Re: Drill-press for milling?

["Jim Lux" <jimlux-at-jpl.nasa.gov> (by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>)]

Yes and no...

The basic problem is that a drill press isn't designed to take a
significant side load on the quill (the part that goes up and down), unlike
the usual vertical mill. Likewise, the usual drill chuck doesn't deal with
side/angle loads well, unlike the collet in a mill. On the other hand, I've
seen model maker's mills with smaller bearings than my drill press.  So
it's not a Bridgeport, it's not like you are milling an engine block out of
steel, go slow, use lots of lube, etc. and it might work.  And, if you
really thrash the bearings in your drill press, it's not that hard to
replace them (speaking from hard personal experience, here).

----------
> From: Tesla List <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
> To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
> Subject: Drill-press for milling?
> Date: Saturday, June 03, 2000 11:55 AM
> 
> Original Poster: "Dan and Nancy" <ntesla-at-logicsouth-dot-com> 
> 
> Hi all,
> I have a drill-press, some end mills, and an x/y milling vise.
> Would it be possible to mill flats on a motor armature for a synchronous
> gap using this setup? The drill-press is fairly heavy duty.
> Thanks,
> Dan Kline
> ntesla-at-logicsouth-dot-com
> 
>