Those could work! I was originally looking for something more like this without the ribbing: Rubber grommets - A006 (China Manufacturer) - Other Electrical & Electronic - Electronics & Electricity Products - DIYTrade China
But I think maybe the grommets will work.
Even a cheap 8" drill press can handle jobs like putting a hole saw through 3/8" thick steel plate. If you've got the money and bench space, it would be nice to have, perhaps fitted with a Unibit so it's ready to make any size hole. You'll probably have to venture into some discount tool barn to find a drill press vise to go along with it.
The cheapskate approach to cordless drills is to fit an external battery: I got an old 9.6V Makita and soldered a length of zip cord to the contacts in a gutted battery. Running it from 12V doesn't seem to hurt it at all. I suspect some discarded battery packs have just one or two dead cells, so you could probably scrounge one from the recycle bin and adapt it (get 14.4 volts from a former 18V pack, for example). Or, use the cells to rebuild a stock pack. If you create a custom pack,consider charging it using an iMAX B6 charger from eBay; it's a genuine universal smart charger for about $20.
Electric drills can sometimes be found at yard sales and flea markets, although my two best drills were salvaged: a vintage 1/2" B&D that needed a cord, and a 3/8" VSR DeWalt that just needed a new chuck.
For light mechanical assembly work, (4-40 nuts and screws by the thousands), a no-name cordless "drill" from Walmart proved to be ideal: it had very little torque, but high RPM and a torque limiting clutch.
Last but not least, a Dremel (or equivalent) with a miniature drill press is essential for drilling PC boards. The best bits are carbide, since they hold their edge for thousands of holes, but carbide is fragile.
It's not a drill, but an electric die grinder is rather useful. It's like a Dremel, only bigger. 3" cutting discs aren't a problem. They're rare; in years of swap meets I've only stumbled over one, and got it for a song because it needed a new cord. Harbor Freight has a cheap version which should do the job, at about 1/3 the price of a name brand unit.
Old car part swap meets often have a vendor selling industrial surplus carbide and diamond tool bits (at least they do around here).
The cheapskate approach to cordless drills is to fit an external battery: I got an old 9.6V Makita and soldered a length of zip cord to the contacts in a gutted battery. Running it from 12V doesn't seem to hurt it at all. I suspect some discarded battery packs have just one or two dead cells, so you could probably scrounge one from the recycle bin and adapt it (get 14.4 volts from a former 18V pack, for example). Or, use the cells to rebuild a stock pack. If you create a custom pack,consider charging it using an iMAX B6 charger from eBay; it's a genuine universal smart charger for about $20.
Electric drills can sometimes be found at yard sales and flea markets, although my two best drills were salvaged: a vintage 1/2" B&D that needed a cord, and a 3/8" VSR DeWalt that just needed a new chuck.
For light mechanical assembly work, (4-40 nuts and screws by the thousands), a no-name cordless "drill" from Walmart proved to be ideal: it had very little torque, but high RPM and a torque limiting clutch.
Last but not least, a Dremel (or equivalent) with a miniature drill press is essential for drilling PC boards. The best bits are carbide, since they hold their edge for thousands of holes, but carbide is fragile.
It's not a drill, but an electric die grinder is rather useful. It's like a Dremel, only bigger. 3" cutting discs aren't a problem. They're rare; in years of swap meets I've only stumbled over one, and got it for a song because it needed a new cord. Harbor Freight has a cheap version which should do the job, at about 1/3 the price of a name brand unit.
Old car part swap meets often have a vendor selling industrial surplus carbide and diamond tool bits (at least they do around here).
Best drill IMO Bosch 36V Litheon Drill/Driver
I have 2 of these at work they are by far the best, strongest, longest battery life drill i have ever used.......
They are kinda pricy but well worth it... Mine get used/abused every day in a industrial setting and i have drilled over 30+@3/8" holes in 1" thick semi hard machine steel with one of the smaller batterys and 50+ with the larger battery before it had to be recharged.. Best of all they are the same size and weight of a 14.4v with the small battery.
thanks
spicolli
36V Litheon Drill/Driver w/2 Compact Batteries | Fastenal
General Information
Fastenal Part No. (SKU): 0220000 Manufacturer Part No.: 38636-01
I have 2 of these at work they are by far the best, strongest, longest battery life drill i have ever used.......
