In the spirit of all the cheap tools threads. My version of a poor mans milling machine. All you need is a drill press, x/y vise and carbide grinding bit. This case was slots for a transmission crossmember, but I've used the same setup to grind things flat.
Drill presses are not designed for side loading as the chuck is only retained with a taper fit ,enough vibration and the chuck WILL come loose. Many times flying across the shop. X-Y tables on a drill press are for accurate positioning only . But it has been done just be aware of the hazards. Bridgeport's make real good drill presses! LOL
Dane, be carefull with that set up. A verticle mill aka Bridgeport, has a " draw bar " that goes down through the quill to mechanically tie in the drill chuck or what ever collet/tooling you happen to be using at the time. Without the draw bar, you are relying on nothing more than a taper male and female fitment and as stated you are taking a big and very painful risk, TR
Dane: If your gonna do this should keep it to yourself as not to influence others. I know you have a need to get stuff done but this is machining's version of Jack*** Sooner or later you"ll find out why.
Once you aqcuire one youwon't know how you lived without it! I paid $1500 for a 60's Bridgeport with power X and digital readouts. Prolly coulda found sumthin a bit cheaper but I'm very satisfied with the investment.
One more vote for what the others have said. That drill press chuck can hurt you when side loading it. The Bridgeport and the Monarch lathe on the right side of this pic are the 2 best investments I've ever made as far as shop tools. They're so cheap and plentiful nowadays just about everyone can afford them. I don't even own a drill press anymore.
I was working for a shop about 30 years ago that was run by ***holes. I was using the Bridgeport to drill a series of holes that I already had spotted. The boss comes by and says, "pretty expensive drill press". My answer was, I don't know how much they're worth, but I'll take the next 2 days off and price them out. I wound up on the beach for 2 days and it may have involved alcohol. Bob
I bought mine in 1988 for $2200. Came with the DRO, bigger table, variable speed, 2HP, tons of collets, some so-so drill chucks and a clapped out vise. Added a Kurt vise to it and upgraded the collets and been adding drill chucks and tool holders to it since. Bob
Should have told him "yes it is, but since it drills so fast, the money you save per hour will pay for it over and over".
I also paid $1500 for mine, a '51 model with an X-feed, but it was on ebay and local so I could go look at it first, it's pretty tight, original motor still good, and a clean table. Static phase converter and voila Should have seen folks looking as we brought it home on the Dragmaster trailer Actually pretty stable it you lower everything down as far as possible, that knee and table is pretty heavy- and use LOTS of cross-tied straps... A tip I got from my neighbor across the street that owns the local speed shop- grey Rustoleum from Home Depot looks good on them- gotta get after my 16x60 South Bend that came from Berkeley Pump- it's painted frog-pond green
In addition to the shortcomings already mentioned, even on some better machines, the table on drill presses is often not very square to the spindle. For some jobs that's ok, for others it's an issue.
Also ...if you ever do step up to a B-port...don't be a ******** and use the drill chuck to mill with....that is what collets are for....had a proclaimed "machinist " in one of the shops that did this constatly because he was too lazy to do a collet change , and was contantly knocking the drill chuck off the arbor , and then ******* and moaning about the cheap tooling the boss buys...Boss got the last laugh when he caught him red handed one day , he was gone out the door in minutes...Shawn
Gonna have to get this little guy going, a "Rockford Hand Miller"- also has a regular vertical milling head, and has a mechanical table feed (the driveshaft). Note the 12oz water bottle for size reference
Mean Gene...I haven't seen too many of those around...they are cool but limited in capacity, but then again not everyone has the room either...Shawn
Taper fit + side load = pain and tears. Got it. Now where can I find one of those $150 milling machines...
Newspaper, Craigslist, and look up auctions in your area. Sadly, lots of businesses have called it quits and you can get heavy machinery for just above s**** pricing.
Because everyone is showing their's, here is mine!!! It is only a mill/drill setup but it works just fine for all my machining needs. It has a power feed and DRO as well as a tapping feature. Mtw fdu.
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