Old machinist here, hardly ever used any drills/drill presses that small, most were big radial arm or NC/CNC drilling machines in a production shop but the principles are the same, well explained & demonstrated. Good job JC, two thumbs up.
John, there are many positive and humorous comments and I have watched many of your videos. Have owned my benchtop drillpress for just over 40 yrs, and as I have got older, less stupid and more patient my precision is improving. This is a most informative video and gave me instruction to do even better. For one off jobs I generally use the vise grip type clamps which bolt to the table, but have a vice in reserve. I almost never do freehand drilling, much prefer to clamp workpiece in some way and avoid accidents. Your explanation of drill point geometry was better than a dozen textbooks. Keep up the good work.
😂 My lady is here and hearing this. She said, "I didn't know you had a damn brother in Australia. I swear to god he sounds just like you." My friend, you just got a sub from New Mexico in 'Merica.❤
Mate, happy New Year from a retired crusty old builder from Perth who learns so much from your excellent videos that help me to do things better! All the best for 2025 and please continue to teach some of us dumb bums and help keep us safe while attempting unfamiliar work.. Cheers B
By the way, probably one of the best instructionals on piloting and drill tip geometry I have seen. One of these in depth videos on just that subject would serve many many future potential engineers, machinists and DIYers = ) You have the patience, humour and knowledge to engage even the most reluctant teenager stuck in a "boring" lesson.
As a machinist for more than forty years, the most important key points are using strippers as a unit of force, mechanical sympathy, and thinking about boobies while working. Great job on ‘splaining this super power. Thanks.
Cicadas (we say ci-kay-da, here in the southeastern USA) are incessant, true. Unfortunately, my tinnitus (and that's tin-it-us, two Ns) means that I'm blessed with hearing them all day, every day, 365 days a year, not just when they come out to play every couple of years. Try it, it's a blast! (Sarcastic tone fully employed).
My thoughts exactly. I get cicada sound/white noise plus one or 2 electronic beeps (or screams) to add to it too. This year has been insane for the cicadas though.
What helps, if you wanted to do all the pilot drilling first, do one tool change, and then do all the main size drilling, is to use a vise stop (just put a tiny clamp on the fixed vise jaw, so the piece can bump up against it). This saves having to pick up the tool to register the piece against, which saves a lot of time in the aggregate.
Table alignment can be adjusted quite easily up and down without loosing you position. I use a cheap magnetic verical line laser on the table and lign it up on something vertical in your workshop i.e. the edge of a door frame, the further away the better. You can now raise or lower the table, when at the required height, rotate the table to re-align the laser line against the same spot on the door frame and tighten your table. Depending on the table it may need a couple of tries as you snug it up keeping the laser line in place. It works reallly well, if you need higher accuracy you should be using a vertical mill. Regarding drill bits look at four facet drill bit tips, these have a true cross point in the middle of the bit as opposed to a chisel. I've seen examples of drilling overlapping 1/32" holes using four facet drill bits
About 55 years ago I did an apprenticeship that included welding (failed, electrode would stick to the part), milling (Part unrecognizable), drilling (holes in wrong place), and lathe operation (failed big time and sent a wrench into my groin.) The instructors stood in their office door and laughed. So I went and got a Ph D in chemistry and spent the rest of my life relaxing and raking in whatever money I could find making noxious chemicals. But I always wanted to return, as the dog does, to my vomit. This video is sending me on my way, only in my own garage. Thanks.🐕
It's still called swarf , except by (mostly) ' murrican' You Tube 'machinists' who were never actually trained. It pisses me off when the 'learn as you go' people are pretending to be experts, bad advice is often more dangerous than no advice.
@AutoExpertJC I can recommend another super useful addition: a spring loaded tap guide/tap follower which you put in your chuck. The point rides in the center hole on the end of most (large) taps, usually they have a reversible guide rod with a hole on the other end to have the point on smaller taps ride in.
The self reversing tapping machines are even nicer! I picked up one off of eBay for cheap..Probably have done 2500 holes with it. I dedicated a 20' 1.5 Hp HF drill press to the machine so I don't have to re tool constantly
You actually did very well John, 60yr old toolmaker here, don't really use a drill press. swarf clearance is your biggest tap breaker. Try a gun tap,spiral point to see swarf go forward, spiral flute brings swarf out like a drill. Hand tap you break the swarf with the reverse motion. Power thru with tap in chuck if you have the balls and a forward reverse switch. Then again I do have an EDM so broken tap removal is easy.
Worked awhile in a primitive (no CNC) machine shop 30 years ago. We did have a Tapamatic for our Bridgeport mill which made life easier. Just got a mini mill from Harbor Freight and plan on getting a 3 axis DRO just because I'm retired and I can spoil myself. LOL
"Peck drilling aids the chip evacuation process, helps support tool accuracy while minimizing walking, prevents chip packing and breakage, and results in a better all around final part". For deep holes. A vise stop is also useful for repeating part location. Excellent video. I just had another thought: A friend added an X-Y table to his drill press and it completely turned the drill press around, made it much more useful. Easier to locate hole positions, establish offsets, and align parts, just made a huge difference. Phase II has a reasonable one , couple hundred bucks. You might give it a try sometime. Cheers.
Well done. This has got to be the most information dense youtube clip I've ever seen. So many clever hacks to make the most of innocuous features of the equipment. Really learned something tonight.
I love the drill press for wood - particularly using a forstner bit. I just used it last weekend to help set bolts into 1 1/2" oak. So much easier to get everything square and a consistent perfect depth with the press.
