For Those Forced To Use A Drill Press For Milling

Before I got my Clausing Mill I to used the Drill Press. I used a rotary table with X-Y capability. Just made a plate to use as an added feature. I hesitated all the time in telling people I did this for the very reason that is happening here. If you are careful and follow the rules using the Drill Press for a mill is not that big of a deal. This is my opinion. You know come to think of it maybe using those four words in a post would take some of the sting out of the negativity, "in my ipinion"

As Bill said sometimes you have no choice.

"Billy G"
 
I have one more reason if I may. Due to arthritis my spine is totally fused (not complaining just setting the stage). My friend has a "real" mini mill, but I find that with a mill the quill moves down to the work piece and it is awkward for me. With the drill press the work piece is raised up to the quill / chuck so I don't have to try and bend. It works much better for me.

As for the safety aspect, I am very aware of having the milling going on pretty high close to my face so I will use a full face shield if I think the job requires it.

I certainly don't mind members reminding us of the various safety hazards that can be present.

David
 
Some of you guy's would need clean trousers if you'd seen me using my big two handed plunge Bosch router with a decent guide collar to cut thick aluminium under a 19 mm HDF stencil using 1/2 & 1/4 " cutters . It was all bolted & screwed down tight , I'd take a few thou of an inch cut at a couple of thousand RPM on each pass with the machine locked to the depth . It has been a very good way of doing it especially out in the farm sheds when I was setting things up .

If the area being removed was too big to do it in one go say 9 inches or so across @ 1/2 an inch deep I'd make inserts that were screwed in place to work round & mill round them to depth then remove the insert and put a new insert in the milled out area .
 
I will admit that most chucks will loosen, whether from taper or just loosen the end mill, during milling. But on some drill presses an adapter can be made for the spindle to accept end mills with a setscrew to lock them in. Most of these are the industrial grade machines.
 
I have seen various diy accessories (for eg., Pop Mechanics, July 1954 - there are others) to stabilize the drill press/chuck to resist side-loads better.
An old Delta (I think) drill press book mentioned replacing the drill chuck with a collet assembly (presumably on a Morse taper to insert into the quill) to provide better retention for the end mill. While perhaps better than a drill chuck it lacked, afaik, any means to use a drawbar to secure the assembly.
That said, I have not personally tried any of these ideas and I would be extremely reluctant to give it a go.
 
The video above shows why this is not the best idea. I understand you gotta do what you gotta do, but........My suggestion might be to plunge the cut first, then mill it, if possible. Keep cuts as light as possible!
 
Paul in OKC said:
The video above shows why this is not the best idea. I understand you gotta do what you gotta do, but........My suggestion might be to plunge the cut first, then mill it, if possible. Keep cuts as light as possible!
Click to expand...

I was skimming off very little each pass, but I did have the quill extended quite a bit and was getting chatter which is probably why the chuck pulled off.
 
I've been using a HF XY vise (heavily modded) to mill on a 15in Walker Turner drill press with a collet chuck that George Wilson gave me. It has a female JT33 taper to match the spindle and a threaded retaining collar. Supposedly for using the DP as a router or drum sander. I made 1/8, 3/16, 3/8 and 6mm collets to go with the 1/4 one it came with, so I can hold most endmills with it and very securely too.

It works ok for milling - great for plastic, ok for alu and very slow for steel. It chatters alot with steel and I have to be very careful with flex and wander when cutting alu, but it's better than not having a mill. Teaching me a ton about set up, speeds and feeds and everything else too. Currently milling a T nut for my 618 compound so that I can mount my new QCTP. It's slow work but way faster than using a file!

Trust me, as soon as I'm in a position to buy a mill, I will! Even a minimill will be better than this :)
 
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