Cross Slide Vise on drill press for LIGHT milling
kolar...@gmail.com
light milling. The drill press is harbor freight grade, as will be
the cross slide. The extent of the milling i will do with this will
be 3/16 slots x 1/2" long though 1/10" thick aluminum, so it should be
a fairly light load. Will I be able to accomplish what I want with
the hardware I have/can purchase?
Ignoramus7130
No you will not be able.
i
Trevor Jones
If you have one of the cheesy drills with the threaded on chuck
instead of the taper mounted chuck, you are ahead of the game. If there
are any tapers at all, between the spindle and the cutter, the side
loads will cause the cuck to pop off, usually at the worst possible time.
Aside from that, there is not much headroom on that drill press.
It is a sub-optimal solution, and you would be FAR better off to get
mill/drill unit and do away with the drill press, and use the mill/drill
as your primary drill.
You REALLY want anything with a drawbar to hold an endmill, in order
that the side loads don't cause the holder to drop out.
Cheers
Trevor Jones
Larry Jaques
qualm, kolar...@gmail.com quickly quoth:
If the drill uses a taper-fit chuck, and nearly all do nowadays, you
won't be able to put ANY lateral force on an end mill. Even my $40 5sp
HF drill is tapered.
G'luck!
--
My future starts when I wake up every morning...
Every day I find something creative to do with my life.
-- Miles Davis
F. George McDuffee
wrote:
================
Generally speaking this is not a good idea, but more than likely
you can get away with this FOR THIS APPLICATION AS DESCRIBED. It
won't be quick, and it won't be very accurate, but its better
than a file.
One of the keys is to keep everything tight, such as retightening
the chuck every few minutes. Your major problem is that neither
the chuck, its MT attachment to the quill, and the drill press
bearings were designed for side [milling] loads. An Asian
designed/manufactured drill press that is built down to a price
will have even less safety factor than the older American iron,
and these were marginal at best in this regard.
I suggest that you use the drill press as a drill press to plunge
cut as much material as possible from your slot using a center
cutting 3/16 end mill, leaving a "scalloped" edge on both sides
of the slot and then go back and clean up the sides using a
[light] side milling cut.
NOTE: a 3/16 end mill is [almost] certain to cut a slot wider
than 3/16, how much more depends on how loose the particular
quill and bearings are. So you may have to use a 1/8 end mill
and shift from side to side to get a clean edge 3/16 wide slot.
It is vital, given the backlash/slop inherent in this setup, that
you use only conventional milling where feed direction is
opposite the rotation of the cutter. "Climb" milling, where the
cutter wants to "pull" the material in will almost surely cause
tool to "grab" the work, take too big a bite, ruin the work, snap
the end mill, and cause the operator to change their
fruit-of-the-looms.
Also be advised that some aluminum machines about like Bazooka
Bubble Gum. Extrusions are particularly prone to this. This is a
good application for WD-40 as a coolant/lubricant. Don't use too
much, apply it to the top of the end mill next to the chuck so it
will run down as you cut.
Tool wear will be concentrated on the tips of the end-mill, so
when side milling use the upper portion of the end mill flutes if
you can.
Use two flute end mills on aluminum. If you use a 1/8 end mill to
generate a 3/16 slot you might try a 3 flute as this avoids the
"cogging" action of having both flutes engage and release at the
same time. Use the less expensive M2 end mills. The more
expensive cobalt and carbide end mills are for much higher speeds
and much more rigid machines than your drill press, and as these
are more brittle, they will be much more likely to break.
FWIW -- I have found Wholesale Tool to be a good source of
economnical endmills.
for some examples click on
http://www.wttool.com/product-exec/product_id/31043
http://www.wttool.com/product-exec/product_id/30357/nm/3_Flute_Single_End_Mill
(not center cutting)
http://www.wttool.com/product-exec/product_id/30796/nm/2_Flute_High_Speed_End_Mill
http://www.wttool.com/product-exec/product_id/31149
Wear safety glasses, and be aware that the chuck could come loose
at any time. Put some guards in place. Keep your hands away
from the cutter as much as possible. Run everything as slow as
possible. Take your time. Listen to the machine.
Let the group know how things go.
*
kolar...@gmail.com wrote in article
<dd0716c0-6f11-4406...@t1g2000pra.googlegroups.com>...
I agree with the conventional wisdom that it is unwise to use a drill press
as a milling machine......HOWEVER.....................
.....the December 2007/January 2008 edition of Machinist's Workshop has an
article in it pertaining to "Drill Press-To-Mill Modifications".
The author claims he uses ".....removable Loctite...." on the Jacobs 33
taper, but that others have actually used epoxy to overcom the potential
problem of chuck separation.
If I did NOT have a milling machine, I suppose I would consider trying
it...............
spaco
Harbor Frieght have LOTS of slop (backlash). If nothing else goes
wrong, this slop will drive you nuts. If the end mill digs in
anywhere, it can pull the vise to the "other" limit of the backlash and
dig an unwanted gouge out. If you plan carefully for this and if you
can truly lock one axis, you may have a change.
I used to do light milling in my Craftsman drill press using a
Palmgren X-Y table. It worked out pretty well, but the chuck, which
does have a taper, also has a threaded collar that pulls the chuck up
tight and NEVER comes loose. I never even had trouble with the end mill
pulling out of the chuck, which is another insidious problem. I suppose
I was taking such light cuts (1/8" end mill into annealed tool
steel)that it didn't pull out. The problem with this is (if it happens)
is that the end mill sneaks out a few thou at a pass, so your cut is
deeper at one end than the other.
I have seen the "Micro" mill on sale at HF for as little as $250. Maybe
it was a floor model?
Pete Stanaitis
John Martin
associates.us> wrote:
>
> Use two flute end mills on aluminum. If you use a 1/8 end mill to
> generate a 3/16 slot you might try a 3 flute as this avoids the
> "cogging" action of having both flutes engage and release at the
> same time.
"Cogging" action? You've got me on that one, George. Unless you are
talking about the inability of an end mill with three or more flutes
to cut a slot to size. A two flute mill would be fine. 'Splain
yourself, please.
John Martin