I like the recycled hex bit pointer. I would suggest mounting a plate on the end of the fixed jaw so it can be flipped back out of the way by loosening the single mounting bolt. Saves time on the setup and eliminates a step in the process. The magnets for holding parts work. It just magnetizes the metal bits that the magnet is holding. Then the chips get in the way of chucking when they stick to the bit shank. I mounted an angle iron bracket to the post and used a magnet tray for the cast iron t nuts that won't magnetize. I attached a recycled transfer punch rack for holding a set of drills. A single hole that was already in the angle works great as a home for the chuck key. You have picked up my sub. Thanks for all the suggestions.
A foot switch is a definite 'upgrade', I've used one since 2010. Never thought I needed it until I used it. Free's up both hands. Just make sure to get one that can handle power of motor. You probably know (but didn't mention) pilot holes only need to be slightly bigger than chisel point. You did mention having pretty much full cutting edge engaged. I forget how much power it saves (it was mid 1970's I learned about it) Makes drilling stainless steel a lot easier as backing off or pecking usually causes work hardening making it very difficult to re-start cut. Overall, damn good tutorial for beginners
Learning how to hand grind a split-point cutting edge on my taper-shank drills 40 years ago was agame-changerfor me... self-employed machinist at the time and produced parts by the thousand, most needing drilling ...
Good video. I had a woodworking machine shop. I had eleven drill presses. Ten left set up for accurate production repetition to save time as you demonstrated and one as a odd job. Six were heavy industrial ones for rigidity. Five were small import ones for light work. I also have a large heavy one in my metalwork, maintenence shop. Like you say these are great machines very underestimated by most people.
Another very good reason to fasten your drill press vise down is to prevent it climbing up the drill bit as it breaks through. I had this happen once when drilling through some some material which had a fairly rough back surface. The 11 mm drill bit just acted like a coarse thread and lifted the unfastened vise and the part up as the bit was breaking through. In my haste to regain control of the situation, I tried to restrain the vise but broke the drill bit in the process. A good video with lots of useful explanations. I like the upside down T nuts used on the smaller drill table idea, but they would need tapping right through and some sort of support bar running underneath them to keep them restrained when you undid the studs to remove the vise when the whole table top was required for a part might be a useful mod.
DIY woodworker here. I learned a lot about using my drill press in this video. I don't do a lot of drilling metal workpieces, but the principles will be the same for batching out small wood workpieces. After watching this video I'm thinking I might want to start learning a bit more about working with metal, you can't do everything with wood.
We’re having the same problem with the cicadas in Bundaberg….sometimes I couldn’t hear you complain about your cicadas…for my cicadas…noisy bastards! lol. Great info today John, I learned lots as a carpenter. 🍻
Meanwhile in the Labor Com munist Capital of Australia Victoria some councils are charging a $150 fee to apply for a permit to do any car repairs on your property even oil/sparkplug changes or a bit of wiring then if approved a further $250 fee is to be paid totaling $400/year to do any work on your vehicle on your property or store your caravan on your property or any unregistered cars on your property a $400 a year few needs to be paid along with your council rates . Gone w oke and definitely broke it seems .
This is for 3 reasons 1) councils have difficulty raising rates to a level that is sustainable 2) all of the A-holes who toss used oil, filters and other car parts in the garbage . 3) clandestine mechanical workshops in residential properties . I do mobile mower repairs from home so I have to pay commercial rates for ALL of my garbage + have an annual inspection with audit to verify I am storing flamiables in a proper fire proof cabinet and anything that is liable to spill oil or fuels is over an appropriate bund . In particular oil in a compactor truck is a nightmare for the collection company and instantly turns normal garbage into toxic waste ( blame ignorant EPA for that one ) so in place of being $ 150 / ton for tipping into landfill it becomes $ 1,500 / ton to go into a contaminated garbage site and then the truck has to be washed before it can resume normal collections.
2 дня назад
@@Rovert_0987 So you have a commercial interest in supporting this greedy money grab by councils or do y ou work for the Casey council that cant run a budget too busy spending money on woke bs programs ps your chat g b t comeback is just nonsense and dont start me on the EPA on how corrupt they are in Victoria
2 дня назад
So this is a new account @Rovert_0987 Oct 2024 and y ou have two other fake accounts also lol get of chat g bt , it is very obvious you work for the Labor Party lol
2 дня назад+6
@@Rovert_0987 Stop liking yo ur own comments with yo ur other fake accounts lol
Investigate a Float Lock vice, more like a clamp on a clamp on a clamp, super convenient, you can hold just about anything in any position without having to use nuts bolts and spanners. Only down side it's not repeatable so back to a vice or table stops.
For 1-offs, I use only 1 T-nut and leave it slightly loose. 9 times out of 10, the drill will move the vise and self-center on the center punch hole. I semi-permanently leave 1/2 of an old box end wrench on the nut, and tweak it tighter for holes I'm afraid will drift. I also have magnets to hold my center punch, a tiny hammer, a scriber, and other odd bits. Happy New Year!
You can try turning the gain down on your radio mic and turning the levels back up in the editing suite. You might find the mic picks up much less background noise when the gain is lowered.
G'day John. If the pilot hole is smaller than the chisel point on the drill table, then the large drill does not tend to wonder as much. If you have through slots or a strategically placed drain hole, you can use an "Over center" clamp. Looks like a Vice Grip C clamp with one jaw missing. The missing jaw is replaced with a stud so it can get bolted to the table.
