Using a mill as a drill press for wood?

[sansbury]

I'm in the process of emptying my wall--I mean, rebuilding my shop (by choice, only good things), and am wondering if any of y'all have tried to use a manual mill as your only "drill press" in a mixed woodworking/metalworking shop and how it worked out.

My situation is that I've historically been 99% set up as a CNC machine shop, but my new building has been laid out with some dedicated space for some nice basic woodworking equipment, think a good contractor saw, bench, etc. It will probably be priority #2/#3 behind metalwork and other mad science projects but will be nice to have some space I can leave set up for random DIY projects and whatnot.

I'd initially been planning to replace my little $50 HF benchtop special with something like the Nova Viking, but then I started to think that gets me a good part of the way to a good smaller mill. While my only mill for the past 10 years was a CNC, there have always been times when a manual machine would be a little faster or just nice to prep stock for the CNC.

My thinking was that I could build a swappable fixture subplate that holds either a milling vise or a "drill press table" with a fence and a center pocket for drilling through holes. That way it would only take a minute or two to swap between uses. Dust and chips are a potential concern but the fixture plate and a shop vac nearby should be able to limit that? I also don't use flood coolant on open machines, so they're not going to be soaking wet and covered in tramp oil all the time.

That said, maybe this is an idea that only seems good on paper and I should just have a drill press, or get both if I really want a manual mill. I *mostly* have enough space and budget but saving one or both of them in a smart way is never a bad thing.

 

[Boogerman]

I have a Bridgeport, a round column mill/drill machine, and a drill press. I couldn't imagine being happy with drilling holes with the mill/drill, much less the bridgeport! Every time I use the mill as a drill press, I remember why I don't like it. Slow to set up with a chuck and get working height right, limited quill travel, limited space once you get some kind of workholder or table onto the mill table.

 

[kaymccampbell]

In my old shop I used a Bridgeport as a drill press, till I got a HF dedicated drill press. It worked fine.

My new much smaller shop, I had a benchtop DP, but the motor flamed out, so I went for the not the largest HF DP. It's really nice, has t-slots, a big motor, coolant if I want it. Sad bit is that they no longer make it anymore.

 

[b-dog]

I have a Bridgeport & I gave my benchtop drill press to a friend years ago. For the mill, I just screwed a short piece of plywood (2" x 12") in the middle of a larger piece of plywood (15" x 15") in the shape of a shorty T. I clamp the small piece in the vise and the platform is close enough to a drill press for me. There's no clamp for the work so I only use this to drill wood. I don't have a fence but I guess I never knew I needed one.

@Boogerman, get an air power draw bar, it'll change your life. If you don't have a cordless drill on the knee height adjustment, do that too. All the rigmarole you listed is about 30secs, casually, if you have the convenient add-ons.

 

[Boogerman]

@Boogerman, get an air power draw bar, it'll change your life. If you don't have a cordless drill on the knee height adjustment, do that too. All the rigmarole you listed is about 30secs, casually, if you have the convenient add-ons.

Have it. Convenient, would be better if I was 4 inches taller, I'm kind of a short guy.

 

[whateg01]

Have it. Convenient, would be better if I was 4 inches taller, I'm kind of a short guy.

View attachment 2264446

Sure looks like that handle could be easily modified.

 

[Boogerman]

Sure looks like that handle could be easily modified.

That would be a good plan! I'm just setting this up in a new location, have to rig up air to it, and then will look at modding it.

 

[OccupantRJ]

I have done quite a bit of wood operations through the years on a Bridgeport at work. Keeping fine wood powder out of things is the challenge. The flywaste will migrate into the clearance gaps of everything that moves and cause drag, mostly the spindle housing if you keep the rest of the machine covered as well as possible. I would have to flush the spindle to casting clearance with WD40 and clean it well occasionally as it would get a bit of drag while in use. I tend to not use my home Bridgeport for wood if possible due to the contamination factor.

 

[seber]

Not only does wood dust cause a lot of drag but gets into everything and causes corrosion. A benchtop drill press would be a much better choice.

 

[JSGAuto]

I don't use my Bridgeport everyday, or week, so any project is fun on it. I've used it to pre drill pocket screws in wood railings. Perfect repeating angles, why not! Bore large holes in diminsional lumber.....ect.....Clean up is easy, have a shop vac near by.

Using it for any drilling does take longer to set up, but power and rigidity is really nice.

Saving the space of not having other machines is worth it for me.

 

[sansbury]

This is all useful.

I think I'll hang on to my $50 benchtop special for "dirty work," and see if it gets enough use to be worth upgrading to something slightly nicer (mainly a bit more HP and variable speed).

The Nova units are really neat but most of what I want them for would be metal/plastic, which I can do on a manual mill with DRO. It won't have the tapping functionality but if I'm tapping more than one or two holes I'm probably doing them on the CNC anyway.

 

[danielbuck]

I've been thinking about moving my big drill press outside (under a covered parking area) to make room for a milling machine. I too thought I might get away with using the mill as a drill press, but it seems (from searching around) that alot of people just don't like using them as drill presses. My plan is to move the drill press outside, then try to use the milling machine as a drill press, and if I keep going back to the drill press outside, then keep it. if I find I'm ok with using the milling machine, then sell the drill press.

 

[sansbury]

but it seems (from searching around) that alot of people just don't like using them as drill presses

I understand the cross-contamination concerns (I'd never put wood on my CNC) but I wonder if the problems people have are more due to having other woodworking processes nearby (e.g. sawing, routing, sanding). In my experience, drilling wood produces relatively chunky "chips" as opposed to fine dust. The big stuff is easy enough to clean *if* you stay on top of it, but the fines are another matter. I'm planning on air filtration as well as a dust extractor and an evacuation system to keep that stuff down.

 

[Aaron_W]

Can it work? Yes, but gets old fast. I have a small knee mill and an older (but not cool vintage older) Craftsman bench top DP. Wasn't real happy with either as a DP for woodworking.

I later got an older Delta radial drill press which allows me to work on fairly larger pieces (up to 31" swing) in a bench top drill press. The Delta gives me a nice size envelope, but it is still basically just a light duty bench top drill press with a big swing.

I've got a small shop so space is at a premium, but I've still got my eyes out for a nice 15-17" floor standing drill press as it would be nice to have something for heavier drilling tasks.

 

[ez-duzit]

Forgetaboutit.

 

[PopcornSutton]

I use my mill on wood, plastic, and oh yes, metal! The drill press is for drill holes where accuracy isn't the high priority.

 

[PhantomEB]

Would second the opinion just get a bench top drill press..

 

[Old Man Roger]

Once you have a bigger drill press you will find uses for it.

 

[Ultradog MN]

I started with a vintage knee mill. A couple/few years later I upgraded to a Bridgeport. They were my only way of drilling holes (except for hand drills and a mag drill)
A few years after that I bought a gear head drill press and am SO glad I don't hafta use the mill for simple holes anymore.

 

[rsanter]

I have milled and drilled wood on my Bridgeport a number of times.
The issue is sawdust contamination in the ways and guts of the mill.
I cover the ways with rags and dont allow a buildup of sawdust ( shop vac regularly) to avoid issues

 

[My Old Tools]

I have a Powermatic Burke MillRite with the rapid down lever on the quill feed. It was used for years exclusively as a drill press making small fixtures. I don't use it for wood as I have 17" and 15" Delta/Rockwell drill presses for that.