Vertical Drill Stand

[DrummerDude]

Hi guys, I have 3 or 4 drills laying around and I thought that it would be cool if I build myself a drill press stand for drilling vertical holes and use those drills with it instead of spend 200 bucks on a new drill press.

What is a fast way to make one out of scrap wood or maybe out of plywood (I remember some guy made a Dremel stand out of plywood but can't find the tutorial).

I need something really simple

Something folding or even disposable!

Any tips or tricks?

[Mattia]

Yes.

If you want to drill straight, true holes, stop wasting time and buy a drill press. Even a cheap one will do as long as you don't go using it for drum sanding or anything else that puts a sideways load on the quill.

[ihocky2]

This will be strong and more accurate than you can make anything at home.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Disp...temnumber=44505

[DrummerDude]

Don't want to buy a drill press at this stage.

Until I have the spare money, will have to invent a stand and use one of my drills as a drill press.

So far I've been using my router for drilling precise vertical holes but I'm stuck to using 6 & 8 millimeter bits and it does not have enough power and stroke.

And the other option - drilling freehand is not exactly precise, you know.

I remember there was a trick for drilling nice verticals by hand. There was some kind of a guiding straw involved.

[Geo]

If you're careful you can drill straight holes by hand. It helps if you start with something small, like 1/8", and progressively enlarge the hole. Of course the bit can still wander, but it works for me.

I think the key is to use almost no downward pressure--let the drill lead as far as depth. Just keep it straight and don't go too high on the RPM.

[low end fuzz]

if your going to do them freehand, i would mount a vertical level on to your drill;

i would defenitly suggest a drill press; not even for the 'straight' part, although it is super important and saves headaches down the road; but a drilll press wont ever grab and skip along your work;

not to say it wont grab your work but it stays still and straight no matter what;

that dinky 60$ drill is what i got; igo up the street and use my gf's dads drill sometimes if i wanna quick work of a real dense board but it works for everyday occurences;

for the price of a single neck blank i wouldnt waste my time with a handheld

[ihocky2]

If you make anything from wood, it is not going to be rigid enough to accurately drill holes. If you make it from metal, you are going to spend more on parts than a cheap drill press. The only option I could suggest that is not overly expensive and lets you use a hand drill is a drill stand. Basically it is what you want to build, and works like a mini drill press. It's better than free hand, but still not very accurate.

Please tell me I interpretted you using that router for drilling holes wrong and that you are plunging with router bits and that you are not putting a drill bit in the router.

[zyonsdream]

http://www.vintageprojects.com/power-tools...press-auto.html

You could use the PDF on making a drill press out of pipe and convert most of it to wood but by the time you do it you will likely have sent more than what it would cost to buy a ryobi or a harbor freight press.

[Geo]

for the price of a single neck blank i wouldnt waste my time with a handheld

Hm, I've managed to waste my time building a sweet guitar and a sweet bass, with a handheld power drill.... On my bass I had to drill the tuner holes 1/2" wide through a bloodwood headplate. After doing that, anything is easy!

[DrummerDude]

Please tell me I interpretted you using that router for drilling holes wrong and that you are plunging with router bits and that you are not putting a drill bit in the router.

Actually I do put drill bits in my router.

Set the speed at around 800-1200 RPM and start drilling.

Works just like a drill press but with minimum stroke and power.

And yes, sometimes I use regular router bits for drilling holes but again you are stuck to only a few diameter choices this way.

[Setch]

Drill bits really aren't intended to run at the kind of speeds a router runs at, and you risk injury to yourself or your work if you continute to use them in your router.

[soapbarstrat]

So, somehow, I can take a 1/4" dia drill-bit that's about 4" long. I chuck it in a router, but there's still gonna be quite a bit of drill-bit poking out beyond the router base, and then what the hell do I do ? I just kinda free-hand it, start drilling into the wood, until the router base finally sits flush against the wood, then I yell " NOW WE'RE GETTING SOMEWHERE !" ?

[DrummerDude]

Drill bits really aren't intended to run at the kind of speeds a router runs at, and you risk injury to yourself or your work if you continute to use them in your router.

That's why I set the RPM pf my router to 800 - 1200 RPM.

My router has a pot that regulates it's RPM.

I didn't even know that there were routers that can't be set to whatever RPM you want.

Glad that mine has this ability.

So, somehow, I can take a 1/4" dia drill-bit that's about 4" long. I chuck it in a router, but there's still gonna be quite a bit of drill-bit poking out beyond the router base, and then what the hell do I do ? I just kinda free-hand it, start drilling into the wood, until the router base finally sits flush against the wood, then I yell " NOW WE'RE GETTING SOMEWHERE !" ?

Nope.

I don't have my 6 mm drill bits poking beyond the router base.

With 8 mm drill bits (which are longer as a general rule) I simply screw two small wooden blanks to my router's base and use them as "steps" to raise it a bit.