Great video John as always, if you put a G clamp on the fixed side of your vice then you don’t have to pick up the square every time you change the work piece, plus it can’t move while tightening the vice as you will be working against a stop on X and Y.😊
Small rectangular section steel "C" clamp ( generally the cheap type that are bugger all use for anything else ) make quick and easy stops for repeated location. Reduces the actions necessary and removes operator error (to a degree...) Determine part location in the centre of the vice, cinch up and then place "C" clamp over one jaw where convenient to provide a reference point and tighten. You then have a fixed stop to use, part located in vice centre, full use of the vice jaws, repeatability and less chance to feck it up = ) Happy New Year John and thanks for all the humour and entertainment = )
For metal working suggest adding an x/y cross slide with vice to a drill press. Doesn't make it into a mill but sure is a work saver. Mine's been on for 35 years still use it every day for my car builds.
mate, those cicadas are like a free trial of tinnitus...!! bloody hell..! As you know the simple shit is more complex than the average Joe thinks, and doing it correctly is important to producing good work and not losing fingers, a real 'twofer' on the KPIs... As an aircraft engineer (engine fitter, emphasis on the fitter) I like these back to basics vids, helping me to remember what i was taught oh so long ago, keeping me fit for purpose.. cheers dude..
With CNC, pecking is more common. I peck more with stringy aluminum than other materials. You’re doing things right. It’s different when we spin a bit at 8,000 rpm. I do like the newish electronic presses and am thinking of getting one, it then, I’d have to get rid of one if the four I have. Anyway. I’m thinking about it as the have some very nice features. Such as, allowing you to electronically set the depth. When it reaches it, it stops and reverses itself automatically. These presses have sophisticated motors from 1.5 to 2 Hp, so plenty of power. So tapping is a breeze.
Hi JC. Thanks for that. It was well explained, mate. I use a drill Docker to sharpen my drill bits. It may be interesting for you to show how to properly sharpen them. Also, I brought a Vevor mag drill after seeing your video on them. Thanks so much, champion. I'm in love with that new toy in my shed.
can we take a moment to admire that vice he has. that thing looks amazing so many do hickeys and gadgets on it! *Note. the one he was cleaning in the advert
Very good video John ,reminds me to get some T nuts and finally that Keyless chuck i keep forgetting another note i should put on my whiteboard next to the telly i gonna write it on there Now.
Noticed you used the belt driven drill press you have and not that beaut variable speed drill you got from Hafco recently. Is this because the belt drill allows you to back of drive tension? which the variable speed drill probably can not be changed, its either driving or not.
As a first year apprentice auto electrician we were all tapping blind holes at tech... I got a bit enthuisiastic.... heard a loud "click". Mr Ward... no good calling for me Mark, I can't get it our either.
An enclosed foot switch with toe safety for starting the drill press is not a bad idea, bolted down so one can yank the foot out quickly if an unforeseen event happens. Trying to get to the red button while your sleeves are winding around the quill is a terrifying thought. And use strobe free lighting so the spinning chuck is always visible.
John, Ever considered that the cicadas are just responding to the sweet love tunes that you are banging-out (careful !) on your cicada-Luuurve-machines, otherwise known as the drillpress?
I find for most work, the `100mm vice is as big as you would want, i often use my 75mm unit. I like those "ghetto" parallels, i dont have them on my vices (I like old gear, i have several old Dawn brand vices, none of which have that), might have to get one with that feature. I generally clamp my vices down with those wiz bang locking pliers / vice grips which has a mount screw that goes in the slots on the deck. using T nuts in the slots in the vice / deck doesn't give enough movement for me. They are also good for just clamping flat plate straight to the deck.
I paused the video at 9:30 and thought, hey that's just like the vise I got thrown in for an extra $50 when I bought my secondhand Hafco PD360 drill press! Regret to say mine does get used for wood more than metal most of the time, but many of the tips here are useful nonetheless. My drill press has the smaller cast iron table with the X pattern T-channels that needed significant filing to get the T-nuts moving freely in the channels, but it was worth the effort. The main issue I need to deal with for repeatability is the runout on the spindle, which I guess I would probably want to resolve before upgrading to a keyless chuck.
AFAIK there is no difference in the run out between a GOOD keyed chuck and a Good keyless chuck. Havco stuff is always mediocre because it is aimed at the home handyman market, particularly the single phase stuff The 3 phase is aimed at the small workshops and usually comes with a much better chuck The chuck that shipped with my lathe was head & shoulders better than the one that was on the single phase drill press . And I am not having a shot at Hare & Forbes there stuff is orders of magnitude better than any of the garbage that comes from any store with the word "Tool" in their name . OTOH you say it was a second had drill press so perhaps some new HIGH QUALITY spindle bearings are in order
@@Rovert_0987 I never considered the bearings, I just assumed that the spindle's morse taper needed to be re-machined as it looked pretty scrappy when I used a drift pin to punch out the chuck for a look. While I'm just doing woodworking projects at the moment it's not a problem but if I want to chase some more precision down the track I will keep that in mind.
thank you for doing this video, i learned so much. I was alittle confused why speed is so important. When i use a hand drill to drill a hole i dont adjust speed, so why do it on a drill press? Thanks
Cutting rate is important If you are using a battery drill (or mains variable speed ) . keep the same pressure as you slowly increase the speed . Suddenly the drill bit will bite and you will cutting very quickly Too slow and you dull the cutting edge Too fast and you burn the cutting lip .
love your work, most concise explanation I've ever seen , one thing though!!!!! have you ever drilled into Brigalow? you wouldn't say what you said about wood if you have, you still need a stripper on top for that wood, great content mate
This is top stuff -- its a gas to hear you thunder about EV's, but these show you can walk the walk, as well as the talk! The stuff on fastners and spanners was highly informative!! A lot of my machine shop 'experience' was just sweeping swarf(chips) out for those bolshy machinists - I ddnt get to spend nearly as much time actually making stuff, so this is great catch-up materaial
Don't grab the swirly bits with your bare hands kids. If the swirly bits get long enough, switch off and use anything but bare hands. The tougher your skin gets the deeper the cut before you know it's cutting. Don't press skin into a threaded hole and twist the work if it can turn and remove a neat round hole of skin. Holes are harder to fix than cuts. Don't drive a 1mm tungsten drill through your knuckle and snap it off unless it's right on break time.
