Drill Press As Router?

[Mickguard]

I picked up an old drill press , has a crank handle on springs for lowering the drill, should be adequate for the purpose.

I'm planning on routing out the back of a guitar in order to convert it to a Thinline (semi-hollow).

I know I can use the drill press to do the initial drilling. The drill press has a depth guage, that'll help!

I'm wondering why I can't use the press as a router? In the hardware store, they have various type of router bits for drills...but I've seen some posts scolding people away from the idea....

But why? They sell the bits to do this after all...

Your opinions?

[Southpa]

Router bits are made for high rpm, close tolerance cutting. The high rpm eg. 20 to 30,000 rpm produces an extreme amount of rotational force that is needed for the cutting edges on these bits to work properly. A regular router bit at low rpm, ie. drill press will do nothing but tear chunks out of your work and/or catch and spin the piece of wood out of your hands.

The bits you refer to might be called "forstner" bits which are an adequate method for "hogging" wood out to make your cavities. A lot safer too. Just straight up and down.

Edited December 19, 2004 by Southpa

[erikbojerik]

Yeah, what you want to do when you're removing lots of wood is to use the forstner bits on a drill press (hopefully yours has a depth stop as well) to remove as much as possible, then clean up the edges & bottom of the rout with a proper router.

[Dugz Ink]

Somewhere (on some custom guitar site) I remember reading about using a router bit in a variable speed drill press; this guy was countersinking the holes for the pots, and bevelling the edges at the same time by using a router bit. When he was done, the surface was very smooth and the semi-recessed knobs were all level.

Of course, the holes (for the pot shafts) had already been drilled.

D~s

[ddgman2001]

It's not ideal and your chuck might fall off mid cut, but when I didn't have a router of my own, I used to rout with a drill press.

[Mickguard]

The bits you refer to might be called "forstner" bits which are an adequate method for "hogging" wood out to make your cavities. A lot safer too. Just straight up and down.

Ah, thanks for clearing up the confusion! Saved me from making a big mistake

Okay, how about this: another tool I noticed is the Dremel tolol --they're selling a couple attachments for that , one converts it into a router, the other gives it a router table...

I'm not opposed to buying a router, but since I won't have that many projects, it makes sense to have tools that can handle multiple duties. (I have a friend with a router anyway, but then he'll want to do all the work...)

[jay5]

I would really look into buying a router. They are realy indispensable when it comes to guitars. Sears is selling a Craftsman fixed base router for $59.99. You don't need a plunge router! Besides, my foray into guitar making began with one project and escalated into materials for several before the first even resembled a guitar. You will use it much more than you think I promise.

[Kevan]

As others have pointed out, a drill press is does not make a good router.

It's the same way a router makes a crappy drill press.

The Dremel setup is a great one, esp. for fine and detail work. For larger projects (entire bodies, whole necks, etc), you'll be grateful to have a router. Plunge routers are nice, but a fixed base one will get the jobs done as well.

I scored a great setup from Craftsman a while back: Plunge router + router table for $99. There are sales happening all the time. Keep checking and I'm sure you'll find some good deals.

[fryovanni]

I use my dremel tools a lot, but they do not work well if you need to remove a lot of material. My routers are used a lot more often. I have one set on a table, I built an overhead table with rails the router rides on, and a plunge that is used by itself. If you can add a router to your tool box I think you will really use it a lot.

Best of luck, Fryguy

[Dugz Ink]

I just bought a Craftsman plunge router for less than $100. I was going to get the solid base, but then I noticed that 1) the plunge-base model had the most horse-power for the best price, and 2) the bases can be quickly and easily swapped because the motor is a self-contained slide-in unit.

It was the best purchase I have made, and it made life much easier.

I also have a bunch of Dremel stuff, and I would have to agree that its tiny motor is not as good for big jobs or really hard wood.

Even though I mentioned somebody using a drill press for shaping control holes, I have never used my drill press for a router.

However, I have used the drill press and forstner bits for removing the wood in various woodworking projects, then turned the round holes into rectangular holes with a jig saw, a rasp, a double cut file, and a single-cut file.

There are alternatives to buying/using a router, but nothing routes like a router.

D~s

[Hotrock]

Yeah, what you want to do when you're removing lots of wood is to use the forstner bits on a drill press (hopefully yours has a depth stop as well) to remove as much as possible, then clean up the edges & bottom of the rout with a proper router.

