Benchtop Drill Press Experiences?

Ginsly said:
I like your wood fence idea - will have to look into that.
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@HamishR did a nice write up of his fence method here:

H

Post in thread 'Enclosure Drilling'

Since I got my drill press drilling enclosures is easy. As I have mentioned before I use a short straight piece of timber as a fence, so the I only have one direction to get the hole wrong in.

Say you have an enclosure you want to drill for a four-knob circuit. Two at the top, two an inch lower, as is common with many PCBs. I put some masking tape on the enclosure where I want to drill the holes and mark them using a rule and a set square. I'll mark the distances with the rule and use the set square to draw a line. I use the lid of the enclosure, hold it against the side of the enclosure...
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Here's another interesting idea from that thread

T

Post in thread 'Enclosure Drilling'

OP. This may help. I don't have a drill press so I just made this template for 125B and 1590BB/1590BBS enclosures to clamp down and drill out. 20240623_153202.jpg
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Another thread


And another...

 
jessenator said:
ZRDP103L
It's a Ryobi drill press that I got factory refurbished and works like a champ.
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So this model has been good to you, huh? As with so many tools - regardless of quality - the reviews seem very mixed for
this one. People mention plastic pulleys (?) and an uneven table that is difficult to raise and lower, amongst other complaints… I take it with a grain of salt, but figured I’d see if you noticed anything frustrating about it.
 
I took off the depth stop so the press will work better with step bits, as the drilling surface of these is longer than a standard bit.

I wrap my enclosures in painters tape so the shavings don't damage the finish and then I hold it with a firm grip. A vise isn't really necessary, but Erik's fence idea is really nice
 
Ginsly said:
So this model has been good to you, huh? As with so many tools - regardless of quality - the reviews seem very mixed for
this one. People mention plastic pulleys (?) and an uneven table that is difficult to raise and lower, amongst other complaints… I take it with a grain of salt, but figured I’d see if you noticed anything frustrating about it.
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The only real frustration was that the spindle cover handle had come loose in shipping, but that was an easy fix. It came as a box in a box that wasn't properly padded, but the inner box was.

No functional issues.

The pulleys are a robust plastic, but I haven't had issues. I basically keep it at the RPM I want for aluminum. Not planning on lumber use.
 
Apologies if this has been covered, but how does one go about using a unibit with a drill press without damaging the table? It's meant for one-size drill bits, so I assume you'd need to kind of bump up the enclosure so that the unibit doesn't hit the edges of that center hole...
 
Ginsly said:
Apologies if this has been covered, but how does one go about using a unibit with a drill press without damaging the table? It's meant for one-size drill bits, so I assume you'd need to kind of bump up the enclosure so that the unibit doesn't hit the edges of that center hole...
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I lower the table slightly, place a 2” thick board on the table, and readjust the height so the bottom of the bit is just above the enclosure top. For input/output jacks, power jacks, expression pedal jacks, etc I lower the table down all the way and use a disposable terry towel (blue roll towel from Harbor Freight) to protect the paint on the bottom side of the enclosure from the metal table.
 
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Ginsly said:
Apologies if this has been covered, but how does one go about using a unibit with a drill press without damaging the table? It's meant for one-size drill bits, so I assume you'd need to kind of bump up the enclosure so that the unibit doesn't hit the edges of that center hole...
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How big is your step bit?

I suppose one would need s larger one for XLR connectors, etc, but for everyday stuff 1/2" (12.7mm) is about as wide as it needs to be.

Don't skimp and get a harbor freight one (i threw mine out in frustration), get a quality ($50+) Irwin, Milwaukee, DeWalt stepper, 1/8"–1/2"
 
It's never really an issue. Just make sure you're using a step bit with small increments for small holes, and one with larger increments for larger holes. You can also make sure the hole in the center of the table is in line with the drill bit
 
jessenator said:
How big is your step bit?

I suppose one would need s larger one for XLR connectors, etc, but for everyday stuff 1/2" (12.7mm) is about as wide as it needs to be.

Don't skimp and get a harbor freight one (i threw mine out in frustration), get a quality ($50+) Irwin, Milwaukee, DeWalt stepper, 1/8"–1/2"
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Yep I have a Milwaukee #1- it’s actually pretty thin so might not be an issue, even when drilling for 3PDT switches. Not sure how big the center hole typically is, though.

I have some cheaper unibits that actually work pretty well! They’re metric while the Milwaukee is (I think) SAE. The cheapo ones make for a slightly better component fit iirc… That #1 is excellent, though.
 
Ginsly said:
Yep I have a Milwaukee #1- it’s actually pretty thin so might not be an issue, even when drilling for 3PDT switches. Not sure how big the center hole typically is, though.
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12-12.7mm (1/2") :)

One thing I will note about my Ryobi, is that with that particular step bit, the throw isn't long enough to hit the 1/2" step. So I do have to get it most of the way, then crank up the height of the table, putting the bit through the partially drilled hole, start it up and finish. A bit unsafe, but I still have all my limbs and eyes…

I could just get a shorter bit, I suppose, but I spent $50 on it dangit! I'mma use it all up.
 
Just jumping in with my two cents here, but I have the Bauer Harbor Freight drill press and it's awesome. Nothing too fancy, but I've never had any issues with it and it's worked well for me for the last few years now. The difference in the quality and accuracy of my drilling jumped up SIGNIFICANTLY once I moved from hand drilling to a drill press. And I even thought I was pretty decent at my hand drilling beforehand :ROFLMAO:

When I initially bought a press I considered using clamps and vices and all that as well, and very quickly found that they were really cumbersome and made the drilling process take a significantly longer amount of time. I just hold the enclosures when I drill. I know it isn't the safe option, but the drill speed is pretty slow so it doesn't seem like it's an egregiously dangerous thing to do.
 
Would making 3D printable jigs to hold various size enclosures so their top surface is perpendicular to the spindle be of use? I've made one myself but could probably whip up some files if others would like them.
 
drew.spriggs said:
Would making 3D printable jigs to hold various size enclosures so their top surface is perpendicular to the spindle be of use? I've made one myself but could probably whip up some files if others would like them.
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That’s funny, I kinda figured some builders here were doing that! I’d love to see yours.
 
Ginsly said:
Ok, so there ARE non-vise-users here!
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I've never used a vise either. Those X/Y milling vises look cool, but I can slide the enclosure around on the table just as well.

Stepped bits can snatch the enclosure out of your hand, but at a slow speed you can generally get out of the way before it comes back around to whack you. 🤣

Mine doesn't have a huge amount of torque so if you have a firm grip the belts will usually slip if something goes wrong.
 
Robert said:
I've hit the table a few times
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Yup 🫠

Robert said:
Those X/Y milling vises look cool
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I had a plan in my head to get a HF press and a vise, but they know what they're doing… the vises they sell only fit on the tables of the larger presses or the milling station.
1770768916999.png

No way they'll fit onto the <$100 one (I took one out of the box to check 🤫) And I don't even think it'll fit on the 10" or 12", maybe just the floor press, and even then that plate doesn't look the same as what's on the floor press…
1770768888010.png
 
Robert said:
I've never used a vise either. Those X/Y milling vises look cool, but I can slide the enclosure around on the table just as well.
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Welp, guess I’m livin’ dangerously then! I can totally see buying a vise and then plunking it in a drawer. Famous last words…

Robert said:
Never really been an issue... I've hit the table a few times, this is the only mark I've left.
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And to be fair that was when you were drilling pennies in a Bourbon-fueled stupor…
 
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