Always clamp your job in the middle of the vice as you have clearance when drilling through material. After 45 years of tool making have seen plenty of vices thrown out due to the slides being damaged by so called experts, hence why the table has a hole under the chuck, on most presses. You can scribe a line on the fixed jaw and use a ruler to place the job in the same spot. Rather than using such a small angle on your spot finder try and grind it closer to the centre punch angle and it will locate better and last longer. The finer point is better to locate on scribed lines. In fishing large hooks catch large fish, small hooks catch all fish. In drill vices small ones hold small jobs, large ones hold all jobs. It also allows you to us g clamps or f clamps to clamp the vice down without having to buy tee slot nuts and are quicker as they don't need a spanner to tighten.
Can never have to many tee nut sets and lengths of all thread. Have a wonderful old Hercus camel back. Wow is it noisy and a bit on the slow side but boy does it drill a nice hole lol
The easiest way to remove a broken tap is to get a smaller tap then the broken tap that you are not bothered about and use it as a punch and as you hit the two together with a hammer pieces of both taps will break off eventually clearing the broken tap out of the hole
Hey John have you seen the video on the Quebec electric school bus fire that almost incinerated the driver after just dropping last kid off when the front batter went into thermal runaway destroying the bus like a BYD burning in your driveway.
Here I came to see if you were going to rag on the MB's again, because this past week I had the misfortune to lay hands on one. Entirely as a favor for a friend with an old ML320. Had to change a tire, only to encounter lug bolts with ruined threads. Entirely the result of some past owner installing 20 inch wheels which have no self-aligning hub. Seems previous fools just started the lug bolts cross threaded and used the brute force of an impact to create a problem. Now it is a matter of installing some Helicoils to make it functional. I so much prefer studs and lug nuts.
Just popped into my tiny brain, something approximating an idea.. On a round table, - drill and file, a hole at the outer end of each of the slots, just the size to allow a t-nut to drop though...if the t-nut is on a bolt that you use to hold down the vise, or other workpiece fixture, then you're good to go. - or, maybe, magnetize your T-nuts, so that they will stay in place on the back side of the work table, until you get the fixture in place... Sure, you might be a magician with nimble fingers, able to manage to wiggle the t-nuts into the right spot, without dropping them, or cutting your fingers on the crappy casting remains.
Old machinist here, hardly ever used any drills/drill presses that small, most were big radial arm or NC/CNC drilling machines in a production shop but the principles are the same, well explained & demonstrated. Good job JC, two thumbs up.
"Go to spray lube" and "stripper" in the same video. You are a mad genius!
John, there are many positive and humorous comments and I have watched many of your videos. Have owned my benchtop drillpress for just over 40 yrs, and as I have got older, less stupid and more patient my precision is improving. This is a most informative video and gave me instruction to do even better. For one off jobs I generally use the vise grip type clamps which bolt to the table, but have a vice in reserve. I almost never do freehand drilling, much prefer to clamp workpiece in some way and avoid accidents. Your explanation of drill point geometry was better than a dozen textbooks. Keep up the good work.
😂 My lady is here and hearing this. She said, "I didn't know you had a damn brother in Australia. I swear to god he sounds just like you." My friend, you just got a sub from New Mexico in 'Merica.❤
Mate, happy New Year from a retired crusty old builder from Perth who learns so much from your excellent videos that help me to do things better!
All the best for 2025 and please continue to teach some of us dumb bums and help keep us safe while attempting unfamiliar work..
Cheers
B
By the way, probably one of the best instructionals on piloting and drill tip geometry I have seen. One of these in depth videos on just that subject would serve many many future potential engineers, machinists and DIYers = ) You have the patience, humour and knowledge to engage even the most reluctant teenager stuck in a "boring" lesson.
Said it better than I was planning.
Glad I found you... DIY homeshop guy here.
As a machinist for more than forty years, the most important key points are using strippers as a unit of force, mechanical sympathy, and thinking about boobies while working. Great job on ‘splaining this super power. Thanks.
Why would a machinist think about seabirds while working?
Cicadas (we say ci-kay-da, here in the southeastern USA) are incessant, true. Unfortunately, my tinnitus (and that's tin-it-us, two Ns) means that I'm blessed with hearing them all day, every day, 365 days a year, not just when they come out to play every couple of years. Try it, it's a blast! (Sarcastic tone fully employed).
Me too, tinnitus is damn annoying, you never 'get used to it' and it's impossible to explain to someone who doesn't have it
My thoughts exactly. I get cicada sound/white noise plus one or 2 electronic beeps (or screams) to add to it too. This year has been insane for the cicadas though.
What helps, if you wanted to do all the pilot drilling first, do one tool change, and then do all the main size drilling, is to use a vise stop (just put a tiny clamp on the fixed vise jaw, so the piece can bump up against it). This saves having to pick up the tool to register the piece against, which saves a lot of time in the aggregate.
