# Drill press to cheap mill conversion.



## great white (Jun 16, 2022)

So yeah, it's been tried before. We all know the results are marginal at best. But I've got a bunch of junk taking up space and a mill (even limited) would be useful from time to time. I do have an original Atlas milling attachment and it works well for very small items, but the travel is very limited on that and sometimes i could use a few more inches of travel to finish a piece, rather than repositioning and rejigging everything. There's also times when the vertical milling attachement just isn't capable of holding certain items or capable of getting hte work piece in the right postion, where a horizontal t plate would work much better.

First is the base material, a generic 8" drill press. You know the type, Chinese, mass produced, not exactly all that capable, even as a drill press. So I strip it down and check the runout on the quill. It's got a JT33 chuck, but that's going away. So I checked the quill on the jt33 taper once the chuck was removed.

At first blush, it's didn't look too bad. Only about a thou runout. But then I tried pressing on the quill (while extended fully) and the issue with these cheap little things became obvious: about .005 play. Bearings are actually very tight (with movement so little it doesn't even really measure) and further investigation revealed it's the clearance between the quill and the bore it sits in. Five thou is actually workable for the small projects I need it for, but I have a few ideas on how to take up that slack. I'll definitely have to look and see if I can get that runout down as it will only be magnified by any play or flex in other parts of the machine.

I could just use the drill chuck to hold end mills, but I wanted a little more accuracy than that. So I found an er32 spring collet holder with a JT33 taper to fit on the drill press quill. Again, not the the most rigid or accurate setup, but its still better than just a cheap little chuck.

Next I needed a way to feed the quill down to the work without having to fight the return spring. I could just remove the spring, but then I'd have to be cautious of the quill coming loose and dropping into the work piece. So the spring stays and I'm going to build a worm gear arrangement to give me the up and down feed.

For rpm, I'm going to install a little digital readout for the chuck speed and for now, speeds will be changed via the stock belt and pulley drill press setup.

I'll need a quill lock. but that's a simple job of drilling a hole and installing a threaded bolt for a lock.

Most guys use an xy table when doing this sort of thing. That's more money and I'd like to make this as "frugal" a build as possible. So the plan is to mount the drill press behind the Atlas TH42 (towards opposite end from the head-stock)and use the cross slide as the xy table. I'm already making a t slot plate for my milling attachment and it already mounts to the same tapered boss on the milling attachment as the compound rest, so it will drop right on to the cross slide as is. the benefit of using the lathe slide is it will give me much more travel as opposed to the limited travel of the milling attachment as well as any generic xy table.

I can already hear the flex, movement and accuracy comments about mounting a drill press behind the lathe and using the lathe slide. here's the thing: my lathe is mounted on a table with 1/4" plate as the top and 2x4 tube is welded to the underside directly under the lathe ways. what I'm planing to do is weld another section of 2x4 tube under the table where the drill press will be bolted to. Essentially, the new piece of tube will be at a right angle to the existing one and welded to both the long tube and the table top itself.

The drill press itself will be be shortened as much as possible in order to try and eliminate as much flex as possible.

So far, I've got about 50 bucks Canadian in this, not counting the drill press, lathe and other bits I already had lying around.

Yes, it' going to be pretty limited, but this is as much about seeing what I can build out of some "scraps" as much as actually using it. And as mentioned, my needs (and expectations) are pretty minimal, so it's worth a try to build something.

Pictures to come as I start building it.


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## markba633csi (Jun 16, 2022)

My old press has the same problem but worse, probably 15-20 thou of quill slop.
The other thing they have is the table drop when you loosen the column clamp
Mine is Taiwan made also, which is surprising-  late 70s vintage


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## great white (Jun 16, 2022)

markba633csi said:


> My old press has the same problem but worse, probably 15-20 thou of quill slop.
> The other thing they have is the table drop when you loosen the column clamp
> Mine is Taiwan made also, which is surprising-  late 70s vintage


Drill table is going in the scrap bin so no worries there....


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## mattthemuppet2 (Jun 16, 2022)

good idea to use the lathe as the XY, I think Emco did that with their 3-in-1 machines. You can take up the quill slop with 2 brass tipped screws 90deg from each other coming from the back or the front of the quill.

Does it have a male JT33 taper? How are you going to secure your collet chuck on there? On my Walker Turner I used a router chuck, which has a collar that screws onto the spindle. Even then it would occasionally come loose.

Biggest problems I had with my set up (WT15" drill press with heavily modded HF XY vise) was no fine down feed and flex, which would lead to endmills wandering in slotting cuts and breaking. I made a lot of stuff with mine, probably to the detriment of my spindle bearings, but I'm heartily glad not to have to use it as a mill anymore. Still, a bad mill is better than no mill!