And certainly don't use a spade bit (like I did when I wasn't paying attention and I now have three little holes on the from of my guitar

One thing that I have found good, that's sort of related. I have now got a router and table (the router has 1/4 inch collet). I also have some of the drum sandersthat fit in a pillar drill (that have 1/4inch shafts). So I can now put these in my router and use them on the table. Should be very handy indeed especially as the chuck of the drill press has a tendance to come off (just a Moores Taper )

[jay5]

Do NOT use drum sanders in a router!!! The RPM's of a router are WAY to high. You are really asking for trouble if you do this. The table will vibrate like hell. The only thing that goes in a router are router bits, period.

[stringkilla]

Hey guys. If your drill press is multi-speed, with a stepped pulley, you can use it to remove material with a tool called a Wagner Safety Planer. I will say though by the time you purchace alkl the required tools to do the job right you will have spent enough to buy a top end router. I must add this never use a drill press to rout out anything, the bearings aren't designed for side to side stress. This will cause the drill chuck to fall out causing much damage to human skin and bone. To echo Jay5 never use a sander drum in a router, you may end up wearing it on your head.

[Devon Headen]

Yeah, what you want to do when you're removing lots of wood is to use the forstner bits on a drill press (hopefully yours has a depth stop as well) to remove as much as possible, then clean up the edges & bottom of the rout with a proper router.

And certainly don't use a spade bit (like I did when I wasn't paying attention and I now have three little holes on the from of my guitar

One thing that I have found good, that's sort of related. I have now got a router and table (the router has 1/4 inch collet). I also have some of the drum sandersthat fit in a pillar drill (that have 1/4inch shafts). So I can now put these in my router and use them on the table. Should be very handy indeed especially as the chuck of the drill press has a tendance to come off (just a Moores Taper )

Please, please, PLEASE DON'T DO THIS. Several people have asked about doing this before. It's just plain unsafe. The drum sander will fly apart, and chances are, part of it will wind up embedded in your face.

[westhemann]

Yeah, what you want to do when you're removing lots of wood is to use the forstner bits on a drill press (hopefully yours has a depth stop as well) to remove as much as possible, then clean up the edges & bottom of the rout with a proper router.

And certainly don't use a spade bit (like I did when I wasn't paying attention and I now have three little holes on the from of my guitar

One thing that I have found good, that's sort of related. I have now got a router and table (the router has 1/4 inch collet). I also have some of the drum sandersthat fit in a pillar drill (that have 1/4inch shafts). So I can now put these in my router and use them on the table. Should be very handy indeed especially as the chuck of the drill press has a tendance to come off (just a Moores Taper )

Please, please, PLEASE DON'T DO THIS. Several people have asked about doing this before. It's just plain unsafe. The drum sander will fly apart, and chances are, part of it will wind up embedded in your face.

devon is very correct...a drum sander attachment cannot withstand the high speeds of a router

[Hotrock]

No worries, it's probably a good job that my pillar drill didn't arrive yesterday like it was supposed to then

Cheers for not letting me hurt mysef

[idrum4food]

Reminds me of what my Dad always use to say, "Boy, iffin ya wont ta do da job rite, git yerself tha rite tooool".

[kench]

The average speeds of an adjustable DRILL = 700 to 2.000 rmp. 1.000 rpm is ideal for most drilling work on "woods" with normal size of drill bits.

The average speeds of an adjustable ROUTER = 10.000 to 30.000 rpm. Ideal speed for most bits is around 20.000 rpm. (faster for smaller bits, slower on larger bits)

20.000 - 1.000 = 19.000

so there are approximately 19.000 reasons for not to use drills as a router, or routers as drills.

But if you are lucky as me, you can get away from buying a router. I've built a Les Paul without having a router. I found an old grinder at my brothers warehouse that is 320 watts and 27.000 rpm and has a collet size of 6 mm. Made a base out of MDF for it and an attachment to keep the grinder perpendicular to the base. And did all the routing with that. Here is a photo of it. In the photo it was clamped upside-down to make the routing templates.

But on my next guitar project I will definitely buy a proper router.. Because I can't use large cutter bits like 12 mm. 27.000 rpm is too fast for cutter bits larger than 6 mm. Heat is the worst enemy for router bits, drill bits and saws. They become blunt even on a single use no matter what quality they are.