I've been thinking of mounting a Milwaukee drill press with a magnetic
base to a piece of steel plate so I could clamp it in the center of
countertops, benches (for dog holes), etc... However, these run about
$800, so I'm wondering if there's a cheaper alternative. Sort of like
a drill guide that Rockler et al sell, but beefy - with a drill press
type mechanism. Short of going to work on an old Craftsman bench top
DP, anyone have any other ideas?
Thanks.
JP
"Jay Pique" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I've been thinking of mounting a Milwaukee drill press with a magnetic
> base to a piece of steel plate so I could clamp it in the center of
> countertops, benches (for dog holes), etc... However, these run about
> $800, so I'm wondering if there's a cheaper alternative. Sort of like
> a drill guide that Rockler et al sell, but beefy - with a drill press
> type mechanism. Short of going to work on an old Craftsman bench top
> DP, anyone have any other ideas?
>
> Thanks.
> JP
>
Get a table top style drill press and turn the base around so it faces
backwards when you assemble it. Now bolt the base to a board or thick piece
of sheet metal using flat head bolts with heads on the bottom and the nuts
on top so the bottom surface is smooth. Now you have a non-magnetic version
of the Milwaukee drill press at significantly less money. You can position
it anywhere on the countertop and hold or clamp it in position. You could
even put a gasket ring around the bottom and pull a vacuum between this
board and the countertop using a small vacuum pump to hold it in position.
Charley
Mon, Oct 22, 2007, 5:35pm (EDT-3) [email protected] (Jay=A0Pique)
doth wonder:
I've been thinking of mounting a Milwaukee drill press with a magnetic
base to a piece of steel plate so I could clamp it in the center of
countertops, benches (for dog holes), etc... However, these run about
$800, so I'm wondering if there's a cheaper alternative. Sort of like a
drill guide that Rockler et al sell, but beefy - with a drill press type
mechanism. Short of going to work on an old Craftsman bench top DP,
anyone have any other ideas?
You can always get a long drill bit. Or make one. Then use a
bench top drill press. If I was gonna drill holes every day tho, I
might well eventually modify a bench drill press. Maybe. But probably
just usa a long drill bit instead, so when I got tired of drilling holes
I'd still have a usable drill press. Of course, if you did modify one,
and quit drilling holes, you could always make a horizontal boring
machine out of it.
JOAT
"I'm an Igor, thur. We don't athk quethtionth."
"Really? Why not?"
"I don't know, thur. I didn't athk."
Jay Pique wrote:
> I've been thinking of mounting a Milwaukee drill press with a
> magnetic
> base to a piece of steel plate so I could clamp it in the center of
> countertops, benches (for dog holes), etc... However, these run
> about
> $800, so I'm wondering if there's a cheaper alternative. Sort of
> like
> a drill guide that Rockler et al sell, but beefy - with a drill
> press
> type mechanism. Short of going to work on an old Craftsman bench
> top
> DP, anyone have any other ideas?
You might want to take a look at
http://www.grizzly.com/products/G7945. You should be able to pull the
table off and _maybe_ saw the column shorter and use it pretty much
like you propose to use the Milwaukee. With the table off the weight
should be manageable if you're in good shape--if it's not then the
head assembly should pull off with one screw and broken down into two
pieces you should be able to handle it easily.
--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)