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SS drill mode

scollins

Got ready to drill a hole in a table leg in horizontal mode which was going to be so easy on my SS. Oops the table won't go down far enough! Switched to vertical position and had a perfectly centered hole in no time. Metal base in which I had previously drilled the table leg hole, plus top and base countersunk attachment holes. Now the metal part of the base has been welded and I needed to drill a matching hole thru a wood beam in the middle of the metal part of the base.

I do not like to drill metal with my SS, but that is the only drill press we have. It did quite well, although, about halfway thru the original 40+ holes I was wishing for the big industrial drill press that I grew up with where you could bring the handle down so far, squirt a little oil and walk away to let the weight of the handle do the work.

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JPG

scollins wroteGot ready to drill a hole in a table leg in horizontal mode which was going to be so easy on my SS. Oops the table won't go down far enough! Switched to vertical position and had a perfectly centered hole in no time. Metal base in which I had previously drilled the table leg hole, plus top and base countersunk attachment holes. Now the metal part of the base has been welded and I needed to drill a matching hole thru a wood beam in the middle of the metal part of the base.

I do not like to drill metal with my SS, but that is the only drill press we have. It did quite well, although, about halfway thru the original 40+ holes I was wishing for the big industrial drill press that I grew up with where you could bring the handle down so far, squirt a little oil and walk away to let the weight of the handle do the work.

So hang a weight on the handle! :D :cool:

benush26

Not certain JPG's idea is safe, but we actually did something like that when boring through 1/2" steel plate with old bits.

I found an old leg weight (fabric filled with lead shot). Had to using mechanical wire to loop over the handle, tighten so it would not slip off and then a loop through the leg weight. It was heavy enough to keep pressure but light enough to keep from jamming the flutes of the bit.

Probably neither safe nor sane, but it worked.

If I was to try something like that again, I'd probably try using a spring for tension attached to the handle, but since I'm not planning on ANYTHING like that again, it's pure old fart speculative ramblings!

Be well,

Ben

JPG

benush26 wroteNot certain JPG's idea is safe, but we actually did something like that when boring through 1/2" steel plate with old bits.

. . .

Be well,

Ben

Hey it was 'his' idea! :rolleyes:

reible

Keep in mind work hardening while drilling. Cutting depends on the drill continuing to cut and not setting there spinning. I could go in to more detail but you all know how to use google so I'll let it go with the key word.

Ed

jsburger

reible wroteKeep in mind work hardening while drilling. Cutting depends on the drill continuing to cut and not setting there spinning. I could go in to more detail but you all know how to use google so I'll let it go with the key word.

Ed

Exactly! Bunish26 said "using old drill bits". To me old implies dull. Why would one do that. Dull drills in wood is one thing but in metal. :eek: :eek:

benush26

jsburger wrote
reible wroteKeep in mind work hardening while drilling. Cutting depends on the drill continuing to cut and not setting there spinning. I could go in to more detail but you all know how to use google so I'll let it go with the key word.

Ed
Exactly! Bunish26 said "using old drill bits". To me old implies dull. Why would one do that. Dull drills in wood is one thing but in metal. :eek: :eek:

Dull would have a step up! :eek:

We needed to drill four 5/8" holes times 8 pieces of 1/2" cold rolled. We used what we could find and really didn't have the money to buy a new bit. :o . I remember using 3in1 oil (the red can with the white plastic spout) as a lubricant, thinking more oil made for better cutting!! Huge mess all over the table. :rolleyes: . My new 1980 500 did eventually get it done but then I fired up the bandsaw to cut aluminum blocks. Finished some of those cuts with an aging hack saw.

Yes, I turned my Shopsmith into a metal working machine. I think we used the belt sander to take some of the sharp edges off the aluminum after it was cut out. But we did get the project done with what we had. Can't say that alcohol made any stupid decisions..... We made enough of those on our own. :D :rolleyes:

Sometimes I look back at those days and wonder "How in the world did I survive?"

Be well,

Ben

ERLover

Step drill bit!! HF sells em cheap.

JPG

ERLover wroteStep drill bit!! HF sells em cheap.

1/2" cr steel? 'maybe'. :eek:

lyall

step bits are for sheet metal less than 1/16"

drilling any hole in metal I start with 1/8" drill bit, then 1/4", then 3/8", then 1/2" etc. up to 1".

my drill bit last longer that way.

for drilling metal of any type I go to my old post drill (blacksmith)

benush26

ERLover wroteStep drill bit!! HF sells em cheap.

That would have been nice!

35 years ago nothing like HF existed in Missoula Montana. Back then most hardware stores would have been closed by 6PM on a Saturday night! :eek: . Most of my friends did not have a power drill bigger than 1/4" and I remember the bit had a 1/4" shank for an inch or so before it widened out to the 5/8". The only reason I had a bit that large was because I had used it to drill holes in a sling style wood sided couch I was building and needed something that diameter for the redi-rod to go through. Trying to get all those pieces drilled and ready before the ski area opened the next day was a fools errand, but we did it.

About the only reason we used my new Shopsmith was no one we knew had a drill press. Most just had hand electric hand drills. The Stone Ages!! :D

ERLover

benush26

Ya I here ya,spent some time up in Kalispell, MT and Libby MT, helped blow the Koocanusa Reservoir, and worked at the hydro plant in Libby. Spent some time up in Eureka, lots of hunting in the south fork of the Flat Head and the Bob Marshall.