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## Nutfarmer (Jun 16, 2022)

I tried it years ago and the spindle bearings didn’t last long. Hope you have better luck than I did. Would like to see pictures. We all love pictures here. If you don’t try it you will never know.


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## great white (Jun 16, 2022)

well, looks like using the lathe slide isn't going to be an option. The drill press is only a little 8 incher and when the cross slide is centered on the drill head, you just can't get it in there due to the chip guard and the travel of the cross slide itself. I looked at maybe mounting hte drill head between the bed ways so the most travel could be gained from the cross slide, but it meant removing hte tail stock and finding a way to make the drill head removable.

So long story short, it's just not going to work on the lathe.

Right now, I'm looking at xy milling tables. Not cheap to get anything decent. I could buy an aluminum topped one for right around 100 bucks, but they all look so cheap and flimsy. There will be enough flex and slop to deal with as it is, last thing I want is to introduce more.

there is one I'm looking at that is cast iron and has a nice wide base, but it ain't what I woudl call "cheap".....


mattthemuppet2 said:


> good idea to use the lathe as the XY, I think Emco did that with their 3-in-1 machines. You can take up the quill slop with 2 brass tipped screws 90deg from each other coming from the back or the front of the quill.
> 
> Does it have a male JT33 taper? How are you going to secure your collet chuck on there? On my Walker Turner I used a router chuck, which has a collar that screws onto the spindle. Even then it would occasionally come loose.
> 
> Biggest problems I had with my set up (WT15" drill press with heavily modded HF XY vise) was no fine down feed and flex, which would lead to endmills wandering in slotting cuts and breaking. I made a lot of stuff with mine, probably to the detriment of my spindle bearings, but I'm heartily glad not to have to use it as a mill anymore. Still, a bad mill is better than no mill!


Yes, male jt33 taper,. I've ordered a spring collet holder that has a female jt33 taper. I plan to heat and cool to fit them together and with any luck, it will essentially lock them together. We'll see how it works once up and running.

Fine movement is what the worm gear arrangement is for. Here's a guy that did one on his press:






Skip forward to 6:10 if all you want to see is the worm gear installation.

For the 4-5 thou play in the quill, I'm planning to add a "gib" inside the bore. The quill has a slot for a locating screw so it doesn't revolve the quill threads off the gear lift mechanism. My plan is to reuse the hole at the bottom of the quill shaft that hold the anit rotation screw, add 2-3 more above it and add a gib of material like brass, UHM or maybe a teflon/steel combo. The gib will prevent the quill from rotating and I can use it to take up the slop between the quill shaft and its bore.

Its also tight enough clearances that I might coat the parts with spray graphite and see if that helps any. the clearances are actually kind of aggravating. Its too tight to take a bush or shim, yet loose enough to give unacceptable slop. I need to get it up and running first and if it's too bad, I may bore the head and press in a bushing, then ream to closer tolerances.

this project seems to be blowing up already. so much for a cheap little project. Still, if I end up with 200-300 in it and it works, that's still waaaay cheaper than a small benchtop mill. Good luck getting even a chinese import around here for less than 1500 all said and done (taxes, delivery costs/gas to go get it, etc).


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## great white (Jun 16, 2022)

Nutfarmer said:


> I tried it years ago and the spindle bearings didn’t last long. Hope you have better luck than I did. Would like to see pictures. We all love pictures here. If you don’t try it you will never know.


no worries, I'm not expecting much out of them. I've already got my eye on some wider, better quality bearings......or possibly swapping out to a plain bearing/bushing arrangement.


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## great white (Jun 16, 2022)

I'm just remembering I've got a motor and controller off an old treadmill in the shop somewhere. I may look at installing it on the press so I can have some fine control over the speeds. I do have a dc controller that would handle a DC motor (danfoss). Iused one on my lathe when I converted to the Baldor dc motor and it's absolutely wonderful. It needs a new power diode, but I may rebuild it and use that to control the dc motor on the lathe. 

Hmmm, I wonder if it would be worth it to ditch the belts and change it to a gear drive head off the dc motor....but that's a project for a day after I see if this thing will work at all.....


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## great white (Jun 17, 2022)

So, I was looking at cheap xy tables and wasn't liking anything I was seeing: extruded aluminum tables, plastic pieces and just generally looking like what they are - cheap.

I decided to spend a little more money and get something that at least looks like it could be half decent:









Travel is stated at roughly 8" x 4". That's plenty for what I'm building.