Table alignment can be adjusted quite easily up and down without loosing you position. I use a cheap magnetic verical line laser on the table and lign it up on something vertical in your workshop i.e. the edge of a door frame, the further away the better. You can now raise or lower the table, when at the required height, rotate the table to re-align the laser line against the same spot on the door frame and tighten your table. Depending on the table it may need a couple of tries as you snug it up keeping the laser line in place. It works reallly well, if you need higher accuracy you should be using a vertical mill.
Regarding drill bits look at four facet drill bit tips, these have a true cross point in the middle of the bit as opposed to a chisel. I've seen examples of drilling overlapping 1/32" holes using four facet drill bits
The cicadas have ruined nothing. They provide one of the best sounds of summer.
About 55 years ago I did an apprenticeship that included welding (failed, electrode would stick to the part), milling (Part unrecognizable), drilling (holes in wrong place), and lathe operation (failed big time and sent a wrench into my groin.) The instructors stood in their office door and laughed. So I went and got a Ph D in chemistry and spent the rest of my life relaxing and raking in whatever money I could find making noxious chemicals. But I always wanted to return, as the dog does, to my vomit. This video is sending me on my way, only in my own garage. Thanks.🐕
Ok mate your the winner of my weekly award for funniest comments 🤣😂🤣😂!!!! So here's your trophy 🏆😉.
Have you still got both hands?. If you have all your fingers then you missed your vocation. Then again. is your conscience intact ?.
When I was an apprentice fitter the material coming of the work was called swarf, chips were associated with fish
Great video, well explained
yes i was trrying to remember swarf,also don,t let it get too long it can cut you
It's still called swarf , except by (mostly) ' murrican' You Tube 'machinists' who were never actually trained.
It pisses me off when the 'learn as you go' people are pretending to be experts, bad advice is often more dangerous than no advice.
@@maxbrooks1191 my first job in the machine shop was to clean the swarf from the lathes
@AutoExpertJC I can recommend another super useful addition: a spring loaded tap guide/tap follower which you put in your chuck. The point rides in the center hole on the end of most (large) taps, usually they have a reversible guide rod with a hole on the other end to have the point on smaller taps ride in.
Yes. Agreed. I just didn't want to suggest an endless list of additional purchases. But they are good to have.
The old guy I bought my drill press off added in a FWD/REV switch. A brilliant addition if you have to do a run of threaded holes.
The self reversing tapping machines are even nicer! I picked up one off of eBay for cheap..Probably have done 2500 holes with it. I dedicated a 20' 1.5 Hp HF drill press to the machine so I don't have to re tool constantly
You actually did very well John, 60yr old toolmaker here, don't really use a drill press.
swarf clearance is your biggest tap breaker.
Try a gun tap,spiral point to see swarf go forward, spiral flute brings swarf out like a drill.
Hand tap you break the swarf with the reverse motion.
Power thru with tap in chuck if you have the balls and a forward reverse switch.
Then again I do have an EDM so broken tap removal is easy.
Worked awhile in a primitive (no CNC) machine shop 30 years ago. We did have a Tapamatic for our Bridgeport mill which made life easier.
Just got a mini mill from Harbor Freight and plan on getting a 3 axis DRO just because I'm retired and I can spoil myself. LOL
"Peck drilling aids the chip evacuation process, helps support tool accuracy while minimizing walking, prevents chip packing and breakage, and results in a better all around final part". For deep holes. A vise stop is also useful for repeating part location. Excellent video.
I just had another thought: A friend added an X-Y table to his drill press and it completely turned the drill press around, made it much more useful. Easier to locate hole positions, establish offsets, and align parts, just made a huge difference. Phase II has a reasonable one , couple hundred bucks. You might give it a try sometime. Cheers.
Well done. This has got to be the most information dense youtube clip I've ever seen. So many clever hacks to make the most of innocuous features of the equipment.
Really learned something tonight.
I love the drill press for wood - particularly using a forstner bit. I just used it last weekend to help set bolts into 1 1/2" oak. So much easier to get everything square and a consistent perfect depth with the press.
a happy new year to you John!
I like the recycled hex bit pointer.
I would suggest mounting a plate on the end of the fixed jaw so it can be flipped back out of the way by loosening the single mounting bolt. Saves time on the setup and eliminates a step in the process.
The magnets for holding parts work. It just magnetizes the metal bits that the magnet is holding. Then the chips get in the way of chucking when they stick to the bit shank.
I mounted an angle iron bracket to the post and used a magnet tray for the cast iron t nuts that won't magnetize. I attached a recycled transfer punch rack for holding a set of drills. A single hole that was already in the angle works great as a home for the chuck key.
You have picked up my sub. Thanks for all the suggestions.
A foot switch is a definite 'upgrade', I've used one since 2010.
Never thought I needed it until I used it.
Free's up both hands.
Just make sure to get one that can handle power of motor.
You probably know (but didn't mention) pilot holes only need to be slightly bigger than chisel point. You did mention having pretty much full cutting edge engaged.
I forget how much power it saves (it was mid 1970's I learned about it)
Makes drilling stainless steel a lot easier as backing off or pecking usually causes work hardening making it very difficult to re-start cut.
Overall, damn good tutorial for beginners
Learning how to hand grind a split-point cutting edge on my taper-shank drills 40 years ago was agame-changerfor me... self-employed machinist at the time and produced parts by the thousand, most needing drilling ...
Don't forget John. The Cicadas also piss on you when you walk under the gumtrees.
