> My new but cheap drill press from Harbor Freight had so much wobble
> in the chuck it snapped the .8 mm carbide drill immediately. Upon
> inspection, I found the step pulleys were not bored properly,
> causing the wobble.
If you check, the spindle is loose in the frame. HF is terrible as
far as fit goes.
Also the bearings are sloppy so even if you fix the loose spindle,
some of the runout will still be noticed.
The pulleys are so far removed from the spindle, I doubt you could
see any movement on the spindle regardless how much you moved them.
A quick test is to chuch up a drill and extend the spindle an inch or
so. put an indicator on it and just very lightly push and pull on
the drill. you will see a few thou movement with the slightest
pressure.
also, since the spindle is so loose, the rack and pinion pushes the
spindle towards the front of the machine as you increase pressure.
Having been the proud owner of more than 6 HF presses, I have some
little experiance with this 'problem'
Another simple 'fix' at least for IC's is to buy a machined carrier
and drill out all the posts, then drill one IC hole in the corner of
the chip and insert a pin or drill to locate that part and drill a
second hole thru one of the holes. insert another pin and you are
then aligned for the rest of the holes.
the biggest problem is that the soft brass will work for only a few
IC's before you need another.
Dave