puts a heavy side-load on the bearings and is probably one of the fastest ways to in-accurize a drill press, besides throwing it off a cliff or dragging it behind your car (the last two are just fun little fantasies, I haven't actually tried them-yet:D)
For slotting guards I drill a series of holes and use a jeweler's saw frame with scroll saw blades to cut the bulk of the unwanted metal out. Then clean it up and finish fitting with files. With some practice you can have a guard fitted in half an hour or so.
 
BillT, nice hint. I had to close my eyes and visualize but think I got it. Neat.
I will never forget the first time my father got me to fill a hose with water to use as a level, I thought he was old and crazy. I was only half right. Dozier
 
Using a center drill to start the hole will help with drilling holes. They are rigid and don't walk as bad as regular drills. A #3 is what I use the most, it has a 1/4 body and a 7/32 point. It works well for both 1/8 and 1/4 holes.

Joe
 
Lots of good tips gentlemen.
Jeff most of started out with a drill press like that one and many of us still use them. I keep two of them going in my shop. One for hogging holes in everything and one that I keep fine tuned for serious holes that need accuracy. Mine have lasted me several years of hard use.

Yes! using the drill for milling will definitely shorten it's life. It will work for awhile but it is hard on the bearings.

Here's a tip for you all...To solve the flexing and wondering drill bits problem. I keep my bits that I have broken about 1/4" from the shaft and regrind and sharpen them. They are short and stiffer than the long bits so they don't flex or wonder like a full size bit. Works great on your thinner metals like knife makers use.

Larry
 
Sorry, I have the exact same one--purchased from summit racing. It is a piece of crap and I really wish I had spent another $30 or $40 on something better.

There are so many issues--the stop ring thingy is plastic--it immediatly broke and I had to glue it back together (look at the picture--anything "red" is junky plastic). The chuck has considerable play. The table is very weak--it bend under modest pressure. The slowest speed is around 650--too fast for drilling larger holes in steel. It is pretty easy to stall out. I had to glue the crappy plastic knobs onto the handle posts as they stripped immediatly.

As I said, if I had the chance, I would return it and buy something even one step up in quality. With that being said, it DOES work and will drill 1/4" 1084 steel with smaller (1/8") cobalt bits--I gave up on using larger bits and went back to my hand-held cordless. I have found it works OK with Dremel bits for handle shaping and I have a small buffing wheel I use in it, so it's not totally worthless.
 
Yikes, maybe I spoke too soon about it looking like my B&D. :( I haven't had any of those problems Mr.BadExample describes.
 
You know, I was just thinking last night that maybe my karma had bottomed out and was starting an upswing...:(:(:( I'd be wrong, it's still in a steady nosedive. I guess I need to buy a quantity of glue now?:unsure:

Thanks for the advice everyone, good :D and bad :mad:, I truly appreciate it!

Jeff
 
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