A Micro Drill Press

[wce4]

My latest project is not an engine but a Home built ( Machine and Assembly by no one to blame but me) micro drill press by Pat Loop.
This was a fun build, a lot of first for a wanna bee machinist. First time making a gear cutter, then cutting a gear rack and a spur gear on the mill.
After numerous tries ( As they say third time a charm, for me it was the fourth time) cutting the spur gear (learning how to use the indexer the right way).
First time making a spring, making a wood pattern for the fiberglass belt guard, powder coating the steel base and last but not least anodizing all the aluminum parts in my home
shop.
The hardest part for me was machining the table support arm. Like I said this was a very interesting and fun project for me and a great running little drill press.

The plans for this micro drill press was publish in Metalworking VI book by Village Press.
P.S. The red anodize item on the drill press is what Pat Loop calls third hand wrench.

 

[kuhncw]

Very well done!

Chuck

 

[wce4]

Very well done!

Chuck

Thank you Chuck

 

[minh-thanh]

It's a very nice drill.
Congratulations !

 

[timo_gross]

My latest project is not an engine but a Home built ( Machine and Assembly by no one to blame but me) micro drill press by Pat Loop.

I always wonder if it is allowed in the forum to "not built engines", for me this counts as project. If "engine-lathe" is a word, then "engine-drill" counts as well.

The base looks very nice. Is the base a casting? Did you make it from stock?

• Glas fiber belt cover makes it almost look like a vintage factory built. You should have used carbon to save some weight and make it look late 90ies sports car. I am curious how you made the cover.
• internal cable for the motor. (did you use a pipe?) And not open from the top!
• speed adjuster in the base to remove cable clutter
• proper paint job

That is very nice. Can you use it for tapping as well? (with manual spindle movement)

Greetings Timo

 

[ShopShoe]

Thank You for posting. Non-engine projects are OK. I have posted a few myself.

--ShopShoe

 

[wce4]

I always wonder if it is allowed in the forum to "not built engines", for me this counts as project. If "engine-lathe" is a word, then "engine-drill" counts as well.

The base looks very nice. Is the base a casting? Did you make it from stock?

• Glas fiber belt cover makes it almost look like a vintage factory built. You should have used carbon to save some weight and make it look late 90ies sports car. I am curious how you made the cover.
• internal cable for the motor. (did you use a pipe?) And not open from the top!
• speed adjuster in the base to remove cable clutter
• proper paint job

That is very nice. Can you use it for tapping as well? (with manual spindle movement)

Greetings Timo

Thank you Timo for your interest in my project. I will try to answer your questions as best I can.

"The base looks very nice. Is the base a casting? Did you make it from stock?"
The base consists of a 10" length of 5" wide steel channel. The top surface of the channel is covered with a
1/4" thick piece of aluminum plate and fastened by four short No. 10-32 screws from the underside. The fillet around the edge of the aluminum plate is done with auto body filler. The end plates of the channel is made from 1/4" aluminum plate and fastened by 5 flathead screws on each end. The screw heads were fill with auto body filler and the base was powder coated.



"Glas fiber belt cover makes it almost look like a vintage factory built. You should have used carbon to save some weight and make it look late 90ies sports car. I am curious how you made the cover."

The belt cover (guard) is made of three layers of glass cloth over a well-wax wood form and saturated with polyester resin. The weight was not a concern in this project , but cost was. The glass cloth and resin was provided by my neighbor for free.






"internal cable for the motor. (did you use a pipe?) And not open from the top!"
The column is made from 3/4" drill rod with a 1/4" dia. hole drilled 7" deep with a aviation drill bit for cable passage.


"Can you use it for tapping as well?"
As the saying goes, A picture is worth a thousand words
Tapping a hole 7ba in the boxbed of a Stuart 10H model steam engine, my next project.

 

[wce4]

It's a very nice drill.
Congratulations !

Thank you.

 

[peterl95124]

I was going to add make sure you can also use it for tapping, but I see that's already been covered, nice tool, well done !!! (building jigs is part of building models, this is just a larger than usual jig !!!)

 

[awake]

Well done!

 

[wce4]

I was going to add make sure you can also use it for tapping, but I see that's already been covered, nice tool, well done !!! (building jigs is part of building models, this is just a larger than usual jig !!!)

Thank you peterl95124

​

 

[wce4]

Well done!