I've thought of cutting some length out of the 8 mm drill bit shafts to make them shorter but this is too much of a trouble and kind of ruins the bit making it hard to use in anything else but my router.

Edited September 27, 2007 by DrummerDude

[jmrentis]

I really think a drill press is the only reasonable way to go here as suggested. If want the best results be patient and wait for the drill press. As stated you could get away with the smaller presses for way less money, though I have one and am not a huge fan of it, gets the job done, but I know there are much better ways.

Anyhow, here is something that came to mind when reading this. I didn't want to put it down because you should really wait and get a drill press, but it's up to you. I don't have an intimate knowledge of this tool, so I have no idea of how well it would work, but from a glance I think it might work for you. Drill hand press. A number of places sell them I believe and you might even find one cheaper than that somewhere. Anyway, it was just a thought, not really sure if it would suit your specific needs.

Well best of luck and start saving some loot for a drill press, it's well worth it. J

[low end fuzz]

Please tell me I interpretted you using that router for drilling holes wrong and that you are plunging with router bits and that you are not putting a drill bit in the router.

Actually I do put drill bits in my router.

Set the speed at around 800-1200 RPM and start drilling.

Works just like a drill press but with minimum stroke and power.

And yes, sometimes I use regular router bits for drilling holes but again you are stuck to only a few diameter choices this way.

thats crazy.......imo

[Racer X]

I kinda like that idea, actually. There are times when you can't get all the work under my press, to drill where you need to drill. This brings the drill to the project. I may just have to get one for just such cases.

Edited September 28, 2007 by Racer X

[DrummerDude]

Please tell me I interpretted you using that router for drilling holes wrong and that you are plunging with router bits and that you are not putting a drill bit in the router.

Actually I do put drill bits in my router.

Set the speed at around 800-1200 RPM and start drilling.

Works just like a drill press but with minimum stroke and power.

And yes, sometimes I use regular router bits for drilling holes but again you are stuck to only a few diameter choices this way.

thats crazy.......imo

Using the router at lower RPM is same as using a drill press. Only that you can put it anywhere and over any detail in your shop.

The drill bit size limitation is a major drawback, though.

[zyonsdream]

I suppose as log as the cullet can firmly grasp the drill bit you’d be okay if your router has variable speed control. My drill press has spindle speeds as high as 4200 which is pretty fast. Heck, I have a cross vice on my press and use it as a mill so I guess anything is possible!

[ihocky2]

As long as you are staying at speeds that a drill press generates, and the collet grabs nice and tight, you are okay with them in the router, even though I would still recomend against it. Hopefully a newbie doesn't find this thread and through a drill bit into a router at 20,000 rpm. All they'll generate is shrapnel.

The portable drill guide would work great for what you need. But if you are patient, you can find a used drill press for about 20-30 dollars more and it will be more accurate.

[zyonsdream]

I think it’s important to realize that some times you need the right tools for the right job. You wouldn’t try to bore out an engine block with a robosander. When you cut corners your project reflects it in the end. Integrity in your work reflects only by the attention to detail you give to it. If you are going to build a guitar you need certain tools.

Which set of tools you need depends on which way you want to build your guitar and how nice you want it to look.

I still say the router with drill bit is pretty cool in the seriously odd ball application when a standard drill press won’t work.

[Mattia]

If the RPM is low enough, and you've actually got a bit that's machined accurately enough to fit the collet tightly (personally, I don't trust most of them to do the trick), yes, it could work. But at that point, honestly, just get an end mill or plunge router bit of the appropriate diameter and use that.

[DrummerDude]

I found a super cheap drill press at 130 bucks (this is like 65 Euros or $100 US dollars).

It's freaking underpowered.

Even more underpowered than my router and I really don't see any advantage in using this cheap drill press against the damn router itself (if we don't count its only advantage of being able to use many different sizes of drill bits).

I don't think that buying this cheap and powerless tool would make my life easier.

I'm left with two choices: build a drill press stand and use one of my cool drills in it OR buy a real press but an expensive one (which will cost some Cash that I don't have).

Guess I will try to build the stand out of pipes or something.

Thanks for your help.

Edited September 29, 2007 by DrummerDude

[Mattia]

You don't need a lot of power to drill holes, even in hard wood. Just the right (sharp) bit, and let the rotation (not the pressure) do the cutting.

Sure, lots of watts is nice, but a 250 watt drill press will drill pretty much any hole that needs drilling in guitar making, in maple, rosewood (struggle with ebony if it's thick), mahogany, alder, ash, etc. Reason I know: I have one. It's not great, but it does the trick until I find the cash for a better press.

[jmrentis]

Same here, I also have a little press and honestly it hasn't struggled with anything yet, including hogging out chambers and cavities in a couple tough woods with a forstner bit. It went right through the wood no problem and that bit had been some moderate use in hardwoods and was far from new. J

Edited September 29, 2007 by jmrentis