Mine isn't really a drill press. It's a Proxxon rotary tool (think dremel) in the stand which can be used as a press.
Since the tool comes with grinding wheels, cutting wheels etc and is a multi-tool I assume it can handle the job OK.
In any case Proxxon sell spare parts, so if the bearings do wear out I can get a new set.
I use chipbreaker router bits rather than diamond cut as they are supposed to cut better and reduce radial load. Cutting slowly seems the best way, too fast and the bit would probably snap anyway. Not to be confused with RPM of course - I run it at maximum speed when doing the cutting.
I do like your idea with the hacksaw though - not something I had ever thought of. I might try it sometime and see what it's like.
Do you hold the board on an angle at the end of the cutting process or only at the start?
--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, Andrew Leech <coronasensei@...> wrote:
>
> As much as I like the idea of the router bit in the drill press,
> depending on the quality of your drill press this could seriously wear
> the primary bearings on the drill shaft. I'm not sure I'd want to do too
> much of this with my cheapy GMC mini drill press, but if you trust the
> drill press (or know you can replace/upgrade the bearings easily enough)
> it'd work really well. Though really, as long as you go fairly slow with
> a sharp bit it should be fine, pcb isn't going to be a very heavy load.
> Any wear at all though is going to result in the drill head wobbling
> slightly as it drills, which is bad for small drill sizes...
>
> I don't do many pcb's these days, and my preferred method is the
> hacksaw, but I have a fairly unorthodox way of using it. I have my work
> jeans on, sit in a chair and hold the hacksaw upside down in between my
> legs, with the blade up. I guess holding it upside down in a vice would
> be better, but I don't have a decent vice at the moment. Then I hold the
> pcb in both hands almost flat against the blade (ie copper flat against
> blade, not the edge of the pcb), just with a slight angle to start the
> cut at the edge of the board. Then just move the board back and forth to
> cut it, this way I get a perfectly straight cut every time, and if the
> blade is decently sharp it's almost as clean a cut as a nicely routed
> board. Quite quick too.
>
> Andrew
>
> On 18/11/2011 10:20 AM, tda7000 wrote:
> >
> > I used to use the score and snap method (IMO score and mutilate) with
> > different results.
> >
> > If you score deep enough, the break is OK. However you must score
> > almost right through the material.
> >
> > If you don't score enough, some layers rip and some break, resulting
> > in a really horrible edge, and a couple of mm of material which is
> > useless as it's been quite damaged.
> >
> > In all cases you can easily clean the edges up with a file and get
> > them really nice.
> >
> > However all this is a lot of trouble, the 2nd best thing in my opinion
> > is a hacksaw. You may not get a really straight cut but it will go
> > much faster and easier than the snapping method.
> >
> > You can clean and straighten the edges with a file afterwards, and
> > it's easier because there's less of a horrible edge to clean up.
> >
> > I don't use either of these methods any more though. I came across an
> > idea on a forum and I've been using it ever since.
> >
> > It requires a drill press, but if you're making PCBs you probably
> > already have one. You buy some of the cutter\router bits used for
> > cutting boards on CNC machines. You set one up in your drill press and
> > also set up some kind of fence to run your board along.
> >
> > It's a little fiddly at the start, and if you do something wrong you
> > will break the bit - but given some practice it's pretty good, and
> > much faster than the score\snap idea.
> >
> > --- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com
> > <mailto:Homebrew_PCBs%40yahoogroups.com>, Leon Heller <leon355@> wrote:
> > >
> > > On 17/11/2011 15:43, DaveC wrote:
> > > > This stuff is TOUGH! I scored with a utility knife, through the
> > > > copper and well into the fiberglass. When I bent it over the edge of
> > > > a table, it bowed a lot before finally breaking.
> > >
> > > I use CEM-1 paper/fibre-glass laminate. It's ∗much∗ easier to cut and
> > > drill than FR4.
> > >
> > > Leon
> > > --
> > > Leon Heller
> > > G1HSM
> > >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>