[Newbie] To Mill Or Not?

[Fumble750]

Forgive me if a daft question I have an old sturdy Harbert drill and would like to do some light milling with it, it came with a Jacobs chuck mounting to what I think is a Jacobs #1 with a threaded ring above it which releases the chuck. What are my options regarding mounting a milling bit securely to do some edge milling? Please see photos I have taken,also included center drive shaft

 

[Fumble750]

Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated I do not intend to do high precision milling just basic to get started with as this will be my first attempt

 

[JimDawson]

It is possible to do some light milling in a drill press. But be aware that a drill press is not designed to take a side load, and the chuck may come off. Very light cuts would be in order.

 

[Fumble750]

Is there any sort of adapter that would use the Jacobs taper and the tread to secure it, which I could then use a conventional milling bit in

 

[Wobbles]

Nice piece of equipment.

Most "drill presses" are fitted with bearings that take will only a load in the vertical direction. This because a drill bit is end cutting only. You might want to disassemble the quill and look at the bearings. The forces from horizontal cutting might destroy your quill bearings in short order. If the bearings are an odd size that's no longer available, this might make the machine useless for any purpose.

Just a thought.

 

[JimDawson]

Keep in mind that a milling cutter, when cutting on the side is trying to pull the quill down, just the opposite of the forces involved in drilling. As Wobbles said, you may hurt your drill press. Having said that, a number of members here have used a drill press as a light duty mill.

I have seen chucks like these that are secured by the threaded portion of the spindle. But finding one that would be an exact fit on your drill press might be difficult.

 

[John Hasler]

You might want to disassemble the quill and look at the bearings.

Second this. While *most* drill press bearings can't handle side loads a few such as my Avey have the same sort of dual angular contact bearings as a mill. This machine looks stout enough to possibly fall into that class.

 

[Fumble750]

Thanks for the info I like the idea of the thread and Jacobs mounted chuck would be ideal for the light milling I plan on doing, has anybody got any suggestions as to where I start my search for one?

 

[JimDawson]

Thanks for the info I like the idea of the thread and Jacobs mounted chuck would be ideal for the light milling I plan on doing, has anybody got any suggestions as to where I start my search for one?

I did a quick internet search and the only thing I found was other people asking the same question, but I didn't find any answers.

 

[joshua43214]

hmmm,
I imagine that milling on a Jacobs taper is going to be worse than milling on a Morse taper. Not only will you stand a good chance of damaging the bearings, you will stand a good chance of ruining the taper.

So, if this was my only option, I would make an adaptor that would only hold one size on mill shank.
Take a short rod of something like 3/4" or 1" round rod. Square up the ends as best you can on the bench by hand. Clamp it vertically, centered under the quill and spot drill. Drill what ever size shank you will be using (make it 1/4" or less - that is a JT 1 after all), follow with a drill the size of the small end of the taper, follow with a JT 1 reamer, follow with a drill and tap for the locking threads (use a plug followed by a bottoming tap). You might want to see what it costs to have a local shop make it, it would be a quick simple run for a CNC lathe. There might even be someone here that can do it - tho the JT 1 is an oddball. Modelers tend to use JT 0, and the rest of use something bigger.

Now you have a tool that will screw up onto the threads, center on the taper, and have a concentric hole to hold a mill. Just add a pair of grub screws to secure the mill and take light cuts.

Unless you get a good price on the drill, tap, and reamer, you might not be too far off the cost of a new mini-mill that will do a better job.