Using a Drill Press as a Mill

Not likely to work well... too much slop in the typical drill press.

Maybe for very very very light cuts in soft stuff you can get away with it. I've used a small diameter mill bit in a drill press at times to make a flat, where a drill bit won't, but that's in aluminum or some other soft material.

You're better off buying an old beater milling machine for best results, or a new or used mill/drill intended for the application, or even one of those lathe/mill combo machines ( if you are doing relatively small work)...

For just a few bits every now and then, you can probably talk your way into the shop at a high school or college... or find a local guy with a machine who will be willing to help out for some coffee and donuts, etc...

ymmv.

_-_-bear

David Heidary wrote:

You are quite wise to observe the arrangement and question the holding capacity of a taper fit under side loads David! Attempts at using a drill press as a milling machine as you describe often result in a spinning chuck with a sharp edged milling cutter in it bouncing all over the place. Cognicenti refer to this as the "hand grenade" effect.

I do admit to occasionally using my 40 year old Craftsman drill press for very light milling on small aluminum and wood parts. I use one of those $68 chinese 5" by 8" travel x-y tables bolted to the drill press table. But then, my drill press is blessed with a threaded collar which positively holds the chuck's tapered shank into the spindle's bore.

Jeff

-- Jeff Wisnia (W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"If you can keep smiling when things go wrong, you've thought of someone to place the blame on."

There is a common variant of the JT33 taper that has a lock ring, many of the older walker turner drill presses use these and the ring gives a postitive, solid lockup.

But running an end mill in a jacobs chuck is a bad idea and I would strongly advise against it for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the chance that the chuck may let go of the tool in mid-cut, but also the problem that the quill and spindle bearings are not designed with this kind of loading in mind and will not really be rigid enough.

Jim

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Even for very light cuts in soft stuff it will come apart. I have tried.

You can do passable milling on aluminum using a wood router. Heck, you can even mount 1/2" diameter endmills in the router directly.

As a matter of practice, when making oddball aluminum brackets and gizmos out of 6061T6, I use a 1/8" radius round off bit in the router to give a quick, simple rounded edge.

Sigh..someone should really write a FAQ on this.. as it comes up pretty often.

The short of is..NO you cannot use a drill press as a mill. Best case you may get a ragged cut, worst case, the chuck comes out at high speed, chases you around the shop and draws various amounts of blood from what ever portion of your anatomy that it happens to find.

Need a mill, get a mill. For light duty as you say..there are all manner of cheap light mills. Heck..often times you can find a REAL mill for less than the price of a new drill press.

Gunner "War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."

- John Stewart Mill

FWIW, I once saw some line art in an old catalog showing a drill press milling adaptor accessory, in the form of a"chuck backer upper". I think it was a Sears/Craftsman thing, but maybe not.

It was a simple rig, just a stiff arm which clamped onto the drill press column and held two closely side by side spaced "roller skate wheels" against the outside of the chuck. The chuck nested in the crotch between those wheels.

I don't know whether there was an adjustment for preloading the bearings, or if they just made it to the correct theoretical dimension "and fughedit". In principle it would support side loading of the chuck in the general direction of the column, so if you correctly established your setup and cut direction, it should have helped stiffen things up a bit.

I think I was sober at the time and am remembering it correctly, but If anyone can confirm my recoillection or point me to a drawing of it, I'd appreciate it.

Jeff

-- Jeff Wisnia (W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"If you can keep smiling when things go wrong, you've thought of someone to place the blame on."

Yes, you can use a drill press as a mill, but...

You should replace the chuck with a mill holder. & the mill holder has to held by a positive holding device... threaded collar or draw bar. & you have to provide a way of micro-adjusting the quill and locking it down. & you have to provide an X/Y table to mount your work in. & provide extra bracing of the column. & take light cuts. & compensate for the side play the bearings and the quill allows.

Can do fairly good work, but after doing all this, you still only have a poor mill.

IMO; Use the $ and get a dedicated mill.

