Homebrew PCBs

Several people have mentioned drill presses lately...

Just thought I would share one of mine..

I use a hand mini drill and judge theholes by eye, using 0.85 mm 
carbide bits at about 10,000 rpm.  I think I tend to breal about 1 
bit in every 5,000 holes.

However, I have a CNC micro mill that I can use for drilling,  scan 
the actual circuit board and software does the rest..  that uses the 
same 0.85mm carbide bits at around 30,000 rpm

Finally my wife wanted to do some drilling but was unable to hold 
the drill steady enough so I threw together this little press in 
about an hour...  

Its in the photos section under Spiyda

http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/homebrew_pcbs/lst?.dir=/Spiyda

The main features of note are ...  it cost less than $3 (+ the drill)

It is foot operated and adjustable (the black cable is tied above 
the top board and has a terminal block under the second board.. the 
cable then continus to the floor, where it is tied 2" above the 
floor to a 2" x 1")

There is an old valve spring between the boards to push the drill 
back up...

The hinge is a bit of old piano hinge but anything would do.

The boards are about third or fourth hand..  they have previously 
been used a s a drawing board, a microwave support and a cutting 
board.

The weird thing about this drill press is that it actually works 
quite well.

It is more accurate than by hand and as it is foot operated, you 
have two hands free for the board !

Chris