No Mag base drill, what to do?

[ntsqd]

I've wanted one since I first used one in about 1984. Just not been something that I could justify. A while back I needed to poke some large holes thru a plate at an angle. I could have temporarily made it so that a mag base drill could be used, but since I didn't have one.....

Then I had an idea. What about the hole-saw tubing notcher, could I use it to poke those holes?
Yes, it does work. Maybe these pics will help someone out in the future.

 

[The Cobbler]

good idea, assuming you can drill the work piece

 

[txvwnut]

That's thinking outside of the box. I've got one of those stands you put a hand held drill in then use it like a drill press. I'm thinking about getting some high pull electromagnets and affix them to the base and see if I can hillbilly engineer a mag drill.

 

[SwissMetric]

You can use somenthing like a Fein MBS 16 X or Alfra SP-V magnetic base drill stand which can be used with some random hand drill as regular magnetic base drill are compact units with integrated drill unit. It also allows to drill small diameters as the regular magnetic base drills RPM's are way too low. Ever tried to drill a 5 mm (ca. 0.2") hole in 12 mm (ca. 1/2") steel using a handheld drill?
Both Fein and Alfra are high quality.
Such magnetic base drills are great can save a lot of time.

On a budget I'd use a basic common drill stand and strap it around the beam, tube or structure if possible and if not, like for plates, use something like a Magswitch:

https://de.magswitch.com

Just mentioned as example. The magnet system must be quite strong and the thickness of the material is important too. If working overhead some safety straps should always be used.

​

 

[Chris_Hamilton]

Curious what is it you are drilling/working on in the pic?

 

[larry_g]

That's thinking outside of the box. I've got one of those stands you put a hand held drill in then use it like a drill press. I'm thinking about getting some high pull electromagnets and affix them to the base and see if I can hillbilly engineer a mag drill.

I have been know to use a drill stand like that and clamp it to the part needing drilled.. Even works on wood.

lg

 

[nadogail]

I have been open to the acquisition of the transformers from old Microwave Ovens to homebrew my own Mag Base.

 

[ntsqd]

Curious what is it you are drilling/working on in the pic?

Protofab rear bumper for an FSB. Holes are for sleeves to mount a pintle with.

Keep in mind that the notcher used above is the $40 HF unit, likely within a justifiable price range for most.

 

[ipgenie]

Electro magnets used for door access systems are available with several hundred pounds of holding force and are usually 12v or 24v. Might be a pretty easy way to add a magnetic base to something.

600lb is less than $30 on Amazon, $80 for 1200lb