Leo (pearland, tx)

You will likely find the slop in the bearings, and other shortcomings in the rigidity department, result in severe chattering no matter how you set up your cuts. Assuming you don't hurt yourself when the chuck falls off, as you surmise.

The words "don't try this at home" come to mind.

michael

You can ONLY do it IF your drill press has a hollow quill, and you can put a threaded draw-bar down inside it to screw into the tapped end of a milling chuck. If you have, then the chucks are usually tapped 3/8" Whitworth (you "may" find something like 10mm metric), and this bar is only for retaining the chuck. The driving of it comes from the taper socket. Don't attempt it of you have only a chuck with a tang, and not a hollow tapped end.. Highly dangerous.

Dave.

OR if your chuck is mounted to the spindle with a JT33 taper with the external threaded collar. But even then I would suggest against it, as my previous post said.

Jim

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There have been quite a few "of course you can't do that" without anyone saying they have come across a real problem.

The answer is therefore probably yes you can, but if you really need to mill its better to buy a mill.

Oh - I've been using my drill as a mill for several years and sold the work that came out - it was a simple cut of polyester and a small midget mill - but you didn't say it had to be steel.

I recently borrowed a 28mm mill bit, which was too big for the chuck so I put a bolt through the end (6mm). It worked fine (in my 350W machine). It took a couple of rivets off some aluminium but I stopped using it when it jammed and the bolt bent! I'm sure the10mm mill bit I bought (and lost) would work fine.

Mike Haseler

There have been quite a few "of course you can't do that" without anyone saying they have come across a real problem.

The answer is therefore probably yes you can, but if you really need to mill its better to buy a mill.

Oh - I've been using my drill as a mill for several years and sold the work that came out - it was a simple cut of polyester and a small midget mill - but you didn't say it had to be steel.

I recently borrowed a 28mm mill bit, which was too big for the chuck so I put a bolt through the end (6mm). It worked fine (in my 350W machine). It took a couple of rivets off some aluminium but I stopped using it when it jammed and the bolt bent! I'm sure the10mm mill bit I bought (and lost) would work fine.

Mike Haseler

Just in case the original poster isn't completely discouraged yet he can also reference this article in "Home Shop Machinist"

Milling on a Drill Press KOUHOUPT, RUDY HSM'82:S/O26

The article is also in book " The Shop Wisdom of Rudy Kouhoupt" from Village Press.

Cheers,

Kelley

Kelly,

My collection of HSM doesn't go back that far. Would you mind summerizing the article? I've been using my DP for light milling for several years and both the DP and I are still here to tell about it. I stuck my chuck on the taper with locktite (after the first time it came loose) and it works well enough milling wood and AL.

Thanks

Bruce

can also reference this article in "Home Shop Machinist" Milling on a Drill Press =A0 =A0 KOUHOUPT, RUDY =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 HSM'82:S/O26 The article is also in book " The Shop Wisdom of Rudy Kouhoupt" from Village Press. Cheers, Kelley"<

Good article, This is what inspired me to convert a Taiwan drill press into a vertical mill. In my previous post, I enumerated the step, I had to take. This conversion worked well for me. I made the table described in the article.

I machined various parts for a steam engine, a boring head (out of aluminum) with a dovetailed slide. I have also machined mild steel and drill rod, along with brass. So, a drill press can be used for milling.

But, as I wrote. I bought a Grizzly mini-mill and the drill press is not used much any more.

Leo (pearland, tx)

Thanks,

That is interesting. Exactly opposite of what I expected. I guess I need to order a reprint or the book.

Advancing the tool in the Z axis is my most difficult maneuver. Sometimes, I'll mill a piece of wood and use various shims to effect a Z axis movement. The typical shims in this instance is (sheets of printer paper ~.005") or (manila file folders ~.01"). When doing this, I usually hold the block of wood with my hands. Sometimes I'll use a fence if I need a rabbet or shoulder. I have one of those Chinese X-Y vices that I usually use when I mill AL.

Thanks,

Bruce