Question about mill work

Started by reel man, July 13, 2019, 12:35:31 AM

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reel man

Has anyone used a drill press to do mill work when tollerance (sp) can be .005 - .010?

Rivverrat

#1
This is possible but not recommended. I say this because a lot of times people using a drill press as a mill are doing so because they dont have the money or its just not feasible to open ones wallet wide enough for the purchase of a proper mill. Which also raises the probability that this individual wont have the proper tooling, jigs & vice to mill in the first place. Which can be unsafe & go bad in a hurry.

 With that said if your confident the piece being milled or turned down is safely held in place & the run out on your chuck & bearings will hold the tolerances you want, by all means give it a try. You can turn down a small piece a bit with decent accuracy by inserting it in the chuck using files & appropriate emery cloth & checking measurements as you go.  Years ago I made many firing pins for all manner of fire arms using this method... Jeff

Crow

    I'll add, it depends a lot on the material you will be working with, and, the drill press you'll be using. Soft materials(bakelite, or aluminum, for example) will be much easier than steel. And, if the drill press has has good, tight bearings in the quill...and you only extend the quill just far enough to "do the job", you can expect things to be pretty "close to spec". As was stated, safety first.....have the work piece secured, so it CAN'T move,unless you want it to { a cross slide vice, for example}, use a sharp cutter, and make 'thin "passes, with a "lube", if the material calls for it....and wear your safety glasses !!  A great many of the "heavier built" drill presses are made to handle some fairly heavy "side pressure " on the quill....for "routing" wood, for example, or using it as a "drum sander"....some other, more cheaply built models, don't even HAVE actual "bearings" for side pressure...just a bushing, with the only "good" bearing being a "thrust bearing", ...because they are intended for "drilling (where the only "pressure" is against the END of the bit, not against the side of it), I'd say ant "accuracy" in side "movement" would be nil.
There's nothing wrong with a few "F's" on your record....Food, Fun, Flowers, Fishing, Friends, and Fun....to name just a few !

oc1

#3
I just have a bench top drill press from the big box store.  It is so loose.  If something needs to be really close I'd be better off doing it by hand with a Dremel.
-steve

Ron Jones

Steve,
You are better than me! If I can't do it with a drill press there is no way I can do it free hand with a Dremel.
The Man
Ronald Jones
To those who have gone to sea and returned and to those who have gone to sea and will never return
"