What do I need to know about trying to use hole saws to drill angled holes through square or even round tubing on a drill press? Is there anything more to it than just setting the table to the angle you want and clamping down the work piece?
make yourself a "V" block for round tubing. . . that way you can keep the thing clamped down better. . . hell, blocking down square tube wouldnt be a bad idea neither. just go hella slow when using a hole saw off angle... they like to wander all over the place untill they have a good bite on the steel when they dont have a pilot hole to follow
No that's pretty much it - BUT!!!! (you knew this was coming right??) You HAVE to run the press SLOW - lest you smoke your hole saw - keep the "sum flung dung" holes saws on the bench ready to throw at the neighbors cat. You'll NEED quality hole saws (Lennox, Starret, etc) Do NOT have the hole saw extended out a mile - the instability will just cause major grief. Go EASY - this is a bit of an "iffy" deal - if you crank on it for all it's worth you're gonna get rewarded with some schrapnel (sp?). They make a fixture for this which greatly improves your odds of getting a good cut. Speedway used to seel a real decent on for 99 bucks - But last I heard Horrible Fright has 'em for something liek 49 bucks - beware the HF one isn't any too impressive looking. Wear your safety gl***es!!!!!
I have Lennox hole saws, and I've got a good tubing notcher, but last time I tried to drill a hole through a piece, and not just cut the piece off with a fishmouth (like for roll cage building) I got the excessive wander you're talking about. I don't know if the tubing nothcher can clamp on tight enough for precise angles holes.
Check your bushing/bearing in your notcher - when they go south you get more wander. How excessive is the wander you're getting?? You should be able to do this. Can you post a pic of your setup???
My experience with the HF notcher - used with quality hole saws - was such that I returned it the next day. How many pieces of tubing do you need to fishmouth? If only a few, just cut with band or chopsaw and grind to shape on a wheeled grinder or belt grinder. You can buy pipe cutting templates many places and they're handy, but cut and grind to fit works pretty well too.
AHHHHHHH you want to drill a hole THROUGH the tubing, not KNOTCH the tubing correct? use a smaller saw, and again. GO SLOWLY . . . lol
Seems to me like a longer pilot bit would help. If the pilot bit went through both sides of the tubing before the hole saw started to bite, wouldn't it help prevent wandering?
...and don't forget to use cutting fluid. Keep dripping that stuff on while you're cutting. I got some from lowes. The drill should be turning less than 300rpm. I use the plain-jane version of http://www.jointjigger.com/ and it works great - beats the whole hacksaw, grinder and roundfile approach. I've done it that way just once.
Another idea is to drill thru and use a piece of rod the same size as a pilot. Keeps the hole saw straighter by preventing the drill form wallowing out the pilot hole. jerry
Jerry, yep. but even the pilot rod will need cooling like a mofo... specially if you go gonzo on the feed rate not that i would KNOW about excessive applications of feed rates hehe
The best way to drill on an angle with a drill press is dont.. Use a mill. Dave tool maker since age 15........
a mill would be the way to go in an ideal world where he had access to one... but alas he, and many others dont. yea, layin a DP table over at any angle and goin at some tubing with a hole saw isnt ideal, but then again life isnt a cake walk either... if it was simple, everyone would be buildin em
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