Compact drill press for AR work that doesn't suck?

[Microadventure]

there is not enough room under those benchtop drill presses for the bit, the vise, and the work. you can put the work in the vise but not drill it, hand hold the work while drilling, or drill the vise.

Little Machine Shop 3990 mini mill


Mini mill comparison chart by Little Machine Shop that shows the LMS 3990 to be vastly superior. You're shocked, I'm sure

[jerrysimons]

#1. You might try a dovetail column mill/drill. They suck for milling but are pretty darn good for drilling. They can be had cheaper than grizzly but grizzly CS is pretty good in my experience if you have a problem.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Mini...ce=grizzly.com

#2. If you want a really true hole, a drill bit won't do it alone. You've got to drill and then ream to size. Drill bits wander and flex too much.

#3 if you're dead set on a drill press, grizzly again might be a good place to look. Some grizzly is chicom, some is taiwan, but in either case the designs and QC are generally better.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/12-S...ce=grizzly.com

there is not enough room under those benchtop drill presses for the bit, the vise, and the work. you can put the work in the vise but not drill it, hand hold the work while drilling, or drill the vise.

Little Machine Shop 3990 mini mill


Mini mill comparison chart by Little Machine Shop that shows the LMS 3990 to be vastly superior. You're shocked, I'm sure

I feel in over my head, why a mini mill over a drill press? I wont be making lateral cuts, is it just that they are more sturdy?

For a drill press, either Wilton or Jet.

Know anything about this Jet? http://www.cpojettools.com/jet-35440...efault,pd.html

I have to say it looks strikingly similar to all the other drill press is this price range which all look quite similar to the WEN. Makes me think they are all made in the same Chinese factory.

these two caught my eye also:
15" bench
http://www.cpojettools.com/jet-71620...efault,pd.html

17" floor
http://www.cpojettools.com/jet-71630...efault,pd.html

[nova3930]

The dove tail column on the mini mill will hold your lateral position better than the round column on a drill press

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[nova3930]

And fyi jet is mostly chicom these days too

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[Microadventure]

why a mini mill over a drill press? I wont be making lateral cuts, is it just that they are more sturdy?

In my experience you need to go one step up to get to adequate when you buy anything Chinese. a Chinese mini mill is where a good old art deco Delta drill press was fifty years ago. a Chinese drill press would be adequate for pressing grapes in small quantities.

and it gives you an excuse to buy a box of 80 percent lowers.

[dentron]

I feel in over my head, why a mini mill over a drill press? I wont be making lateral cuts, is it just that they are more sturdy?



Know anything about this Jet? http://www.cpojettools.com/jet-35440...efault,pd.html

I have to say it looks strikingly similar to all the other drill press is this price range which all look quite similar to the WEN. Makes me think they are all made in the same Chinese factory.

these two caught my eye also:
15" bench
http://www.cpojettools.com/jet-71620...efault,pd.html

17" floor
http://www.cpojettools.com/jet-71630...efault,pd.html

PMed.

[Wolfpack45]

If you are on a budget take a look at the WEN presses. Suspiciously similar to the JET models and they have a reputation for being a pretty good product.

[MistWolf]

Thanks. Assuming I can obtain a drill press that will actually spin a bit around its central axis (might be cost prohibitive), what techniques should I use?
My thinking is to drill out the .046" "pilot" hole in the set-screw to one drill bit size less than the port size I want, then ream it out to size. For example I want a .065" port restriction for a 12.5" carbine barrel. I made a jig to mount in a drill press vise to hold the set-screw while drilling. I'll Start with a .063" wire gauge #52 drill bit and move to a .0645" chucking reamer which is .0005" less than desired size to account for some wobble in the drill press (wobble wont make the hole smaller only bigger). Check work with a pin gauge. Proof is in the pudding, right? If it works it works. Any tips for or issues in the process above?

As a part of the cost justification for attempting to make my own inserts and as a function of the fact that in order to tap the 10-32 gas-admission port the tap opens up the rear set-screw threads a little when working it through them (this 10-32 tap is short enough to tap the admission-port independent of the rear set-screw threads even on a .625" gas-block bore) I would like to be able to use the drill press to also pin the gas-blocks to the barrels. If a BRD Engineering hand-drill jig can work well for pinning a gas-block, why cant a good drill press and a solid end-mill bit?

Things you'll need to watch for-
-Drill bits flex. When they flex, they tend to wander off center before starting the cut, especially when drilling round stock like barrels. This results in mislocated holes and scarring of the material around the hole. This can be prevented by center punching the hole location and using a starter drill. Other techniques include making and using a drill guide. A drill guide is a hardened bushing machined to a diameter that just fits the drill bit/core drill/reamer you're using. The bushing is fitted into a bar or something similar that is usually clamped to the workpiece to keep the bit from wandering and flexing and sets the angle to be drilled, normally 90°
-Speeds and feeds. Cutting speed and feed rate will affect hole quality and tool life and breakage. You can get a book that will tell you what speeds & feeds are recommended for different types of materials
-Step drilling is your friend. Start off drilling a smaller hole and step it up to final size. There is no single correct method to step drilling. The usual process is to first pilot the hole with a drill bit, step the hole with a piloted core drill and finish it with a piloted reamer. This not only gives you a clean and round hole, but reduces breakage. The exact process used will be determined by final hole size, material type and your own skill and experience.
-Stay away from cheap cheap drill bits. The drill bits I use the most are double margin cobalt. You should be able to look up what that means. Double margins wander less and drill straighter and rounder than single margins and cobalt is harder and cuts better that high speed steel. Cobalt drills do shatter easier than high speed steel but are much superior for metal working
-Use drill lube. Experience will tell you when and how much.
-Use drill stops. You don't want to break through and damage the rifling on the other side of the bore
-Learn how to properly clamp the work piece
-Learn to make and use tooling to reduce set up time, speed up production and promote repeatability. Setting up will take longer than actually drilling the hole
-Practice, practice, practice. You gain skill and experience by doing. Lay out hole patterns and drill them. Always evaluate your work and figure out what you did right, what you did wrong and how to improve the process. Note keeping helps
-Learn the differences between drill bits, core drills and reamers and how to use them
-Pick the brains of others. Become your own SME

[Dave L.]

I have had this Skil drill press since 2013. Very cheap and effective. I've drilled at least 5 barrels out using a Jigs for Vltor-profiled gas blocks and also SLR gas blocks.

My method that has worked for me: run it on the slowest speed, use lots of oil as it's cutting, and I like the 3-FLUTE CARBIDE DRILL Bits from Brownells.

[Clint]

Op, be sure to post once you have this up and running. I considering toying with something similar as I have a few gas blocks that are to large for the BRT ports. But I also need to open up the set screws holding the gas block to the barrel.

We now offer larger "HD" CustomTune Gas Ports that are compatible with nearly all gas blocks, but absolutely require tapping of the gas block.