At least it's cast iron (66 lbs on the shipping invoice!) and has a much wider base for the table than the cheaper aluminum.plastic ones:






I figure if the whole mill/drill thing doesn't work out, at least the table seems decent and reusable for other projects. Or it woudl make a fine start on a home built benchtop mill (already planning for if/when the little drill press dies). the table is chinese built, so I'll treat it like all the other chinese things I've had: as a kit and requiring final assembly and adjustments.

Up to 200 Canadian invested now. 150 of that is the milling table. Still waaay below the price of a cheap benchtop mill.drill.


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## great white (Jun 17, 2022)

Well, I never thought of doing this to remove quill play:









						Drill Press: Quill Play Fix
					

Drill Press: Quill Play Fix: Do you experience problems drilling accurately, even when you have nicely center punched the correct location for a hole? My drill press was letting the bit dance around a bit (quite a bit) when starting a hole, so the hole frequently ended up just …




					www.instructables.com
				




Interesting to say the least. But it does seem like it is taking a round hole and making it an oval.....not to mention further weakening an already weak Chinese cast iron piece.


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## great white (Jun 17, 2022)

Been digging and searching google for options on the quill play. I ran across a mini drill/mill that mounted the head on a dovetail slide and that was the Z movement. It still had a moving quill, but it could be locked and the dovetail slide portion gave it the vertical movement.

That's not a bad idea, except I'm starting with a cheapo drill press with not enough "meat" in the casting to make a dovetail.

Then it strikes me that I bought a cheapo xy vice a long time ago. it was a piece of junk, so I tossed it aside and haven't thought about it since. I dug around in the shop where I thought it might be and pulled it out of a bin.  It's still as cheap and junky as I remember with many glaring faults like the top ways that mount the vice are actually cast on there crooked to the x travel ways. literally no way to travel the y axis without making an angled cut. No es beuno.

But, the bottom casting isn't that bad, certainly workable with a little clean up/finish machining. it's got about 4-5" of travel, an acme thread screw and most of the bits that are junk on it I would be cutting away anyways. It even has a dial indicator, although I highly doubt the numbers and marks actually indicate anything beside the fact they have been moved from their original position.....

What I'm thinking is machine the back of the drill head flat, machine the top part of the bottom dovetail flat and bolt the two together.

Then all I need to do is build a solid frame for it all to mount on. I've got lots of 1/4" plate and angle laying around, so building a solid piece to mount compound slide table to and the now moveable drill head to.

4" of travel is plenty for the Z axis, at least for the small bits I do from time to time. I always have the option of lowering the quill if there's not enough travel.

At the very worst, I can at least minimize quill stick out when machining (IE: increased rigidity). It also removes nearly all the "drill press" parts that are marginal or quite flimsy.

 If it works out well and I find I need more, I can always machine out a longer dovetail piece and with a longer acme screw it will give me more travel. For now, using the scrap bits I have around is at least going to give me "proof of concept" and I can refine it later on, once I know it will work acceptably.

A test fit of the dovetail slide to the back of the drill head casing reveals they"re almost the exact same size, with the dovetail casting maybe a few mm wider than the drill head casting:




 Almost like it was meant to be together.....with a little work that is....


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## matthewsx (Jun 18, 2022)

So, I tried the drill press conversion. Even replaced the bearings with angular contact ones. 

Then I started on this project. 









						Homemade vertical mill drill
					

Well, I guess I'm gonna try to make myself a mill for cheap.  I found this column on Craigslist for $80.    And I ordered this spindle I can power with a VFD I already have.    And I'm going to get one of these cheap x-y milling tables.    And probably look for a really flat piece of C channel...




					www.hobby-machinist.com
				




It’s a slippery slope and I’m still probably getting a small mill which will help me complete my projects. 

What I probably should have done is saved my money and bought a used mill/drill like the one I’m hoping to get now. However, I’ve learned an awful lot from the process. 

Good luck. 

John


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## great white (Jun 18, 2022)

matthewsx said:


> So, I tried the drill press conversion. Even replaced the bearings with angular contact ones.
> 
> Then I started on this project.
> 
> ...


That's an interesting thread. 

For the chinese milling table, did you ever figure out what makes it "inaccurate" and/or how to fix it? I have the same one on the way and was planning to tear it apart for inspection and refinements as soon as it hits my doorstep.....


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## matthewsx (Jun 18, 2022)

great white said:


> That's an interesting thread.
> 
> For the chinese milling table, did you ever figure out what makes it "inaccurate" and/or how to fix it? I have the same one on the way and was planning to tear it apart for inspection and refinements as soon as it hits my doorstep.....


I tried making new nuts for it with some Delrin I formed around the lead screw.

Tightened up one axis but it was such a PITA I gave up and started searching for good deals on pre built ball screw stages on eBay.

