What can a mill be used for?
 

Can a regular drill press use an end mill bit and kind of convert the
drill press into a crude end mill?

Hoow do those end mill bits cut? DO they go straight down like a drill
bit? Do they make a square instead of a hole?

Check this out
http://www.pathcom.com/~vhchan/cnc/cnc.html

On 25 Apr 2005 05:18:43 -0700, wrote:

Can a regular drill press use an end mill bit and kind of convert the
drill press into a crude end mill?

Hoow do those end mill bits cut? DO they go straight down like a drill
bit? Do they make a square instead of a hole?

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/...s.metalworking

wrote in message
ups.com...
Can a regular drill press use an end mill bit and kind of convert the
drill press into a crude end mill?

Hoow do those end mill bits cut? DO they go straight down like a drill
bit? Do they make a square instead of a hole?

Ignoramus8409 wrote:

On 25 Apr 2005 05:18:43 -0700, wrote:

Can a regular drill press use an end mill bit and kind of convert the
drill press into a crude end mill?


The answer that I saw, quite convincing, was no. The method of holding
chucks in a drill press (taper) does not hold the chuck properly when
a transverse force (horizontal) is applied.



I've heard the effect referred to as "hand grenading". A spinning chuck
with a sharp end mill in it bouncing all over the place trying to find
your flesh. Not a pretty thought.

Not all drill presses are made like that though. My Craftsman floor
model, which I bought new from Sears about 43 years ago, has a round
threaded collar with a spanner wrench hole in it which positively keeps
the chuck from dropping out.

I doubt that the bearings in it are ballsy enough to take very heavy
side loads, but I have on occassion cheated, grabbed an end mill in the
chuck, bolted an cheepo x-y table onto the drill press, and done a
little light milling of aluminum or wood parts.

YMMV,

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia

(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"As long as there are final exams, there will be prayer in public
schools"

Tim Williams wrote:

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/...s.metalworking

wrote in message
ups.com...

Can a regular drill press use an end mill bit and kind of convert the
drill press into a crude end mill?

Yes, but the emphasis is on ***CRUDE***!!

Hoow do those end mill bits cut? DO they go straight down like a drill
bit? Do they make a square instead of a hole?

End mills come in many varieties, and cut differently. Some are said to
be 'center cutting', and will drill holes much like drill (but not as
well). Others (the most common kind) need an existing hole to follow, as
they cannot remove the material at the center of the hole. End mills can
also cut on their SIDES, thus elongating a hole, or 'planing' the side
of a workpiece. This is where the drill press falls down compared to a
real milling machine. Such side cutting creates large side forces which
the bearings and quill of the drill press are NOT designed to withstand.
Thus the machine flexes badly, resulting in tool 'chatter' and cuts of
unpredictable depth. Using a drillpress for milling is a very bad idea
(but some get away with it, sometimes, due to luck or skill).

Another problem is that end mills create large AXIAL forces, trying to
pull the cutter out of the chuck, or pull the chuck OFF the machine.
Worse, the shanks of end mills (unlike drills) are hardened, so a drill
chuck cannot really grip them. Drill press chucks are not normally
fastened to the machine ... they are just pressed onto a taper, and be
pulled OFF relatively easy. NOT good! The tool holders on a milling
machine (usually milling cutter holders or collets, NOT chucks) are held
into the machine by a threaded drawbar, grip FAR better than a chuck,
and can't easily come off the machine.

These are just some of the problems.

Dan Mitchell
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