I want to cut some slots in a piece of steel. i have a drill press and was wondering if i used a cross slide vise or a machinists table and the proper bit could i do this with good results? What type of bit do i need and how fast/slow do they have to spin? the material is carbon steel about 1/4 inch thick. Also will lubricating with an oil designed for the job keep the bit sharp for a while?

 

I was able to buy a nice Ashina drill press for really cheap. The owner had tried using it as a milling machine and bent the spindle.
As it turned out, the spindle is made out of really soft metal and was easly bent back into shape.
Rather tedious though... turn it on, mark the high spot, turn it off and gently tap. Repeat
(not that this really helps with your question...)

 

BTT ???

 

Dan I have been holding off on answering this question because I don't want to steer you the wrong way. A drill press is designed so the rotational force is applied in a upward or rearward manner. The bearings are designed to take the load in an up and down manner and not side to side on the spindle.

If you want to ruin a good drill press then this is the way to go about doing it. However having said that I have done some milling with a small bench top drill press that I have used specifically for that purpose.With fairly good results.

I use a 4 fluted carbide end mill and work it very easy, removing just a touch of material at a time. I also lay out my slotted pattern on the workpiece and drill out as much material as possible before using the end mill.

This works rather well on aluminum and other softer metals, steel is much harder to work in this manner though. When you are using the cross slide vise to move the material into the stock , you are applying the bulk of the pressure to the side of the spindle shaft rather than the rear. If you get it too hot you can either burn up the bearings or bend the spindle.

I guess the bottom line would be how much you have invested in this piece of equipment, and is the job worth damaging it over. I do not use this one for my precise drilling jobs, and only have about $50.00 bucks in it.

I have used it this way for several years but always aware that I had to go VERY SLOW and use it to remove trace material that has been left over after I drilled out the bulk.

The choice is yours, just remember the Safety glasses no matter what you attempt. You might find out a machine shop would cut it for less than the cost of a good end mill cutter.

 

Jeez, you live in machinests heaven. There are job shops all over Long Island, must be a half dozen job shops at 110 and Allen Blvd. I would not even fool with it by hand, just get a job shop to mill them out. There are more Bridgeports in basements on Long Island than there are in the entire state of Alabama.

A slot in 1/4 steel will pull badly and be very hard to get a good slot with anything but a vertical mill. If you are intent on doing this, try a good two flute carbide and wind it up quite fast after drilling almost all material out, than as was said before baby it best you can more or less just cleaning it up. Make very sure that the diameter of the end mill is smaller than the width of the slot or you will get into more problems with pull. Also make sure that you only cut against the direction that you are feeding the piece to the endmill. I would not do it though, you can get it done cheaper than the end mill.

 

thanks for the replys i defiantely dont want to ruin my drill press its the most used tool in my shop as far as power tools second only to my welder. as far as being in the capital of machine shops you are right but the problem with that is that since there are so many alot of them aren't worth the material im having milled. I have been toying around with doing some side work and having some type of milling machine would make me rather self seficient(sp). Im a firm believer in if you want something done right you better do it yourself. especially if there is no real money in it for someone else to do. That being said I do have several shops i use on a regular basis for my machine work but they are usually quite busy and a small job of this nature will take them forever "when we get to it" will be the answer.
Ok then next question I remember a company that made what was called a "Smith Machine" are they still around and is there equipment any good and will it do what I want.
BY the way I achieved my goal by drilling as many wholes in a row as were needed and use my high speed grinder with a carbide rotary file.

 

I agree ... two fluted end mill ... lots of holes (close together along the line) and then slow and steady along the length of your slot taking maybe .010 to .015 each pass. I have done this many times with no ill results. Try hogging material and it will ruin the presses bushings pronto.

PISTOL

 

I think that this falls in the same catagory as me cutting alumimum plate with the skil saw and carbide blade, slow and easy.