Archive of the former Yahoo!Groups mailing list: Homebrew PCBs

previous by date index next by date
previous in topic topic list  

Subject: Re: drilling the holes?

From: "bob_ledoux" <bobledoux@...>
Date: 2005-10-20

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "prashantfordwivedi"
<prashantfordwivedi@y...> wrote:
>
> hi to all group members can u suggest me any simple & cheap method
> for drilling my home made pcb's

I use a cheap Harbor Freight $39 drill press. It has lots of runout.

From Enco I purchased a microdrill chuck for $7.50 and 1/32 drill bits
by the dozen at $0.22 each. This combination makes a spinning drill
with lots of runout.

I design my boards so the center of each drill hole is etched. This
creates a starting point for a wobbly drill. The drill centers on
this hole and does its work cleanly. I replace the cheap bit when it
gets dull.

A head mounted magnifier, bought for $8, provides a closeup view of
the procedings.

For the occasional builder this is a nice system. You can spend lots
of money and time trying to get a "no-runout" system to use carbide
bits. I decided to just forget about them.
>