Thank you Andy

 

[ajoeiam]

My latest project is not an engine but a Home built ( Machine and Assembly by no one to blame but me) micro drill press by Pat Loop.
This was a fun build, a lot of first for a wanna bee machinist. First time making a gear cutter, then cutting a gear rack and a spur gear on the mill.
After numerous tries ( As they say third time a charm, for me it was the fourth time) cutting the spur gear (learning how to use the indexer the right way).
First time making a spring, making a wood pattern for the fiberglass belt guard, powder coating the steel base and last but not least anodizing all the aluminum parts in my home
shop.
The hardest part for me was machining the table support arm. Like I said this was a very interesting and fun project for me and a great running little drill press.
View attachment 151379View attachment 151378
The plans for this micro drill press was publish in Metalworking VI book by Village Press.
P.S. The red anodize item on the drill press is what Pat Loop calls third hand wrench.

Nice!!!
Especially appreciate the plan source!
Please - - - - what's the available rpm range?
What are you using to power this lady (she's not just a girl - - - grin)?

TIA

 

[wce4]

Nice!!!
Especially appreciate the plan source!
Please - - - - what's the available rpm range?
What are you using to power this lady (she's not just a girl - - - grin)?

TIA

Thank you TIA for your kind review, the answer to your questions as follows.

"Please - - - - what's the available rpm range?"
0 to about 5,000 rpm.

"What are you using to power this lady (she's not just a girl - - - grin)?"
120 volt sewing machine motor. This type of motor is a universal motor.

 

[ajoeiam]

Thank you TIA for your kind review, the answer to your questions as follows.

"Please - - - - what's the available rpm range?"
0 to about 5,000 rpm.

"What are you using to power this lady (she's not just a girl - - - grin)?"
120 volt sewing machine motor. This type of motor is a universal motor.

Thank you for the information!

I had hoped that you had a wider range of rpm than that.
(drilling holes at 0.020" (0.5 mm) you need some 15k rpm with HSS bits - - - 5k rpm puts a limit at somewhere around 0.050" (1.5 mm) - - - bummer!)

(am looking at some nozzles with an orifice size of 0.004 to 0.006" (0.1 to 0.15 mm))

Oh well - - - looking to replicate something like the Dumore sensitive drill press (their website is refusing connections right about now - - - also a bummer!).
Will have to get my hands on some plans and see what kind of mods might be possible.

Maybe I'm just crazy - - - ok - - - grin I'll admit it - - - but you guys keep stimulating my thinker!!!

 

[krypto]

Your drill press looks like a slightly scaled-up version of the Cameron Micro drill press. Here's mine:

You did a very good job constructing your drill press and the fit and finish is excellent! If it's possible, it would be interesting to see a video of your drill press running. I've been curious about using those sewing machine motors for other projects around the shop.

 

[wce4]

Your drill press looks like a slightly scaled-up version of the Cameron Micro drill press. Here's mine:

View attachment 151477

You did a very good job constructing your drill press and the fit and finish is excellent! If it's possible, it would be interesting to see a video of your drill press running. I've been curious about using those sewing machine motors for other projects around the shop.

Thank you for the compliment and the picture of your micro drill press krypto ,it is a lot more beefer then mine.
Give me a day or two and I will post a video using my micro drill press.

 

[bluejets]

Most domestic sewing machine motors, although series type, do not have the grunt to be useful.
Especially when one needs to have high spindle speeds as they simply bog down under load and one cannot get enough belt tension to avoid slipping.
Last time I looked they were rated around 70w.
There are others which can go higher, eg 180w or even commercial sewing machine units up to 250w but then size takes over.

My micro drill is a mod from Jerry Howell and is made specifically for the lower end drill sizes of around 20 thou.
Uses a slot car motor and is step up gear driven and controlled via pwm speed control.

 

[wce4]

Your drill press looks like a slightly scaled-up version of the Cameron Micro drill press. Here's mine:

View attachment 151477

You did a very good job constructing your drill press and the fit and finish is excellent! If it's possible, it would be interesting to see a video of your drill press running. I've been curious about using those sewing machine motors for other projects around the shop.

krypto I tried to upload the video to this site but, it said file was two large. So I upload to my YouTube channel here is the link. It sounds louder on the video then in person. Please let me know if I can be of any further help.
https://youtu.be/qerS2LGBQ74

 

[krypto]

Bluejets, the sewing machines motors I'm talking about are for industrial machines. They replace a clutch/motor unit so they have tons of torque at low speeds, are self contained and with variable speed at 550W | 3/4 HP.

krypto I tried to upload the video to this site but, it said file was two large. So I upload to my YouTube channel here is the link. It sounds louder on the video then in person. Please let me know if I can be of any further help.

Thanks! That link works fine. Your drill press works great! Definitely a smooth runner with that motor. When you consider that the Cameron drill press that I posted earlier now retails for ~$1200, rolling your own seems like a good idea. No, I didn't pay nearly that much for mine!

If you don't already have some carbide drills you might want to check them out.

I usually buy mine straight from China. They are cheap and come in sizes from 0.1-3.0 mm on an 1/8" shank. They are much sharper than HSS drills and love all the speed you can give them.