Travis Posted August 6, 2015 Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 2 3/8 is the spindle travel, so the tip of the chuck will move 2 3/8 total on the stroke. 10 inches would mean that you could drill a center hole in a ten inch circle. The distance from the center point of the chuck to the support column will be 5 inches. Depending on the quality of the machine they can be "liberal" in their measurement and you may find for example that a 10 inch is really more like 9 5/8. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted August 6, 2015 Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 (edited) I own a bench top drill press. It is very limited in the depth of hole that it can drill. There are techniques that can be used to increase the depth available, such as mounting the press on a raised block and swinging the table out of the way. Another way is to start the hole, then lower the drill into the hole and re-start. This gives you twice the travel of the press, but is not good machine shop technique, probably an accident waiting to happen, but it worked for me. To solve the problem, I built a horizontal drill press jig. The drill was a hand held electric drill, bolted to a carriage that slid on rails. At the other end of the rails was a block that held a pin for the standard through drilling procedure. The jig was not 100% effective, as I did not adequately account for all the tolerances. If the need arises again in the future, I now have a good idea of the adjustments that need to be built into the jig. Provided the drill is dedicated to the jig and not removed, then adjustments will be a one time affair and through drilling hardware problems will be a thing of the past. DAve Edited August 6, 2015 by Vodkaman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRammit Posted August 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 Thanks for all this tool info... Ive always made it by on hand tools, so pardon my ignorance of bench tools 2 to 3 inches doesnt leave me many options... Maybe im going about my style of cranks the wrong way... Perhaps molding is a more versatile method..... But thats a whole nother subject Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted August 6, 2015 Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 Depending on how much vertical travel you have in your drill press you can find extra longs drill bits up to 12" that I know of. All you would have to do is raise the table each time the stroke of the chuck bottomed out. If you have any wobble in the drill chuck, which is highly likely with cheaper drill presses, I would say don't use these bits as their added length only acts to multiply any wobble. This can lead to serious injury. I had to unwrap a mans hand out of a mag drill one time and it was not a pretty site so keep safety in mind anytime your using any power tool no matter how innocuous it seems. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Posted August 6, 2015 Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 (edited) Molding always an option and as you eluded to brings and entirely new set of skills, challenges, and issues. I like mold making but not so much the final product as for me didn't seam like I really "made" anything after you had the mold. It was just odd as I was used to have so much "hands on" when making wooden lures. Still make some when I run out of some of the stock and have a few projects down the road plan on doing also. For line through just making a saw kerf with any of the Japanese saw blades (most all have very fine kerfs) you could quickly make the horizontal channel and then glue a thin "laminate' strip back in leaving your line pass. Easiest to start with square blank. I used various thin walled extruded tubing in the past to get smooth pass through. Started out with the easiest thing in the shop..WD40 spray tube then got a lot of various plastic tubing (PTFE, HDPE, Kapton, Polycarbonate, etc...). I was making wooden poppers and then a line through Spiral lure knockoff for kicks. I had a few 6 inch drill bits, Hertel maybe, but snapped one and the other fell and rolled into a crack between my flooring and shop wall. I pre drilled with the short bit then changed out to the long bit so as had some walls to support the bit to finish up drilling. Ben is right run out on the press will get these style bits in no time. Edited August 6, 2015 by Travis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRammit Posted August 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 I had thought about "cutting and patching" rather than drilling... All the while keeping the molding idea locked away in my head...... Im with you on this one Travis, the satisfaction of a finished hand carved wooden (or PVC) bait invokes a sense of pride in the builder that can not be matched by a product of a mold (i quickly learned this after expanding from soft to hard baits) But the reality that im starting to accept, is that molding this particular bait opens up more possibilities (many of which im not ready to share yet).... I still have topwaters to carve (and a few other things im not ready to share yet) so i can get my rocks off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted August 6, 2015 Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 Through drilling is a topic all on its own, so we shouldn't get too deep here. But, I would just add that you should never try to drill from one end all the way through. The chances of exiting in the right place are very slim. Only ever drill half way and then drill back from the other end. If your technique is sound (search on through drilling) and the wood grain is not too crazy and the bit diameter is not too small, then the holes will meet. If the holes are slightly off, then running the drill right through will clean up the errors. The correct technique guides the drill bit to the finishing point and drilling only half way, cuts the tolerances in half. My point is that through drilling is done with the shortest bit exposed possible, just enough to get half way. This greatly increases the stiffness of the bit and this reduces bit wander. A longer bit is only required for cleaning out the hole once through drilled. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted August 6, 2015 Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 There are several things that can make a drill bit "wander" off center. A couple of these are hard grain versus sap wood, a dull bit, too much pressure on the bit while drilling and not having a bit that is properly sharpened. Even how the drill press is set up can make a difference in how true a hole is. A drill bit that isn't sharpened properly, and has the point off center, can actually drill a hole that is larger than the bit. Not much we can do about hard grain, other than choose a different type of wood, but the other problems can be related right back to the competence of the operator. Travis brings up a quick and easy solution to through drilling. Cutting a kerf in your block of wood is probably going to be quicker, and more accurate than trying to drill a through hole. You'll not only end up with a straight, and centered, hole through your bait it will have the added enhancement of having a plastic liner for the line to pass through. Something that may, or may not be possible by drilling a hole by starting at each end of the lure. By gluing the plastic liner into the kerf you will also have sealed the wood thus protecting against water intrusion. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRammit Posted August 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2015 This has been a verry informative thread But my space situation is about to change.... Even though i just built my new bench, its about to be packed away Due to escalating circumstances, i have reached the breaking point with my current living situation... A #1 priority is now house shopping Looking on line, ive already found 2 options within a few miles of my current location... One has a detatched garage, and the other what looks to be a 20' x 10' wooden shed....... Of course both of these properties have houses on them as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted August 7, 2015 Report Share Posted August 7, 2015 I hate house moving - hopefully you find what you are looking for. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted August 7, 2015 Report Share Posted August 7, 2015 FYI: Almost all drill bits drill a hole a little larger than the diameter of their flutes. I think you know what I meant about a drill bit being sharpened off center Bob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt M Posted August 8, 2015 Report Share Posted August 8, 2015 Guys sorry im late to the party i was fishing the past couple days. Backing up in this thread, I use a rotozip with a 1/2" ball rasp to carve the mouth on my top water popper. It makes short work of a round concave indention in a piece of wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRammit Posted August 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2015 Gift from a friend Just needs a belt and a switch I doubt ill get it working before the move, but its one less thing i will need later Btw, i am pursuing the house with the detatched garage... Ive never had a garage before 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted August 9, 2015 Report Share Posted August 9, 2015 Oh yes, that will do very nicely. What a good friend to have. Dave 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
