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

I believe this thread started with making a drill press of sorts for
drilling PCBs, so if I am off track, forgive me, I got lost in the
thread somewhere.

Frankly, you only need what you can get and what is available. I
drill PCBs by hand with a 16" drill press, jacobs chuck and a spindle
that has more play in it than it should. I drill holes very easily at
around 1500 ~ 2000 RPM or whatever the speed is set at when I need to
drill the holes. Most of the holes I have been drilling on PCBs are
around .020" diameter and I use carbide bits.

I don't like to run it at higher speeds as it only makes more noise.
It will allow me to drill a bit faster, but so far I have not seen a
need for faster feeds (drilling by hand).

The spindle runout is less of a factor than you think, especially when
drilling by hand. Select a drill motor that is quiet, smooth running
and affordable. Most of the bits I have for PCB stuff is 1/8" shank,
so that would be something you want in a collet if you select a small
rotary tool device.

Chris