Good video. I had a woodworking machine shop. I had eleven drill presses. Ten left set up for accurate production repetition to save time as you demonstrated and one as a odd job. Six were heavy industrial ones for rigidity. Five were small import ones for light work. I also have a large heavy one in my metalwork, maintenence shop. Like you say these are great machines very underestimated by most people.
nice job. It's nice to see a good man at work like my dad was work smarter, not harder
_Phew!_ I thought for a second you were going to tell everyone about the secret coffee stirring setting...
Shhh!
Another very good reason to fasten your drill press vise down is to prevent it climbing up the drill bit as it breaks through. I had this happen once when drilling through some some material which had a fairly rough back surface. The 11 mm drill bit just acted like a coarse thread and lifted the unfastened vise and the part up as the bit was breaking through. In my haste to regain control of the situation, I tried to restrain the vise but broke the drill bit in the process.
A good video with lots of useful explanations. I like the upside down T nuts used on the smaller drill table idea, but they would need tapping right through and some sort of support bar running underneath them to keep them restrained when you undid the studs to remove the vise when the whole table top was required for a part might be a useful mod.
DIY woodworker here. I learned a lot about using my drill press in this video. I don't do a lot of drilling metal workpieces, but the principles will be the same for batching out small wood workpieces. After watching this video I'm thinking I might want to start learning a bit more about working with metal, you can't do everything with wood.
We’re having the same problem with the cicadas in Bundaberg….sometimes I couldn’t hear you complain about your cicadas…for my cicadas…noisy bastards! lol. Great info today John, I learned lots as a carpenter. 🍻
Nice one John, I love your workshop content. Hope 2025 is good to you.
Happy New Year, Happy New Ming Moles YESSSSSS!
Meanwhile in the Labor Com munist Capital of Australia Victoria some councils are charging a $150 fee to apply for a permit to do any car repairs on your property even oil/sparkplug changes or a bit of wiring then if approved a further $250 fee is to be paid totaling $400/year to do any work on your vehicle on your property or store your caravan on your property or any unregistered cars on your property a $400 a year few needs to be paid along with your council rates . Gone w oke and definitely broke it seems .
No. It's media beat up and laws that have existed for decades to stop hoarders with shit box cars
This is for 3 reasons
1) councils have difficulty raising rates to a level that is sustainable
2) all of the A-holes who toss used oil, filters and other car parts in the garbage .
3) clandestine mechanical workshops in residential properties .
I do mobile mower repairs from home so I have to pay commercial rates for ALL of my garbage + have an annual inspection with audit to verify I am storing flamiables in a proper fire proof cabinet and anything that is liable to spill oil or fuels is over an appropriate bund .
In particular oil in a compactor truck is a nightmare for the collection company and instantly turns normal garbage into toxic waste ( blame ignorant EPA for that one ) so in place of being $ 150 / ton for tipping into landfill it becomes $ 1,500 / ton to go into a contaminated garbage site and then the truck has to be washed before it can resume normal collections.
@@Rovert_0987 So you have a commercial interest in supporting this greedy money grab by councils or do y ou work for the Casey council that cant run a budget too busy spending money on woke bs programs ps your chat g b t comeback is just nonsense and dont start me on the EPA on how corrupt they are in Victoria
So this is a new account @Rovert_0987 Oct 2024 and y ou have two other fake accounts also lol get of chat g bt , it is very obvious you work for the Labor Party lol
@@Rovert_0987 Stop liking yo ur own comments with yo ur other fake accounts lol
Investigate a Float Lock vice, more like a clamp on a clamp on a clamp, super convenient, you can hold just about anything in any position without having to use nuts bolts and spanners.
Only down side it's not repeatable so back to a vice or table stops.
All we need now are sharp drill bits. How's that video going?
Like sharpening 3” drill bits on a grinding wheel
Now that brings back memories
C
For 1-offs, I use only 1 T-nut and leave it slightly loose. 9 times out of 10, the drill will move the vise and self-center on the center punch hole. I semi-permanently leave 1/2 of an old box end wrench on the nut, and tweak it tighter for holes I'm afraid will drift. I also have magnets to hold my center punch, a tiny hammer, a scriber, and other odd bits. Happy New Year!
You can try turning the gain down on your radio mic and turning the levels back up in the editing suite. You might find the mic picks up much less background noise when the gain is lowered.
John ... a good buy is a self centering vice .
Set it up dead centre . Makes drilling holes of different diameters a breeze . Good enough for 1mm toll
Very good tips. I just about passed over this because I know everything about my drill press but found out I don’t. Thanks
Your like a Tafe teacher that couldn`t get a police clearance. And that`s why I`m here!
best comment of the week!
Thanks so much. I was lost trying to make this work
G'day John. If the pilot hole is smaller than the chisel point on the drill table, then the large drill does not tend to wonder as much. If you have through slots or a strategically placed drain hole, you can use an "Over center" clamp. Looks like a Vice Grip C clamp with one jaw missing. The missing jaw is replaced with a stud so it can get bolted to the table.
I hadn't watched this channel before. Great stuff. I didn't think I would learn so much.
