Newbie question (Hope this is the right forum) - converting drill press to mill

[NC Rick]

Dadgum it, seems like my idea is pretty much a bust. Thing is, I am extremely cost constrained so I can't go out and buy a mill - even a Chinesium, HF or craigslist special and I have a reasonably decent radial arm drill press already. However, the input I have received here and other places is overwhelmingly against doing this so I probably won't. Instead I'll just get a set of new regular bearings and put this thing back together for use as a second drill press. I guess it could be worse, huh? Thanks for all the comments and learnin' me somethin'.

Pictures of your drill press? I'm curious. I don't know if you could buy an ER16 collet to mt 2 or 3 depending on the drill press spindle. With that, you could run a *gasp* drill and reamer through the spindle nose and mt3 arbor and install a taper pin. That would hold small end mills. A nice x-y table would set you back some. Consider that with a good rotary positioning table and a good drill press you can do some nice things like accurate and even circular hole patterns.
Do you have a lathe? Those are much more adaptable to milling operations. i personally figure if I had to pair down to a cheap and small tool assortment my last to go machines would be the 4x6 band saw, drill press and my belt sander. A lot can be done with those great tools.

 

[NC Rick]

Hi all. I am new to the site and to machining and am looking forward to hearing helpful advice from folks. I have a 1937 solid cast iron drill press that is in spectacular condition. I have completely disassembled it and want to convert it to a non-precision, light duty milling machine. I know this is not a particularly popular idea and has many faults, but I just want to do it. I have new tapered bearings on order to deal with lateral forces so I think that is covered. The frame is solid but I will brace it up a bit more and make it as solid as I can. My big question is what to do about the tool holder. It currently has probably the original 3 jaw Jacobsons chuck on it.The spindle is a solid rod with a taper so it won't accommodate a collet system as it is. Any suggestions about tool holders for this (other than "get a milling machine")? Thanks

Sorry I missed that you said the spindle had a male JT on it that killed my idea. I think it may have been AVE on you tube who tried welding the chuck on the spindle and mill with a cheap drill press.

 

[matthewsx]

Hi and welcome.

Others have already explained why not to do this. I'll just add that I have done it and it was extremely unsatisfying.

What I would recommend though is try fixing this one up as a "rare and vintage" machine. Then sell or trade it until you finally end up with the tool you need. I went from a rusty Craftsman 6" lathe to a 13x40 by doing just that. Of course the machine (Bolton) is busted up from being dropped and not the best brand, but I will fix it up and have a capable machine when I'm done.

It is worth changing the bearings in your drill because well, you already ordered them, and, it will probably make the machine better. But, modifying it is unlikely to get you where you want to be and could possibly end up destroying it's value to a collector.

Patience is your friend here. Put it out to the universe that you want a mill and eventually one will arrive. It might take saving money up for a while, or you might end up with something free from somebody who just wants it out of the way. I got one like that once

And yes, pictures....


Cheers,

John

 

[Lmheim]

Thanks to all for the friendly words of wisdom. I have indeed decided to just get new bearings and keep it as is. As for pics, well at the moment it is completely torn down so it is just a pile o' parts. Very clean and non-rusted parts though. When I get it back together I probably won't paint it. I like the well worn patina it has earned. I cleaned the blue paint that remains. My lathe is a 1950s Craftsman/Atlas consumer lathe (6" I beleive). It needs new bronze bearing sleeves (I think that is what they are called) for the drive shaft because it wobbles and jumps around a LOT. I added a 2.5HP DC motor with a tachometer and speed control so I can adjust RPMs with a turn of a knob rather than messing with the belt or planetary gear system. John - I may take your advice and sell it (once I replace the shaft bearings) and see what I can do with that money.

 

[ljwillis]

Thanks to all for the friendly words of wisdom. I have indeed decided to just get new bearings and keep it as is. As for pics, well at the moment it is completely torn down so it is just a pile o' parts. Very clean and non-rusted parts though. When I get it back together I probably won't paint it. I like the well worn patina it has earned. I cleaned the blue paint that remains. My lathe is a 1950s Craftsman/Atlas consumer lathe (6" I beleive). It needs new bronze bearing sleeves (I think that is what they are called) for the drive shaft because it wobbles and jumps around a LOT. I added a 2.5HP DC motor with a tachometer and speed control so I can adjust RPMs with a turn of a knob rather than messing with the belt or planetary gear system. John - I may take your advice and sell it (once I replace the shaft bearings) and see what I can do with that money.

It sounds like you've made a decision, but is the spindle a male jacobs taper, or is there a JT adapter stuck in a morse taper? I've never heard of a drill press without a morse taper, especially the old ones as many of the drills had MT shanks.
If you put the quill down, there isn't a slot for a drift?
If it's MT then you should be able to find an ER collet holder easily, or even solid endmill holders.

 

[matthewsx]

I used an MT 2 ER collet system with a set screw to hold it in. It still came loose and flung itself across the shop.

I used it just long enough to modify a part for the column on my mill/drill project

john

 

[NortonDommi]

As matthewsx said send some vibes out into the universe. Look for auctions, businesses closing down or upgrading and don't be fussy.

When I get it back together I probably won't paint it. I like the well worn patina it has earned. I cleaned the blue paint that remains.

Old stuff to a collector is devalued by fancy new paint. A lot of my stuff came is OPR,(Other Peoples Rubbish),that I have cleaned up so needed paint but I have some things like my Rotary hoe that is the same age as me but just looks better, original paint and once a year I wipe it with some thinned fish oil/Linseed oil mix. Shows its age and has plenty of character.

 

[Lmheim]

It sounds like you've made a decision, but is the spindle a male jacobs taper, or is there a JT adapter stuck in a morse taper? I've never heard of a drill press without a morse taper, especially the old ones as many of the drills had MT shanks.
If you put the quill down, there isn't a slot for a drift?
If it's MT then you should be able to find an ER collet holder easily, or even solid endmill holders.

Hi. It came with a drift tool but there ain’t no place to use it!!! No slot in the cast iron head enclosure or anywhere. I had to use wedges to separate the chuck. Yes the spindle ends in a male taper which inserts into the chuck. These is a collar thing that is pinned to the shaft above the chuck. Another collar screws over the pinned part. Looks like it is intended to hold some type of tool but it has no connection with the chuck As the chuck is added or removed with touching that collar. I have a picture of things I will try to attach. I’m not a tech guy so bear with me if something doesn’t work.

 

[ericc]

Just make sure that the chuck doesn't fall off the taper and cause injury. My old metal shop teacher saw someone get exsanguniated by a large endmill. He said that everybody was in shock and were frozen. Aside from that freak accident, he said that the large lathes were far more dangerous. Look at the path that the spinning chuck can take if it gets free. Make sure that it never gets anywhere near your neck.

 

[mattthemuppet2]

what model drill press? That looks like my Walker Turner, though I'm not sure the threaded collar on mine is pinned on or the whole shaft is one piece.

If that's a JT33 taper (looks like it), I have a collet chuck that has a collar that screws onto that thread that someone gave me years ago. I used it to mill with for several years until I got a mill. It's slow and not a lot of fun, but it's better than having no mill at all. From memory I made a range of collets to go with it, 1/8 to 3/8 (maybe 1/2, but you sure as hell don't want to be using that). Yours for the price of postage.