I think you’ll find the unit you’ve ordered is good for locating holes to drill but not so much for milling.

The biggest thing I’ve learned is the side forces involved in milling metal are much greater than you imagine.

I don’t want to discourage you because what you’ll learn doing this will be of benefit in the long run. Just realize the money you’ll spend is part of that cost.

I enjoy building and rehabbing tools, it’s almost an end in itself. But, if you need to make parts getting a used mini mill will be the quicker and probably cheaper option.

John


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## great white (Jun 18, 2022)

Actually, the more I think about it, the more I think I might ditch the little drill press altogether. 

I'm thinking a "rigid head" might be better for my uses. Easier to build as well. It would also allow me to use a drawbar to hold my collect holder solid to the machine. 

Of course, that would mean I'd have to go to a knee mill type arrangement where you raise the table/work into the tooling. I've got a couple ideas on how to build it, but I can't seem to figure out how I can use a single lead screw to evenly lift a table. I'm thinking a wide dovetail and a lead screw in the center. the table woudl be mounted off the "female" slide. There's also the weight to consider if lifting the table into the work, seems like a fairly complex and (necessarily) robust part. 

I've also been wanting to teach myself external and internal single point threading on the lathe. Making the lead screws might give me just the "excuse" I need to find the time to learn......


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## great white (Jun 18, 2022)

Not sure how accurate it would be, but this is one heck fo a mill scratch build;


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## great white (Jun 19, 2022)

Well, decided to bite the bullet and just bought a mill:









						Opinions wanted on a BusyBee tools Mill
					

I'm considering spending some money (that I kinda don't really have) on a mill.  I'm budget limited and about the only place I can get a "hobbiest" style mill is a place called Busy Bee Tools (Canadian). The other option is King tools, but their prices are virtually the same for the same (with...




					www.hobby-machinist.com
				




The XY table I've ordered can live on my drill press.....


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## Firstram (Jun 20, 2022)

great white said:


> Not sure how accurate it would be, but this is one heck fo a mill scratch build;


The speed reduction pulley set up at 18 min is brilliant!


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## great white (Sep 13, 2022)

So, to update: bought a cx600 mill so the little 8” drill press has just sitting here and there in pieces.

I think, however, I have settled on a use for it instead of it just being a paperweight and eventually scrap iron.

I’m going to make it into a tube notcher. I’ve always had sporadic use for one but I’ve always just used a zip wheel on an angle grinder.

I’m planning to build a frame in the  “moto martin” style for a cb650 engine:







and a dedicated tube notcher (with angle adjustments) will just make it that much easier to get a good fit up for tig.

Most of what I will need is either already on the tool shelves of in the scrap bins.

Will post pics of construction or at least on completion.


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## ericc (Sep 13, 2022)

Getting a mill is a good idea.  Good deals come around every now and then.

I just did some "milling" on my drill press yesterday.  I drilled a hole in an angled surface.  If I did this in the conventional manner, the drill bit would deflect immediately causing all kinds of unwanted effects.  Instead, I made a ghetto drill guide.  It didn't have to be a hardened guide; just a bent piece of 1/16" sheet metal with a hole in it was sufficient.  You could see the drill bit cut on edge and even hear that mill cutting sound as the chips came out.  The key to doing this is that the flutes don't cut well so they don't wallow out the hole...too much.  Don't do this to a drill bit you like!  Similar things can be done with a small boring bar, as long as you provide a pilot, which is easy to make on a lathe.  The trick is to do whatever you can to minimize flexing and lateral forces, which cannot be resisted by the undersized quill bearings and flexing drill chuck.


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## pontiac428 (Sep 13, 2022)

Glad you dropped the drill project.  It takes a stubborn man to push forward into so much adversity.  I wanted to say the same before you bought the mill, but you were slotted deep into your track and nothing anyone said would sway you.  Well, in hindsight, I say you dodged a bullet.  A tubing notcher is a much better purpose for a cheap drill press.  So is countersinking/deburring and other second ops that don't require counting thousandths.


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## matthewsx (Sep 14, 2022)

pontiac428 said:


> Glad you dropped the drill project.  It takes a stubborn man to push forward into so much adversity.  I wanted to say the same before you bought the mill, but you were slotted deep into your track and nothing anyone said would sway you.  Well, in hindsight, I say you dodged a bullet.  A tubing notcher is a much better purpose for a cheap drill press.  So is countersinking/deburring and other second ops that don't require counting thousandths.


Many have gone before you and many will follow behind. I have a nice Chinese drill press with angular contact bearings, a homemade CNC mill/drill, and an RF30 clone. Each one taught me something and I'm grateful for the lessons. 

John


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