Great video John as always, if you put a G clamp on the fixed side of your vice then you don’t have to pick up the square every time you change the work piece, plus it can’t move while tightening the vice as you will be working against a stop on X and Y.😊
Small rectangular section steel "C" clamp ( generally the cheap type that are bugger all use for anything else ) make quick and easy stops for repeated location. Reduces the actions necessary and removes operator error (to a degree...) Determine part location in the centre of the vice, cinch up and then place "C" clamp over one jaw where convenient to provide a reference point and tighten. You then have a fixed stop to use, part located in vice centre, full use of the vice jaws, repeatability and less chance to feck it up = ) Happy New Year John and thanks for all the humour and entertainment = )
For metal working suggest adding an x/y cross slide with vice to a drill press. Doesn't make it into a mill but sure is a work saver. Mine's been on for 35 years still use it every day for my car builds.
mate, those cicadas are like a free trial of tinnitus...!! bloody hell..! As you know the simple shit is more complex than the average Joe thinks, and doing it correctly is important to producing good work and not losing fingers, a real 'twofer' on the KPIs... As an aircraft engineer (engine fitter, emphasis on the fitter) I like these back to basics vids, helping me to remember what i was taught oh so long ago, keeping me fit for purpose.. cheers dude..
Learned a lot from watching this vid. Cheers!
Very nice video John, you're really doing a service to folks learning how to do things. :)
Just excellent, Wonderful explanation and pacing, a great way to learn, Thankyou John.
end mills in a drill press, not a problem not being side loaded. thumping drill press replace the cheap belt with premium gates or eqv.
Thanks mate. Very
handy.
With CNC, pecking is more common. I peck more with stringy aluminum than other materials. You’re doing things right. It’s different when we spin a bit at 8,000 rpm. I do like the newish electronic presses and am thinking of getting one, it then, I’d have to get rid of one if the four I have. Anyway. I’m thinking about it as the have some very nice features. Such as, allowing you to electronically set the depth. When it reaches it, it stops and reverses itself automatically. These presses have sophisticated motors from 1.5 to 2 Hp, so plenty of power. So tapping is a breeze.
I like your cicadas better than ours here in the central US. Here they never stop for hours in the evenings.
One thing i didn't understand... the pilot hole means you need less strippers.... ....but since when is less strippers a good thing?
Hi JC. Thanks for that. It was well explained, mate.
I use a drill Docker to sharpen my drill bits. It may be interesting for you to show how to properly sharpen them. Also, I brought a Vevor mag drill after seeing your video on them. Thanks so much, champion. I'm in love with that new toy in my shed.
Not to be asking a stupid question but what is a "Stripper" or how much is a one stripper?
Like most industrial processes, preparation is really 90% of the job.
Yes. Exactly.
Well done John,
I would suggest a ‘Stop’ beside the fixed jaw for X positioning.
Boom.
Cicadas are part of the backing track for the "Sounds of Then" and are integral to Australian Summers.
Also a big fan of SX90.
Another informative instructible JC. Thanks!
can we take a moment to admire that vice he has. that thing looks amazing so many do hickeys and gadgets on it! *Note. the one he was cleaning in the advert
Ok so i worked out that 6 kg with a 10:1 ratio should give 60 kg
Got myself an X Y vice brilliant for my drill press
Thank you I learned a lot.
Very good video John ,reminds me to get some T nuts and finally that Keyless chuck i keep forgetting another note i should put on my whiteboard next to the telly i gonna write it on there Now.
Noticed you used the belt driven drill press you have and not that beaut variable speed drill you got from Hafco recently. Is this because the belt drill allows you to back of drive tension? which the variable speed drill probably can not be changed, its either driving or not.
It was a little easier to film it at this one, and a belt-drive machine is more likely to be what most people have.
As a first year apprentice auto electrician we were all tapping blind holes at tech... I got a bit enthuisiastic.... heard a loud "click". Mr Ward... no good calling for me Mark, I can't get it our either.
ok, gonna see about buying/making T-nuts to fix my vise. Cheers!
I have windscreen fluid in a spray bottle..so I use that
Suggest: Make or buy a float lock vise. They are amazingly.
An enclosed foot switch with toe safety for starting the drill press is not a bad idea, bolted down so one can yank the foot out quickly if an unforeseen event happens.
Trying to get to the red button while your sleeves are winding around the quill is a terrifying thought.
And use strobe free lighting so the spinning chuck is always visible.
John, Ever considered that the cicadas are just responding to the sweet love tunes that you are banging-out (careful !) on your cicada-Luuurve-machines, otherwise known as the drillpress?
Love the tool videos, just got a mini lathe from Santa to learn machining
I find for most work, the `100mm vice is as big as you would want, i often use my 75mm unit.
I like those "ghetto" parallels, i dont have them on my vices (I like old gear, i have several old Dawn brand vices, none of which have that), might have to get one with that feature.
I generally clamp my vices down with those wiz bang locking pliers / vice grips which has a mount screw that goes in the slots on the deck. using T nuts in the slots in the vice / deck doesn't give enough movement for me. They are also good for just clamping flat plate straight to the deck.
Great video, thanks John.
There's a thing from doing this hands on for 35 years that reminds me of 'The Castle' - "Tell him he's dreaming".
Feeds and speeds.
Its about tip speed and feed pressure
leave chuck key in , then start
Your guide to life...
@@AutoExpertJC key hit u in walnuts
I paused the video at 9:30 and thought, hey that's just like the vise I got thrown in for an extra $50 when I bought my secondhand Hafco PD360 drill press! Regret to say mine does get used for wood more than metal most of the time, but many of the tips here are useful nonetheless. My drill press has the smaller cast iron table with the X pattern T-channels that needed significant filing to get the T-nuts moving freely in the channels, but it was worth the effort. The main issue I need to deal with for repeatability is the runout on the spindle, which I guess I would probably want to resolve before upgrading to a keyless chuck.
