Easy Drill Press
Intro: Easy Drill Press
So I woke up with this incredible urge to own my own drill press without paying for one (and I don't mean by stealing one). I wanted a drill press since I make my own PCB's and it would be a lot easier to use a steady drill press than just a handheld drill or dremmel. It occurred to me that I had 2 dremmels, so why not use the older one to make a permanent drill press.... I definitely over-planned this process. Kinda went for the whole measure twice and make once design, but the make step used the measurements from the third measuring step (the one I didn't do). So in other words, I designed two drill presses and then made a completely different one. I will post the design that I made and then explain what I actually made (since it was a lot easier and was missing pieces)
The way I actually made the drill press requires these materials:
The way I actually made the drill press requires these materials:
- dremmel
- drawer slider (any slide length)
- plywood (any thickness, make sure its flat and smooth, I used 3/8")
- wood (any dimensions; 2x4's and 2x6's work best)
- stick (or pvc)
- spring
- gorilla glue (most helpful stuff on the planet!)
- A metal rod (once you see what it is for, it is easy to see alternatives such as a 3" screw)
STEP 1: Materials
gather the materials below:
- dremmel (probably can find one for $10-15 if you dont have one and really want to do this)
- drawer slider ($0.50 each at the local surplus store)
- plywood (any thickness, make sure its flat and smooth) (find it for free outside)
- wood (any dimensions, 2x2, 2x4, 2x8 all work nice) (find it for free outside)
- stick (or pvc). use the width that feels best in your hand for a lever
- spring. wing it, find a spring that feels like enough to pull back up the dremmel, but no stronger. ($1 at hardware stores) (maybe get 2)
- conductive anything (i used steel rod) (find free outside and clean or use foil or something)
- gorilla glue (most helpful stuff on the planet!)
- a metal rod or long-ish screws
- a soldering iron / gun + solder
STEP 2: Design
Draw up your design! Here is my design file in SkethUp (which I am not very proficient in at all).
Explanation:
1) I wanted a stable base that would have a level, square surface. This would be made out of plywood. I used 3/8" thick, 8"x8" square piece of flat plywood for this.
2) This base was held up by a cross of metal (you should use a 2x4) that was connected to the vertical back.
3) The vertical back was made out of wood / metal (again, you should probably just stick to a 2x4 or 2x6).
4) the drawer sliders were spaced inwards with a piece of plywood and then the dremmel was mounted to the drawer slider with a spacer of a 2x4. The wood spacers were added so that the dremmel was positioned further towards the center of the base plate.
5) the arm was attached to the vertical back
*** I am having some trouble uploading the SketchUp files to ibles. You can find them at my website using the following link: http://lumierelab.net/projects/drill_press.html (this link itself is not a download link, but you should see the file download links on the page).
Explanation:
1) I wanted a stable base that would have a level, square surface. This would be made out of plywood. I used 3/8" thick, 8"x8" square piece of flat plywood for this.
2) This base was held up by a cross of metal (you should use a 2x4) that was connected to the vertical back.
3) The vertical back was made out of wood / metal (again, you should probably just stick to a 2x4 or 2x6).
4) the drawer sliders were spaced inwards with a piece of plywood and then the dremmel was mounted to the drawer slider with a spacer of a 2x4. The wood spacers were added so that the dremmel was positioned further towards the center of the base plate.
5) the arm was attached to the vertical back
*** I am having some trouble uploading the SketchUp files to ibles. You can find them at my website using the following link: http://lumierelab.net/projects/drill_press.html (this link itself is not a download link, but you should see the file download links on the page).
STEP 3: Re / Wiring
Parts of this step are optional and highly not recommended unless you know what you are doing! Skip ahead to the end of the caution zone if you want to just get to the "safe part".
I wanted to rewire the dremmel on/off switch so that it was easier to turn on / off. The original dremmel wiring was to a switch on the butt of the dremmel that was fairly sticky and hard to flip. So I pulled the switch out (I left it there, but only as a backup switch in case I wanted it later.
****CAUTION: DANGEROUS IDEAS AHEAD!****
I instead wanted the dremmel to turn on as I lowered the lever, and to turn off when the handle was all the way up in the resting position. I was going to leave the primary switch on the power cord so that you could lock it off when not in use. I liked the idea of the dremmel only being on when you were pulling it down to drill and this way you didn't have to flip a switch at all when you wanted to drill a single hole. (See the videos at the end if this is still unclear)
The most cautionary part of this plan is that I have exposed mains power on one of the power lines. YOU SHOULD NEVER DO THIS. None-the-less I did... The lower part of the lever arm has a metal rod screwed tightly to it. There is a small (1 cm) length of exposed metal that is difficult to touch but non-the-less exposed. It is not in the slightest dangerous when the primary switch is off, but should be cautious of this zone when the dremmel is in use.
