Drilling with milling machine

Stromberg Knives

Stromberg Knives

strombergknives.com
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Jan 3, 2015
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I recently took delivery on a mini mill which I intend to use for both milling, drilling and tapping with a tapmatic.

I'm pretty familiar with how to setup for milling. But what would be the best setup for drilling semi precision holes on knife blanks?

My former drill press used a overhead clamping system so I didn't need a vise. It was very quick to setup and drill, unfortunately the drill press in itself wasn't rigid enough for my liking.

The mini mill is rigid enough, for drilling large and/or precision holes I can take the time and do a more precise setup, but for drilling pin holes in knife blanks, I need something quick and easy.

How would you do it? Some sort of drilling vice? Sacrificial piece underneath? Toggle clamps?

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Thanks!
 
Contact cement to MDF? Gotta love cans of sprayable cement - use it all the time to revive old PSA sanding disks. Just some squirts of lacquer thinner to remove it later. But then again double stick tape is easy too.
 
You could take a piece of aluminum and drill and tap some holes for toggle clamps, or make them otherise easy to move, and a couple holes for bolts with t-slot nuts. Then drill into the plate. Easy on easy off.

I just throw a clamp over whatever I'm drilling and position the table to drill over the T slot, if it doesn't fit in the vise well.
 
This shows the use of t-slot workholding elements, to drill and ream a precise pivot hole. Note the use of a 1-2-3 block as a flat drilling pad... and the support combination on the right which can help sometimes when things get tight.
I prefer this, as drilling over the block ensures a perpendicular hole, where as setting on parallels is less than ideal with the blade already profiled, and does allow for the possibility of some slight elevation difference if not tapped down perfectly tight.

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For just drilling general holes for pins and pivots and whatnot, I just 1-2-3 block or two in my vise on some parallels, and center my drill (which more often than not is less 1/4" diameter or less) over one of the holes in the 1-2-3 block. I'll then just drill the hole slightly undersized, and finish with a chucked reamer to final size. If the hole needs to be bigger than the holes in the blocks, just space two blocks apart accordingly, and drill between them. If you're worried about helicoptering the part, just stick a snug pin or bolt into a nearby hole in the 1-2-3 block.
 
123 block as mentioned or a mini pallet. The mini pallet is nice for various milling work too
 
Thanks guys! A lot of great advice for a beginner at this.

I've made a lot of holes, but never with a milling machine. Which was evident when I after just 30 minutes put a nice blind hole in the table. :D I just assumed there to be a hole under my drill bit. :rolleyes:
 
Just used Salems method to pop a third hole in this already hard AEB-L blank with a carbide endmill.

IMG_20171105_12233.jpg
 
kuraki said:
Just used Salems method to pop a third hole in this already hard AEB-L blank with a carbide endmill.
Click to expand...

I use carbide endmills all the time for drilling fastener holes in AEB-L! That way fastener location becomes a more integral part of the handle fitting process, which I like- also not all blades in a batch will get the same handle treatment and thus holes may need added or moved after HT.
 
Salem Straub said:
I use carbide endmills all the time for drilling fastener holes in AEB-L! That way fastener location becomes a more integral part of the handle fitting process, which I like- also not all blades in a batch will get the same handle treatment and thus holes may need added or moved after HT.
Click to expand...

Why would endmills be a better solution than drill bits?
 
Carbide drill bits work ok sometimes. I used an endmill in this case because I was opening up two existing holes and that's hell on drills. So I just plunked the third hole in with the endmill.
 
I already have small carbide endmills for stuff, and I like the way they cut... if you start them with a little care, they'll plunge cut you a very nice true hole indeed. Not necessarily "better" than a carbide drill bit, but much more versatile. Also if you ever need to just "scoot" a hole a little, no prob with an endmill. Not so much with a drill bit. At times I'll use a carbide burr too to open up or move a hole a little.
 
A follow up!

Thanks for all the good advice. Here's what I came up with.

I mill on the left side and drill on the right side. The clamp is an auto adjusting Bessey, STC-HH70. It works perfect for clamping my blanks which usually range from 2mm to 6mm. It can even clamp up to 60mm if I need to clamp stuff on 1-2-3 blocks or such. The two screws mounts to the t-slots so I can easily move it or remove it if necessary.

b7CGHpU.jpg

3JpZYXa.jpg

nz4U3li.jpg
 
Currenthill,
I like the fixture plate for holding down flat work that won’t fit on top of parallels easily. I might have to make one of those!
Not sure whether I’ll have it take up table space or mount it in the Kurt though.
 
I got to say, it's amazing how much easier it is to drill holes with the mini mill compared to my small drill press.
 
Jonathans said:
Currenthill,
I like the fixture plate for holding down flat work that won’t fit on top of parallels easily. I might have to make one of those!
Not sure whether I’ll have it take up table space or mount it in the Kurt though.
Click to expand...

http://oxtool.blogspot.ca/2012/12/christmas-gifts-for-machinists.html
You can find more info
Tom Lipton Mini Pallet


You can put rows of dowel pin and threaded holes.
Make it thick enough, then when you install it and need it to be really flat, just skim pass = now it's flat again.
 
currenthill said:
A follow up!

Thanks for all the good advice. Here's what I came up with.

I mill on the left side and drill on the right side. The clamp is an auto adjusting Bessey, STC-HH70. It works perfect for clamping my blanks which usually range from 2mm to 6mm. It can even clamp up to 60mm if I need to clamp stuff on 1-2-3 blocks or such. The two screws mounts to the t-slots so I can easily move it or remove it if necessary.

b7CGHpU.jpg

3JpZYXa.jpg

nz4U3li.jpg
Click to expand...

I believe you and I are about in the same boat... My bench top mill should be here in another week or two then I will be going through what you are! Thanks for all the great info and follow up pics.

So the plate screws into the t-slots? Would love to see pics of the underneath side how it works if you have time. Also, curious... Do you use the chuck for everything or switch it out for collets when milling a slot or something?
 
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