What mini drill press do people like?

I don't have any suggestions, but based on this image I'd say it's pretty small.

It'd be excellent for drilling etched PCBs though.


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We just did this:

Ginsly

Thread 'Benchtop Drill Press Experiences?'

I've had pretty good results hand-drilling with a unibit, but even when I center punch and drill a small pilot hole things can drift a bit. I figure that can happen with a drill press too. Still, this is not sustainable!

Assuming I'll benefit greatly from doing things this way rather than awkwardly holding enclosures off the side of a shitty side table - what am I looking for, in your experience? I need something relatively inexpensive, not insanely loud, and as small as possible. Given that criteria, what would you get?

- This Vevor seems ok, and I like the fact that it has...
 
Before my dremel was broken (by a former roommate clogging it with car grease), the drill press adapter thing they made for it was especially nice for home-etched PCBs
 
Robert said:
I should have linked that but I thought maybe OP wanted something a little smaller than the normal "bench top" type.... I probably misunderstood.
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Yeah I was hoping something smaller than typical bench type, but the one I posted I don't think could drill the holes at the end of a pedal. I love the gearhead drill!
 
It would be interesting to have a mini one that drilled down for the top of the pedal, and then could hinge sideways or backwards to drill the end of the pedal for the jacks.
 
jessenator said:
Before my dremel was broken (by a former roommate clogging it with car grease), the drill press adapter thing they made for it was especially nice for home-etched PCBs
Click to expand...
Huh, I tried using it for that very thing years ago when I did a few homebrew PCBs (a Fuzz Factory and a Slow Gear, which nobody sold boards for at that time).
I found that the press had too much play in it and I kept snapping those tiny bits. 😖

Ended up getting a pin vise and doing it all by hand. Coincidentally, it was right around this time I decided that making my own PCBs was ‘a bridge too far’ as far as my commitment to DIY went ;)

Don’t know if it’s worth a crap, but there is this thing:
Which looks like a similar concept for a regular drill.
Think you’d probably have to make some kind of custom jig-type-thing to get it to work for enclosures…🤔
 
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pricklyrobot said:
Don’t know if it’s worth a crap, but there is this thing:
Which looks like a similar concept for a regular drill.
Think you’d probably have to make some kind of custom jig-type-thing to get it to work for enclosures…🤔
Click to expand...
I bought one of these years ago for woodworking. It’s ok for stuff like hole saw-ing for a doorknob or whatever but it’s sucks ass for anything more precise. I used it for a couple enclosures and almost threw the damn thing out the window: too much play, too hard to line it up without cobbling together some kind of jig, awkward as hell to handle.

For me, it’s just way easier and more precise to punch my markings by hand, drill pilot holes, then finish with the good ol Christmas tree bit in a hand drill.
 
Band of Dans said:
I bought one of these years ago for woodworking. It’s ok for stuff like hole saw-ing for a doorknob or whatever but it’s sucks ass for anything more precise. I used it for a couple enclosures and almost threw the damn thing out the window: too much play, too hard to line it up without cobbling together some kind of jig, awkward as hell to handle.

For me, it’s just way easier and more precise to punch my markings by hand, drill pilot holes, then finish with the good ol Christmas tree bit in a hand drill.
Click to expand...

That's good information. Thanks!
 
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