Drill Press keeps stalling, what's the problem?

Noshtero

Noshtero

Joined
Oct 10, 2002
Messages
1,551
I'm working on my 6th or so knife. The first few went fine, but now when I try to drill tang holes, after I'm about half way through an 1/8" piece of steel, the bit jams. Then I have to shut the press off and wiggle the blade off. If I REALLY baby it, I can make it through an 1/8" piece of steel. Forget about 3/16". I end up having to drill from either side and meet in the middle, which is crap.

I'm using:
Harbor Freight $90 drill press
Craftsman Professional Cobalt drill bits
1/8" annealled 01

I have better luck with thinner bits. 1/8" bit I can usually make it through ok. 1/4" is tough, but with 5 or 6 times getting stuck, wiggling the blade off, and starting again, I can usually make it through. Anything bigger than 1/4" and it's a guarantee I'm not making it through without getting stuck at least 8-10 times.

So what's the problem? Bits dull? My little Harbor Freight drill press is crapping out? Even trying to drill through wood scales ends up slightly burning the wood. If my memory is right, I have the drill press set to the middle speed, which would be 1720 RPM.

One thing I've noticed is that when I come back at a hole after the blade got stuck, it looks like the bit torques a little to one side. Like, pretend you had the hole ever so slightly mis-alligned, and so the bit had to bend a little to get into the hole. That's what it looks like. The bit jumps to the side ever so slightly. Might there be something wrong with my drill press?
 
Bits are dull and slow that press down as slow as it will go. It also helps to clap the blade down so it doesn't move while you're drilling.
 
Sometimes you can dress up the cutting edge of drill bits with a hand stone. Just a little dullness can cause grief. Buy some very good drill bits in the sizes you use most often. Go slow with a low RPM and use some lube-coolant. As a real general rule, the harder the material the slower the RPM. Get a carbide bit for real problems, but do not use them except as needed. They are very brittle, and break easily (and are expensive).
Alden
 
I use one of those tiny benchtop drill presses also. Set your drill for the slowest setting. Clamp your work, get new bits, use cutting fluid. I have a pump oilcan filled with tapmatic that I use when drilling. Control the drill with one hand and squirt the cutting fluid with the other. I keep a chip pan underneath the drill to catch cutting fluid runoff and shavings. Wife got mad cause I used one of her brownie pans. After the pan gets full of fluid, I use coffee filters and fill the oil can back up.

I have one of those Irwin step drills that goes from 1/8 to 1/2 Ti coated and it works real well for getting to 1/4 inch. For 1/8 or 3/16 I use plain jane HSS (American of course) bits.
 
Check the belt, as it maybe slipping. I had a similar experience when the belt got old on my Delta drill press. I changed the belt and it ran like new again.
 
There are several possibilities as you noted.
Your belt is slipping; did you use the belt release when changing speeds? if not you may have streched your belt too far and it is slipping. If so replace with a good green industrial belt from the local auto parts store.
Your bits are dull; either buy new ones www.mscdirect.com or learn to sharpen them. If you have a belt sander, then you can sharpen your onw drill bits. Go to a local machine shop and ask, you might have to slip one of them a $20, but it will be worth it in the long run. And its easy, if you can make a knife from scratch, then you can sharpen your own bits with no problem.
You are applying too much pressure; Let the bit cut, if you really have to bear down on it, then your bits are dull and you are only risking injury.
Finally, as has been mentioned, CLAMP YOUR WORK! It helps.
Thanks,
Del
 
Just thought I'd mention that I do clamp my work. I have those HF vice clamp things. I love them!

I looked up a couple tutorials on sharpening drill bits. I may give that a go. I'll pick some lubricant up as well.

I've never adjusted the belt speed. The middle setting is what it came on.
 
I use the cheap packs of HF bits and they seem to last quite a while, go slow and make sure you get a curl of metal, I use a little oil just to get more life out of the bits. I had one of those drill presses and it worked fine for me, I upgraded to a free standing floor model and it is amazing but still need a slow speed.
 
the difference between drilling with and without fluid is like night and day!! you'll see...
 
for larger holes, do you pilot drill first? if not that may be a problewm, as well as all of the other things people have mentioned, Definitely getting some cutting fluid, it makes so much difference
 
I can only parrot these things: sharpen your bits, slow it down, use cutting fluid. Your local hardware store should carry some kind of cutting fluid, pipe threading oil will work well but even old motor oil or even water is better than nothing.
 
