[sdiy] speaking of drilling... Small drill press recommendations?

[Andre Majorel]

On 2009-06-26 15:56 -0400, Todd Sines wrote:

> I gotta lotta holes to drill. My cordless drill attempts looks
> like a  drunken caveman just discovered what a drill is. And of
> course, I'm only doing one of any project so it doesn't make a
> lot of sense to do the Front Panel Express thing [although, that
> would be lovely].
>
> What your best suggestion for something under $200? [and maybe
> your  choice of bits]

A drill press is always nice to have but to drill into sheet metal
what you need first is to

1. Go slow and apply pressure.

2. With twist drill bits, always start with a pilot hole ; E.G. to
   drill a 9 mm hole, don't start with a 9 mm drill : start with
   2.5 mm, then 4.5 mm then 6.5 mm then 9 mm.

3. For thin (less than 2.5 mm) sheet metal, use a step drill.
   Twist drill bits jam on exit. It does not just ruin your work,
   it's dangerous too.

4. When drilling into steel, consider using cutting oil.

A good drill press helps applying pressure but you're probably
better off with a machine vise and no press than vice-versa, if it
comes to that.

-- 
André Majorel <URL:http://www.teaser.fr/~amajorel/>