Making Flatwork

[David King]

In my system you are totally dependent on the fit of the drill press quill to the main casting. Any wiggle-room there and all bets are off as to where the drill will go in. I've had to modify the presses I use with delrin screws that come in from two directions, 60º apart, through the casting and push the quill to the back so that there's no wiggle room at all.
The pin is carbide, it won't wear but the registration holes in the aluminum will wear out eventually. Luckily the person I was making these parts for has just retired so I can retire the tooling as well now.

[Joe Gwinn]

In my system you are totally dependent on the fit of the drill press quill to the main casting. Any wiggle-room there and all bets are off as to where the drill will go in. I've had to modify the presses I use with delrin screws that come in from two directions, 60º apart, through the casting and push the quill to the back so that there's no wiggle room at all.

While drill presses aren't hyper-precision tools, it sounds like it's time to graduate to a real drill press.

[David King]

Joe,
I've been thinking this myself for quite a while. Every time I look at new presses I give the quills a shake and they all rattle, even the new, $1000 Powermatics.
I realize that any drill press that sells for less than about $1600 isn't a "real" drill press. My hack works quite well and when I need real precision I always have the Bridgeport. I keep an eye out for an older press on CL but suddenly CL prices are rivaling new prices when it comes to anything of actual quality.

[Joe Gwinn]

I've been thinking this myself for quite a while. Every time I look at new presses I give the quills a shake and they all rattle, even the new, $1000 Powermatics.

What do you mean by rattle? There does have to be some clearance for the quill to move.

One thing to look for is the kind of arbor. The quills of better drill presses accept Morse Taper hardware, such as drill bits, and Jacobs Chucks. The division between drill presses with a thread or a Jacobs Taper for mounting a jacobs chuck is quite stark. Morse Taper quills are industrial, and so the entire machine is built to match. Screw thread is happy homeowner, so the machine is built to match. Integral Jacobs Taper (JT 33 is the most common) is a higher grade of happy homeowner.

Here's a 1" taper-shank drill bit: Taper Shank Drill Bits | MSCDirect.com

To tell, look at the side of the extended quill - is there a slot for the wedge used to unseat a MT drill?

I realize that any drill press that sells for less than about $1600 isn't a "real" drill press. My hack works quite well and when I need real precision I always have the Bridgeport.

I do the same, but using a Millrite MVI.

As for drill presses, the best thing is to get a used American industrial unit. In round numbers, they typically cost about a dollar a pound. It's best to get a make and model for which parts are still available. My preference is for Clausing, but there are many suitable makes and models.

Actually, I was going to get a $600 used Clausing drill press, but got the $1200 Millrite instead, because they take about the same amount of space. The difference is that the drill press is a lot better for just drilling than the Millrite, but I didn't have space for both.

I keep an eye out for an older press on CL but suddenly CL prices are rivaling new prices when it comes to anything of actual quality.

CL and eBay both are flooded with junk and bad deals. At least with CL, you can inspect the item.

In the PDX area, there are many used machine tool dealers, and industrial drill presses are pretty common. Many will sell on eBay, and most ignore CL, so eBay is one way to find the local dealers, which you can then visit in person.

[Beef Coon]

I'm going to have someone make some flatwork with a cnc laser/engraver.

Question: From talking to owner the cutter makes holes with a larger dimension, something akin to the thickness of a blade if you were using a saw. I'm going to send him Illustrator files to use and will test a few dimensions to fit standard alnico rod dimensions .187 & .195 - but I wanted to see if anyone could give me a starting point as to how much smaller I should make the dimensions of the holes in the flatwork to compensate for the "width" of the laser cutter. He told me he hasn't done any jobs that require a very precise fit so didn't know.

Thank you.

[David King]

BC,
Send him a few magnets to play with. Does he have a line on Forbon or are you supplying him with that too?
He should probably start reading the manual that came with his machine if he doesn't know what the width of his beam is.
My guy's laser runs on Corel Draw. It's easy for him to adjust hole size and maintain .001" accuracy.
You might save money going with someone who knows what they are doing if you are going to be paying this guy to learn the basics.

[Beef Coon]

Thanks David. I'm supplying the Forbon. He's ten minutes away, and pricing is going to be less than $1 each, maybe even 1/2 that - so it may be worth a bit of "struggle" to set them up right.
Yeah, RTFM for sure.

[copperheadroads]

Keep in mind ,on vintage style flatwork the thinner top flatwork .062" has a tighter smaller diameter hole than the thicker bottom .093" flatwork
STEWMAC.COM : Strat Pickup Flatwork
as you can see .190" hole for .195" magnet on the bottom & .185" hole for the top flatwork .you can apply the same offset to .187" magnets

[RedHouse]

...From talking to owner the cutter makes holes with a larger dimension, something akin to the thickness of a blade if you were using a saw. ...

Normally CNC control program (such as Vectric) one is able to specify tool size and choose to run the cutter inside or outside the pattern so the tool size isn't an issue. What's he using?