Homebrew PCBs

> 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