They are kinda pricy but well worth it... Mine get used/abused every day in a industrial setting and i have drilled over 30+@3/8" holes in 1" thick semi hard machine steel with one of the smaller batterys and 50+ with the larger battery before it had to be recharged.. Best of all they are the same size and weight of a 14.4v with the small battery.
thanks
spicolli
36V Litheon Drill/Driver w/2 Compact Batteries | Fastenal
General Information
Fastenal Part No. (SKU): 0220000 Manufacturer Part No.: 38636-01
Hey! Sorry for the delayed response. I had to wait a few days to receive some of the parts (the guitar pedal case and some components to stick through the holes) before I began to drill.
I finally tested everything out and the verdict is: AWESOME. The drill is fantastic and looks and feels great. I've had no trouble drilling through the boxes. The tap magic cutting fluid definitely makes a difference in the temperature of the drill bits and the smoothness of the drilling. I'm still getting used to using a step drill bit, so I have been practicing on some extra boxes I ordered before I do it on the real thing.
Overall, extremely happy. Can't thank you guys enough!
I finally tested everything out and the verdict is: AWESOME. The drill is fantastic and looks and feels great. I've had no trouble drilling through the boxes. The tap magic cutting fluid definitely makes a difference in the temperature of the drill bits and the smoothness of the drilling. I'm still getting used to using a step drill bit, so I have been practicing on some extra boxes I ordered before I do it on the real thing.
Overall, extremely happy. Can't thank you guys enough!
I do wish I had gotten a keyed chuck, though, as sometimes it's really hard to undo the chuck when the step drill bit is in.
What is the rpm of a Dremel type drill?
If I am using some diamond tipped grinders that are ~2mm diam, what sort of speed is recommended?
If I am using some diamond tipped grinders that are ~2mm diam, what sort of speed is recommended?
Variable Dremels are about 2K to 30K. For 2mm bit, consider 10K or higher depending on the material and the thickness.
Oh gee honey
My wife got me the Sears 12V right angle impact driver that her cabinet maker brother was using during her last visit to his place. Surprise! It's excellent! Not too powerful, not thinking too much like my Panasonic, perfect for mounting/demounting speakers without perforating surrounds, light, remarkable battery life...nothing not to like except the brand. Go figure.
My wife got me the Sears 12V right angle impact driver that her cabinet maker brother was using during her last visit to his place. Surprise! It's excellent! Not too powerful, not thinking too much like my Panasonic, perfect for mounting/demounting speakers without perforating surrounds, light, remarkable battery life...nothing not to like except the brand. Go figure.
Hi AndrewT,
When you have a Dremel drill, you will want a Dremel press. It is a bad idea 😱! 😡. I have one (expensive) Dremel press 🙁, and I am not satisfied with it. Look at this review : Drill stand review: Dremel 220-01 vs. Proxxon Micromot MB 140/S - YouTube. The Dremel press is really as described, with plastic, and not precise at all. The Dremel drill is also really very noisy 😱...
I have not yet a solution to this problem, but the Proxxon tools I did buy until now are of "explendid" quality and user friendly 🙂. Maybe Proxxon ... ? I don't know 😕.
Best regards 🙂
rephil
I won't be buying a Dremel.
I wanted to know what speed it ran the small tools. Copies clone of Dremel are likely to be similar speed.
I have an 80,000rpm hand grinder, but it is big and heavy and the collect chuck is 1/4".
Cal's reply has confirmed that this is far faster than Dremel and thus may be unsuitable, even if I found a way to get the collect chuck changed.
I wanted to know what speed it ran the small tools. Copies clone of Dremel are likely to be similar speed.
I have an 80,000rpm hand grinder, but it is big and heavy and the collect chuck is 1/4".
Cal's reply has confirmed that this is far faster than Dremel and thus may be unsuitable, even if I found a way to get the collect chuck changed.
Yea, I linked to that a few pages back. Great tool and no reason not to get one when on sale
small hitachi's are highly recommended. Don't get anything too heavy or big so you can get in small areas...
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