AFAIK there is no difference in the run out between a GOOD keyed chuck and a Good keyless chuck.
Havco stuff is always mediocre because it is aimed at the home handyman market, particularly the single phase stuff
The 3 phase is aimed at the small workshops and usually comes with a much better chuck
The chuck that shipped with my lathe was head & shoulders better than the one that was on the single phase drill press .
And I am not having a shot at Hare & Forbes there stuff is orders of magnitude better than any of the garbage that comes from any store with the word "Tool" in their name .
OTOH you say it was a second had drill press so perhaps some new HIGH QUALITY spindle bearings are in order
@@Rovert_0987 I never considered the bearings, I just assumed that the spindle's morse taper needed to be re-machined as it looked pretty scrappy when I used a drift pin to punch out the chuck for a look. While I'm just doing woodworking projects at the moment it's not a problem but if I want to chase some more precision down the track I will keep that in mind.
John, whenever I watch a video like this from you, I wish I had you as my dad. (I didnt have one actually.)
John, just watching the 6pm news [3.01.25] there's a fire at Dingo Creek FFS.
Happy New Year John, to you and your entire family. Best of luck in 2025 👍
Thanks for sharing mate.
thank you for doing this video, i learned so much. I was alittle confused why speed is so important. When i use a hand drill to drill a hole i dont adjust speed, so why do it on a drill press? Thanks
Cutting rate is important
If you are using a battery drill (or mains variable speed ) . keep the same pressure as you slowly increase the speed .
Suddenly the drill bit will bite and you will cutting very quickly
Too slow and you dull the cutting edge
Too fast and you burn the cutting lip .
love your work, most concise explanation I've ever seen , one thing though!!!!! have you ever drilled into Brigalow? you wouldn't say what you said about wood if you have, you still need a stripper on top for that wood, great content mate
This is good shit! So informative, game changer for me. Thanx mate.
You could mic the cicadas and flip the phase then play into your input with matched levels. And so provide cancellation.. A simple bit of engineering.
It's a RUclips video, dude.
Using a 5 mm drill for tapping 6 X 1 threads, you have to be tapping into really, really soft (and non-galling) material!
This is top stuff -- its a gas to hear you thunder about EV's, but these show you can walk the walk, as well as the talk! The stuff on fastners and spanners was highly informative!!
A lot of my machine shop 'experience' was just sweeping swarf(chips) out for those bolshy machinists - I ddnt get to spend nearly as much time actually making stuff, so this is great catch-up materaial
I started working in a tool room at 15yo...
Happy New Year to you and yours.
May 2025 have more adventures than excuses
Don't grab the swirly bits with your bare hands kids.
If the swirly bits get long enough, switch off and use anything but bare hands.
The tougher your skin gets the deeper the cut before you know it's cutting.
Don't press skin into a threaded hole and twist the work if it can turn and remove a neat round hole of skin.
Holes are harder to fix than cuts.
Don't drive a 1mm tungsten drill through your knuckle and snap it off unless it's right on break time.
Goddamn that's a lot of cicadas.
Always clamp your job in the middle of the vice as you have clearance when drilling through material. After 45 years of tool making have seen plenty of vices thrown out due to the slides being damaged by so called experts, hence why the table has a hole under the chuck, on most presses. You can scribe a line on the fixed jaw and use a ruler to place the job in the same spot. Rather than using such a small angle on your spot finder try and grind it closer to the centre punch angle and it will locate better and last longer. The finer point is better to locate on scribed lines. In fishing large hooks catch large fish, small hooks catch all fish. In drill vices small ones hold small jobs, large ones hold all jobs. It also allows you to us g clamps or f clamps to clamp the vice down without having to buy tee slot nuts and are quicker as they don't need a spanner to tighten.
Thanks for the drillpress/ setup/ drill bit education. Any thoughts on resharpening the drill bits?
Good idea for the bigger bits. Below 6-8mm, just bin them. Small ones suck to sharpen.
Can never have to many tee nut sets and lengths of all thread.
Have a wonderful old Hercus camel back. Wow is it noisy and a bit on the slow side but boy does it drill a nice hole lol
The easiest way to remove a broken tap is to get a smaller tap then the broken tap that you are not bothered about and use it as a punch and as you hit the two together with a hammer pieces of both taps will break off eventually clearing the broken tap out of the hole
Hey John have you seen the video on the Quebec electric school bus fire that almost incinerated the driver after just dropping last kid off when the front batter went into thermal runaway destroying the bus like a BYD burning in your driveway.
Here I came to see if you were going to rag on the MB's again, because this past week I had the misfortune to lay hands on one. Entirely as a favor for a friend with an old ML320. Had to change a tire, only to encounter lug bolts with ruined threads. Entirely the result of some past owner installing 20 inch wheels which have no self-aligning hub. Seems previous fools just started the lug bolts cross threaded and used the brute force of an impact to create a problem. Now it is a matter of installing some Helicoils to make it functional.
I so much prefer studs and lug nuts.
Been a boilermaker worker for 30 years and have never “coloured” in the metal.
Just popped into my tiny brain, something approximating an idea..
On a round table,
- drill and file, a hole at the outer end of each of the slots, just the size to allow a t-nut to drop though...if the t-nut is on a bolt that you use to hold down the vise, or other workpiece fixture, then you're good to go.
- or, maybe, magnetize your T-nuts, so that they will stay in place on the back side of the work table, until you get the fixture in place...
Sure, you might be a magician with nimble fingers, able to manage to wiggle the t-nuts into the right spot, without dropping them, or cutting your fingers on the crappy casting remains.