Measurements for fingers?

[Dave-M]

Post deleted due to unsafe practice!

[Ross Shafer]

c'mon guys, don't be trying to do mill type cutting in a drill press...someone will get hurt...its not if, its when! If you've been doing this stop now, you've been lucky!

sorry Bent, I just had to jump in....drill press chucks are usually held on by a self locking taper and are meant to cut with downward force only! cutting sideways is a great way to loosen the taper ('specially if theres any cutter chatter at all). Watching a chuck wobble its way off a drill press in prep for a launch across the shop is a scary thing to behold.

I know this because I too was lucky for quite a few years...and then one day I wasn't....no major damage but between the blood spew and the stain in shorts, I had some extra laundry to do to say the least!

When body parts get into the ring with a flying drill chuck....the drill chuck is going to win!

Be safe out there in the shop my fellow steel nerds!

[Bent]

Ok Russ. Advice taken. Cancel my drill press idea. I thought the danger was in when you tilted the chuck sideways(90deg from vertical) was when the taper would come loose. I suppose a radial drill press has a rod to hold the taper, just like a mill?

[Ross Shafer]

not a big deal Bent, but my name is Ross, not Russ.

By the way, you're kickin' butt with that mill, your changer and the other parts you're making look really nicely done!

I just took a quick google tour of some radial drill presses and all that I saw had the check attached on a self locking taper. Radial drill presses are also intended for drilling only and not any kind of side cutting. Its the sideways force against the cutter that will promote the loosening of a self locking taper.

Mills have a spindle with a draw bar of some sort running through them. The drawbar is used to pull a collet tightly into an internal non-locking taper and remains in place at tension after the collet and cutter are fitted. Done correctly, this insures that no chuck or cutter will go flying.

[Dave L]

Hi Ross,
Is there a way you know of or have heard of to retro fit a regular drill press with a draw bar type assembly?
Thanks, Dave

[Ross Shafer]

Hi Dave,

I'm afraid not, a mill spindle that uses a drawbar and a drill press spindle are completely different animals. The closest thing would be a benchtop drill/mill type machine....they're cheap new and even cheaper used....that said, they tend to be atrocious pieces of sh_t...a big step up from faking it on a drill press, but still worlds below a real mill....even a fairly rough mill that's had a hard life is almost always far better than a drill mill....Can you tell I don't like these things?

If you're vigilant enough there's great deals out there on real mills and there's some very nice little benchtop knee mills out there (albeit harder to find) if you don't have the space for a floor standing model.

A daily search of your local Craigslist will turn something up eventually.

Best of luck!
Ross

[Bent]

Ross, sorry about the mispronunciation. I knew better, just an oversight.
The reason I go on about drills for mills is this:
For years, before he could afford a mill, Ed Fulawka used a Delta radial drill press and a two way sliding vise. He even touted the drill press as:"that's all you need" and "what do you want a mill for?" Could it be that he managed to adapt the drill press with a draw bar in order to make it safe? I know Ed and he is a very safety-conscious type of worker; quality builder too, as evidenced by every one of the 2000+ pedal steels he has built.

Of course I see your point clearly and you are 100% correct.

[Ross Shafer]

Ed builds a mighty nice steel....and he's a lucky guy too.