Drill press question.

Me mini-mill serves me well as both mill AND drill. Very high accuracy, very
rigid etc. It has plenty of under-the-spindle clearance for typical drilling jobs.

If one doesn't have a mini-mill and is seriously considering paying $150 for just a drill, you should consider the mini-mill
 
Hummmmm....
I do concider the mini mill....

heres a question for a Mini mill owner.
I make the type of brass guard as is found on the Ed Fowler Pronghorn.

takes me all day to get it ready to bang into place .

Mini mill could help me there?
 
rashid11: You're right on about the mini mill but they can be pricey. The URL I posted previously has a MicroLux for $525 and I'm seriously considering one. I have a combo lathe and mill now which does a good job but not enough travel under the mill head to do what I'd like to do which is be able to fly cut or mill to rough out knife blanks. The next step up is a generic mill like Smithy, Enco, or General tool has and they start at about $1700 and go rapidly up from there. Oh well, champagne tastes and beer wages, huh?
 
tgw914 said:
How big should a knifemakers drill-press be, in HP?
Click to expand...

I really don't think you need to worry about how big the motor should be. The first question you need to answer is, what will I be doing with my drill press? If all you need to do is make holes, a nice bench size 9" or 10" Craftsman drill press should be just fine. Drill presses are one of the tools where you should demand some quality. If the spindel of the press is weak you will never have great holes or accuracy. Bigger is not always better here since you don't need high speed and it is the antithesis of accuracy.

Some parts of knife making might require dead on precision where as others just require you to punch through, so you decide what you need, but I wouldn't worry about the size of the motor as much as how sharp my drill bits are, and how much wobble is being put through the piece I'm drilling.
 
The "best" way to acquire a mini mill is try local HF store + 20% coupon + some talking to the manager there. under $350 should be doable.

I've done some VERY SERIOUS milling on mine, including milling of 5/8 T-slots
in CI, face milling, milling of integral knives. It is a very capable machine and smart nuff to protect itself when you try to do stuff it wasnt' designed for .

Milling guard slots in brass is a child's play for it.
 
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