Sharpening bits by hand is a skill not easily learned, especially small bits. Keeping the cutting edges the same length is the key, otherwise the bit will drift while drilling. General sells a jig that mounts next to a bench grinder that will do a pretty good job, and for more money the "Drill Doctor" works like a charm (provided you respect the fact it's made of plastic and don't force anything) and is a complete unit with a small grinder built in.
 
Another thing to check would be if the pulleys are tight on there shafts. I've had the set screwws back off a bit and the drill press will appear to run until you put a load on it. I'd try leaving the gaurd open just to watch to see where things stop moving. Listen for the motor running when everything else stops.
Now this sounds far fetched, but if you have the press wired and plugged into 220 and for some reason you lose one side of the 220 line it will run at reduced power and drive you nuts as to what the heck is wrong.
 
Mahoney said:
Sharpening bits by hand is a skill not easily learned, especially small bits. Keeping the cutting edges the same length is the key, otherwise the bit will drift while drilling. General sells a jig that mounts next to a bench grinder that will do a pretty good job, and for more money the "Drill Doctor" works like a charm (provided you respect the fact it's made of plastic and don't force anything) and is a complete unit with a small grinder built in.
Click to expand...

I am sorry, but I must disagree. It took me ten minutes to learn and I have been doing my own ever since. That was about ten years ago and I have sharpened bits as small as a #60 drill. I use my belt sander, the same one I use for making knives. I agree that you have to keep the point centered, but its not much different than centering the edge on a knife blade.
 
Noshtero said:
I'm using:
Harbor Freight $90 drill press
Click to expand...

-There's half of your problem right there.

If my memory is right, I have the drill press set to the middle speed, which would be 1720 RPM.
Click to expand...

-And there's the other half.

Even for a little 1/8" bit, that's probably a little fast for a hand drill press on good steel. Too slow is better than too fast here.

Cutting lube is vital- the type of cutting fluid is almost irrelevant, but you need some lube. Not only will it help the bit last longer, but it'll help cool both the bit and the workpiece. And for knife steels, there's a definite risk of heating the work enough to spot harden it- which, even if it doesn't get full hard, can still harden up enough to reduce drill life.

You do NOT need 'exotic' cutting fluids or tapping fluids. Specialty oils might make a difference in high-end computerized production machining, but your little hand drill press and Home Depot drill bit won't know the difference whether it's spit or lighter fluid.

WD-40 is fine, plain 30wt motor oil in a trigger-pump can is even cheaper. I'd definitely recommend a dark "sulfurized" cutting oil when drilling stainless, but for carbon steels, any handy oil is fine.

And I'll jump on the bandwagon and also suggest learning how to sharpen drill bits. There is no secret to it. It's hard to describe, but then, it's also hard to describe how to balance on a bicycle- but once you learn, it's easy.

There's books available- some good, some bad- but as noted, if you can have a patient, knowledgeable sort show you, it's actually absurdly easy.

Might there be something wrong with my drill press?
Click to expand...

-Yes. It was made in a Chinese sweatshop, costs a third of what you might charge for a cheap, rushed knife, and was made from melted-down beer cans, yet to expect it not to wobble, knock or vibrate, and you believe when it says "1/3rd HP", that the motor actually puts out one-third of a US-spec Horsepower.

Cheap tools give cheap service and produce cheap results. I'm still frequently surprised to see a maker spend thousands on a KMG and a half-dozen tool arms, or spend hundreds carefully machining and assembling a homebrew clone belt grinder, but then skimp on virtually every other tool in the shop- a $125 bandsaw, a $49.95 drill press, a $29.95 Ryobi bench grinder, and a pack of $4.99 gold-colored drill bits.

I'll see a maker spend ten paragraphs in three posts arguing the benefits of a certain alloy of steel and sophisticated salt-bath for making the best knives, and yet will buy cheap drill bits from Home Depot because the package said "Cobalt" or "Titanium" on it- and will neither know nor care how those buzzword materials are supposed to help the drill perform better.

Bit I digress. :D

Doc.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top