Possible new wood working tool ...?

T Bredehoft

T Bredehoft

Active User
H-M Supporter Gold Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2014
Messages
4,058
Has anyone built a vertical mill for wood with a worn out small drill press and a Dremel tool? Negate the motor and spindle, mount the tool in or on the quill, mount a 1/8 to 3/16 milling cutter in the tool and be able to fix that a defined distance above the table so repetitive cuts could be made (in wood) ?

For instance, inletting a cut for hinges... or inlay work.
 
I bet somebody has. But aren’t there already better machines for the job? Routers with templates, or router tables, or cnc routers for instance. Cheap routers are everywhere it seems.
 
T Bredehoft said:
Has anyone built a vertical mill for wood with a worn out small drill press and a Dremel tool? Negate the motor and spindle, mount the tool in or on the quill, mount a 1/8 to 3/16 milling cutter in the tool and be able to fix that a defined distance above the table so repetitive cuts could be made (in wood) ?

For instance, inletting a cut for hinges... or inlay work.
Click to expand...


What’s wrong with just using a vertical mill?
 
T Bredehoft said:
Has anyone built a vertical mill for wood with a worn out small drill press and a Dremel tool? Negate the motor and spindle, mount the tool in or on the quill, mount a 1/8 to 3/16 milling cutter in the tool and be able to fix that a defined distance above the table so repetitive cuts could be made (in wood) ?

For instance, inletting a cut for hinges... or inlay work.
Click to expand...

Search overarm router or pin router.

Best,
Kelly
 
I just throw a sheet over the Bridgeport table, vise and everything. It works great, the most precise woodworking tool I have.
 
I used to do a lot of detailed inlay work. The closest I came to the OP’s idea was to put a small dental burr (the flat bottomed ones, not the ball mills) into the chuck and float the workpiece on the table. To control the depth I rigged up a foot pedal with a cord to a pulley on the ceiling then back down to one of the handles on the quill. Push the foot pedal the bit came down to fixed depth; release the foot pedal the quill spring pulled the cutter out of the work. It worked nicely and with a small bit the size of a dental burr I wasn’t worried about quill deflection too much.
 
I have a Delta/Rockwell overarm router. Foot pedal drops the arm to a set height.
Doesn't get a lot of use but handy when needed. Mostly use it for relieving large background areas prior to hand carving.
 
stupoty said:
What you really want ... :laughing:

https://www.scosarg.com/media/leaflets/Wadkin/Wadkin WX_WZ Pattern Miller.pdf

Stu
Click to expand...
That is cool!

I'm familiar with the Wadkin pattern makers lathe but hadn't checked out other equipment made by them. The lathe is bit of an oddity for the typical woodturner of today, but a machine with lots potential for specific types of turning (ie. pattern making - duh).

So to hijack this thread a bit - but are there any full time pattern makers left? I imagine the need is greatly reduced these days. Would also be interested in books that focus specifically on pattern making. I've encountered a few really interesting patterns over the years and they are often works of art on their own.
 
A pantograph engraver such as the Gorton machines would preform well at small milling work.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top