When do you “let the tool do the job” or put force into it?

[mikey03]

I always heard “let the tool do the job” don’t put alot of pressure into the power tool like a grinder or a sander, just hold it up and let it work.

and last week you guys were nice enough to correct me about my drilling into a metal jack with a cordless drill by hand that I need to put alot of pressure into the drill and go slow on the speed.

I got to use my die grinder this week to help my mom remove some rust from some steel lawn ornaments she wants to repaint and I realized I should ask because maybe there’s other tools I should be putting more force into

then I thought maybe a rule of thumb is based on the speed of the tool if it’s going real fast then let it work because putting pressure on it just going to jam it up and it doesnt need your help. And if it’s going slow then put pressure on it. Is that a good rule?

is there anything power tool related other than drilling into metal by hand that I should put pressure on and not “let the tool do the work” or is that the one exception

 

[LWB]

As soon as you have to put extra pressure on a tool and "bog it down" it's working too hard. Use your eyes and ears and you'll get a feel for it. Don't force a tool to work faster than it should be.

 

[Chris_Hamilton]

My opinion you only put a lot of pressure on a dull drill bit. It is not correct or the right way. Just a work around for a dull bit. A sharp drill bit requires just a little pressure and the slow speed helps it live.

As for the rest of your question you sound fixated a touch on "pressure". Grinders, sanders and the like don't work better with you bearing down on the tool. Let the tool work, observe what it's doing. In general though you never want to bear down and put a lot of pressure on something. It can be dangerous to do so if the tool slips off the workpiece and into you or something you didn't want damaged around or beside the workpiece. You have less control of a tool as well when you do that. As you are learning, approach power tools in this manner. You want to have a good grip on them, holding in such a way as to maintain control at all times. In general you let the tool do the work with at most moderate pressure. You always want to observe what you are doing and what the tool is doing while using it.

 

[dffay]

When the material curls out, you’re at the right speed, torque and pressure. It’s most apparent using a drill press (operative word is ‘press’).
As to the saying, buffers with compound on the wheels have taught me about letting the tool do the work.

 

[RoninB4]

A certain amount of pressure will cause a change in the sound of the motor, every power tool is different. If you listen carefully to the sound and watch to see if the motor slows a touch then it will be ok. Excessive pressure, regardless of the power tool, is seldom a good thing. With industrial machinery it's ok, with hand held power tools it usually isn't ok. Sounds vague but some experimentation will yield experience. When I use any power tool I approach stall speed carefully because I have no idea what it's capable of or what condition it's in.

 

[ArcReactorKC]

My opinion you only put a lot of pressure on a dull drill bit. It is not correct or the right way. Just a work around for a dull bit. A sharp drill bit requires just a little pressure and the slow speed helps it live.

As for the rest of your question you sound fixated a touch on "pressure". Grinders, sanders and the like don't work better with you bearing down on the tool. Let the tool work, observe what it's doing. In general though you never want to bear down and put a lot of pressure on something. It can be dangerous to do so if the tool slips off the workpiece and into you or something you didn't want damaged around or beside the workpiece. You have less control of a tool as well when you do that. As you are learning, approach power tools in this manner. You want to have a good grip on them, holding in such a way as to maintain control at all times. In general you let the tool do the work with at most moderate pressure. You always want to observe what you are doing and what the tool is doing while using it.

High pressure and low rpm usually will give better results as far as a rounder through hole, and a quicker cut per revolution.

 

[Hal]

Many years ago, in reference to the old “misery whip” crosscut logging saws, my father said, “If it was meant to ride on, it would have a seat.”

 

[snorvet]

When I was a youngster 60+ years ago, my grandpa would tell me "let the saw do the work". I still hear his voice when I'm using a hand saw.

 

[Merch1]

When I had my welding shop I was working in a big hydroelectric power house. The last chore was to core a 4 inch hole in concrete. I rented the requisite tooling and went about drilling this hole. Finished the coring and returned the tools to the rental shop. The rental people always mic the core drill before and after a rental. I knew the girl doing the micing, she looks up at me and says “ what were you cutting? Butter? “ Now that’s how it’s done.

 

[NHtoolguy]

When I was a youngster 60+ years ago, my grandpa would tell me "let the saw do the work". I still hear his voice when I'm using a hand saw.

I also remember hearing "let the tool do the work" from my father when I was young. The other two phrases were "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" and "the job isn't over until the tools are put away". It's funny how those are burned into my memory.

 

[retDAC]

My father used to say "Let your hammer do the work."

 

[Firebrick43]

High pressure and low rpm usually will give better results as far as a rounder through hole, and a quicker cut per revolution.

And is absolutely necessary if its stainless steel, which is hard to do many times with a hand held drill

 

[PowerWagonBuilder]

I had read this thread yesterday and didn't reply, but then last night I had both situations where the tool was trying to do too much work and I needed to hold it back and feed lightly, and another where the tool wasn't biting and I had to lean into it.

Carbide end mill was being used to create a flat landing in an angled surface. It wanted to just fly through the part but was also trying to chatter some because I had a very strange and way too tall fixturing setup.

The next process was using a counterbore in a hand held drill from the other side (the mill head wouldn't reach and I really didn't need to cut that deep) and I had to really lay into the cutter in the hand drill before the flutes would catch and start cutting. I think it was mostly chip recutting that was causing the issue but still, this thread popped into my head on both occasions.

So, yes. There are times when both situations apply. Let the tool do the work, or give it help when needed.