Mini Drill Press

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thedieter
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Post by thedieter »

With all of the talk about small drills, I couldn't pass this one up for $69.99 at Harbor Freight while I was spending a gift certificate at Richland. It is so cute and it comes with a keyless chuck which seems equiv. to ones selling for around $50 for the chuck alone. It even has a downstop like a BP mill.

It runs very smoothly and I hope it is as useful as it seems.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=44505

Best regards, Jack
Jose Rivera
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Post by Jose Rivera »

thedieter wrote:With all of the talk about small drills, I couldn't pass this one up for $69.99 at Harbor Freight while I was spending a gift certificate at Richland. It is so cute and it comes with a keyless chuck which seems equiv. to ones selling for around $50 for the chuck alone. It even has a downstop like a BP mill.

It runs very smoothly and I hope it is as useful as it seems.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=44505

Best regards, Jack
That's the bench-drill that I use to hold the high-speed drilling for the Hummingbird.
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There are no problems, only solutions.
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thedieter
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Post by thedieter »

Jose:

Interesting set-up. For really small stuff the high speed spindle is required. I don't know if I will need more than the 3100 RPM that the drill provides. The chuck holds down to 1/32" dia. Anything smaller and I think such things as play in the quill would have to be addressed.

The drill spindle has the taper for the 33JT ground right on it so it doesn't have the potential runout of an adapter. I plan to test the chuck runout.

I am thinking about how to arrange a vise and your X-Y slides with micrometer adjustments looks great. Is that the proto-type for your Hummingbird?

Best regards, Jack
Jose Rivera
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Post by Jose Rivera »

Yes, I found that X-Y table on eBay, lucky buy. Have not seeing one for a as little as I bought that one or as large and well built.

The Dremel because of the dual bearing spindle and a heavier chuck cannot go pass about 26K RPM. Fast enough 8)
There are no problems, only solutions.
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RONALD
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Post by RONALD »

DECISION:

Well, as I wrote, I would post my final decision when I made it.

Thanks, I learned a lot from those who posted. I had never heard of some of the names like Levin, P&W, Servo, etc. As I researched those various mini/micro DP makers, the two names that stood out for small drill presses were Cameron, and Servo. They not only were highly rated, but supposedly they manufactured their machines in the U.S.A. I settled on buying either Cameron MD-70, or a Servo 7040. The Servo, costs about twice what the MD-70 does, but I could not make up my mind, and was in no hurry.

Meanwhile, on eBay, I found a used Servo 7220 with an X-Y table. No bids reached acceptance the first time, I again made an offer when it was put up a second time, and got it for about 10% more than I previously bid. It was more than what I would have payed for a new Cameron MD-70, but way less than the new Servo 7440 which did not include an X-Y table. I'm happy with my purchase.

It was delivered on Wednesday, and Thursday, I cleaned up the unit, and bolted it on an old cart. As you can see in the photos below, I will operate it in two modes; one with the X-Y table, the other with the drill head to the rear. Yesterday, I put a small vise there, and was drilling some #43 hole into several small brackets to be tapped for #4-40 screws.

I always had too much vibration drilling very small holes with the 20" Wilton, this one is very quiet and will certainly do the job for small holes.
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Jose Rivera
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Post by Jose Rivera »

I have never seeing one, this looks like a true jewel !!

Congratulations :D :D
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knudsen
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Post by knudsen »

Jose and Baddog, how is the runout on that HF DP? I looked at it the other day, almost bought it for the chuck! It seemed smooth and sweet. Grabbed the spindle and felt about .100 runout and walked away. Of course, the display models are often very early version, abused by visitors to the store or even damaged returns. Not how I would run the shop, by it is HF, and they don't employ rocket surgeons. I didn't have time to open one up. Might make it back to Indy before the sale is out. Can you drill a small hole with it as it comes out of the box?
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BadDog
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Post by BadDog »

I don't have a HF DP.

Some time ago I did have a HF 16" (I think it was) floor model, one of the larger "industrial" types. It was actually quite adequate for my fabrication needs over several years, with a good range of capability and speeds. The only real problem was the 5/8" chuck, which was complete garbage. Once replaced with a pair of good chucks (18N and 1/2 Albrecht) I was well enough satisfied. But then I started to run into it's physical limitations at both ends of the spectrum, and so I replaced it with the P&W, 2J, and 20" VSG.
Russ
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thedieter
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Post by thedieter »

knudsen:

I tested my HF DP for runout. There is a little play in the sliding part of the spindle but acceptable for most purposes. I drilled a 0.040 in diameter hole at the highest speed and it was very smooth.

The chuck doesn't seem to have any runout with a 1/4" dowel in the chuck. The spindle press is very light in operation which is needed for small drills to get the feel of the drill.

Best regards, Jack
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SingleStacker45
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Post by SingleStacker45 »

just out of curiosity why do you need such high speeds for the small drills. I thought slower would be better to keep the heat down.

Mule
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Harold_V
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Post by Harold_V »

SingleStacker45 wrote:just out of curiosity why do you need such high speeds for the small drills. I thought slower would be better to keep the heat down.
Heat shouldn't be much of an issue, but slow speed can be. Feel is lost, and cutting efficiency tends to drop off drastically.

Most materials have a "sweet spot" where they machine best. The recommended speed is generally noted as surface feet per minute, at the point of the cut, or sfpm. You will often see it simply as fpm. At the recommended speed, chip flow tends to be good, and the tool performs better than at faster or lower speeds.

So them, armed with that idea, lets assume you must drill a ½" hole @ 200 fpm. The spindle speed required would be 1,528 rpm.

Change to a 1/16" drill, and the required speed is now 12,223 rpm.

Harold
knudsen
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Post by knudsen »

Sorry Russ, I meant Jack. I should copy/paste names :oops: Thanks for your answers. Blew my budget, so I'll wait for the next sale. :?
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