milling guard slots with drill press

ScottRoush

ScottRoush

Joined
Jan 10, 2010
Messages
1,818
just wondering what kind of bits/techniques you can use to cut the slots in for a guard with a drill press. i guess i'm just talking about cleaning out the webbing after drilling... or would a dremel work better (i don't have one yet...)...
 
Mossanimal said:
just wondering what kind of bits/techniques you can use to cut the slots in for a guard with a drill press. i guess i'm just talking about cleaning out the webbing after drilling... or would a dremel work better (i don't have one yet...)...
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I did some light milling with my benchtop press a while back and it was nowhere rigid enough to keep from messing the press up. I got the jobs done with not that much chatter but now my spindle bearings are toast. when you lower the quill a bit you can grab it and wiggle it back and forth. I now have to get the material practically right up to the bit so it starts cutting with the least amount of travel. Everybody in here warned me this would happen, they were not lying.
New drill press and mill are next on my list of purchases.
 
C_Kyle said:
What's the best way to square up the corners of your rectangular hole?
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Try a "safe edged" file

Buy a brand new file and grind the teeth off one or more sides or edges.

It allows you to get into the corner while only filing one side at at time.
 
I used a dremel to cut the webs, and I have a paint scraper that I ground down and I use spray glue to hold sandpaper on it for final clean up. if your fit is close enough the blade will cover the round slot ends and you cannot tell they are round. The paint scraper I have has slightly thicker steel than a putty knife so it does not flex all that much.

The file with teeth ground off one side works too.
 
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start by takeing your guard material and scribeing a center line. then i mark the width of the tang and find a chisel that is the same or close to the same width. Then punch or mark the tang location with the chisel.

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then i take a drill bit approx .005 smaller than my finished dimension and drill a series of holes accross the width of the tang hole in the guard material useing the chisel mark as my center punch it is more of a trough that keeps you from slipping side to side.

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i then use a small round file to remove the webbing from between the holes

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then use a flat file to square up the sides.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a284/tacmedic45/047-2.jpg


get it close to almose slideing into place

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a284/tacmedic45/039-2.jpg

then take a piece of sacraficial material that is softer than your guard material to drive the guard in place

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you then have a press fit guard

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hello, just for everyones benefit/safety- i would not recommend using any machine or tool for a job that its not designated for,. I know many of us are very crafty and witty about using any resource at hand for getting things done--and thats great, it can be very gratifying but when you start messing with machines and steel be sure to allow safety to be your primary concern. I know some folks, when first starting out, using a drill press to try and slot a guard. Well after holding the steel under a drill press they ended up with a few many deep slices. Then there came the blood, then there came a lesson. Safety Rules.--I never preach-thought id try it.lol--Marekz
 
Drill press bearing are meant to withstand axial stress, not lateral stress.
I drill my guards, then use a square file to finish. It takes time.
 
It isn't too bad after you do a few. I can fit a guard from start to finish useing files and the drill press in about 30 minutes.
 
A jeweler's saw is very much like a small coping saw. Blades are available from human hair size up to fairly coarse. Medium to fine blades work best. They cut on the "pull" stroke. You have a lot of control with these. You can use a thin board, or a piece of flat metal with a slot cut in it to lay your work on. Cut with a downward motion.
Buy blades by the gross-you'll breaK a lot of them, especially at first.
 
I wish I had thought of using a Jeweler's saw for teaching my Vocational Agriculture students back in the '70s. Some of them broke hammer handles; so I welded some solid steel bars in place of the wood or fiberglass handles. Cutting metal with a Jeweler's Saw would have made a great video. I am going to get one with lots of blades for my self. Thanks
 
I picked up a small mill file that should work to square up the slot. Also, I picked up an ignition file. It's smaller than the small mill file.
 
Couldn't you also use 1/16" bits to drill the corners, then use your bigger bits to drill the majority as normal? By using the 1/16" first you would remove a more accurate section of the corner and require less work later. Of course, the smaller bits are more likely to break, but. . . .
 
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