Take the active wire from mains (while power is off) and cut it. The active wire in American 3-prong outlets is the black wire. We are going to re-solder the one end of the black wire to the lever arm conductive area. The other end of the black wire is going to be soldered to the pin that the lever uses to push the whole dremmel apparatus down. So when you pull the lever down, it will make contact with the pin as it pushes the dremmel down, thus completing the circuit and turning the dremmel on.
I chose to insulate the vast majority of the wrapped conductive wire around the lever just to be as safe as possible. I will most likely get a lot of criticism here, which is why it is cautioned use. I don't think it is very dangerous, just intuitively bad practice. I used liquid tape (electrical liquid tape, not just glue) and lots of electrical tape. Same with the pin.
****END OF DANGEROUS IDEAS SECTION****
SAFE PART
If you don't want to re-wire anything like this, you will just have to use the pre-installed switch on your dremmel to turn it on / off.
Finally, I just tied back the cable so that it was out of the way of the dremmel. You can use duct tape, a screw, a twist-tie, glue, a rubber band, etc. to accomplish this.
I wanted to rewire the dremmel on/off switch so that it was easier to turn on / off. The original dremmel wiring was to a switch on the butt of the dremmel that was fairly sticky and hard to flip. So I pulled the switch out (I left it there, but only as a backup switch in case I wanted it later.
****CAUTION: DANGEROUS IDEAS AHEAD!****
I instead wanted the dremmel to turn on as I lowered the lever, and to turn off when the handle was all the way up in the resting position. I was going to leave the primary switch on the power cord so that you could lock it off when not in use. I liked the idea of the dremmel only being on when you were pulling it down to drill and this way you didn't have to flip a switch at all when you wanted to drill a single hole. (See the videos at the end if this is still unclear)
The most cautionary part of this plan is that I have exposed mains power on one of the power lines. YOU SHOULD NEVER DO THIS. None-the-less I did... The lower part of the lever arm has a metal rod screwed tightly to it. There is a small (1 cm) length of exposed metal that is difficult to touch but non-the-less exposed. It is not in the slightest dangerous when the primary switch is off, but should be cautious of this zone when the dremmel is in use.
Take the active wire from mains (while power is off) and cut it. The active wire in American 3-prong outlets is the black wire. We are going to re-solder the one end of the black wire to the lever arm conductive area. The other end of the black wire is going to be soldered to the pin that the lever uses to push the whole dremmel apparatus down. So when you pull the lever down, it will make contact with the pin as it pushes the dremmel down, thus completing the circuit and turning the dremmel on.
I chose to insulate the vast majority of the wrapped conductive wire around the lever just to be as safe as possible. I will most likely get a lot of criticism here, which is why it is cautioned use. I don't think it is very dangerous, just intuitively bad practice. I used liquid tape (electrical liquid tape, not just glue) and lots of electrical tape. Same with the pin.
****END OF DANGEROUS IDEAS SECTION****
SAFE PART
If you don't want to re-wire anything like this, you will just have to use the pre-installed switch on your dremmel to turn it on / off.
Finally, I just tied back the cable so that it was out of the way of the dremmel. You can use duct tape, a screw, a twist-tie, glue, a rubber band, etc. to accomplish this.
STEP 4: Gorilla Bond!
Thanks to the amazing versatility of Gorilla Glue, you don't need a single screw for this entire project (turns out, I used a total of two to attach the springs).
Glue everything one piece at a time to ensure everything affixes straight. You can glue it all over the course of a weekend (which I did). Just have 4-5 hour drying periods in between glueings. Clamps are optional, I always just use a book or brick if I think weight is needed.
Before you begin glueing, make sure you are in a well ventilated area and have laid down scrap paper or cardboard so the glue doesn't reach anything pretty like a carpet or floor you plan on using ever again. This glue is strong! I way overused the glue when attaching things, but I know it wont ever break of move at all :)
First, glue your base together firmly. A flat and level base is the most important part. Maybe use weights or a clamp here.
Next, glue the vertical back to the side of the base. Maybe use weights or a clamp here. This connection will need to be the only structurally strong connection in the project (well, it needs to be the strongest at least).
How you can either play it safe here and use screws to affix the 2x4 spacer to the drawer slider, or you can risk gluing it on. The benefit of screws here is that you know you wont ruin your sliders. The benefit of glue is that you dont need any screws and its risky! :) and I suppose with glue you can position the angle while its drying so that you are 100% sure it is sliding straight down. What I want to point out though is that if you take the screwing method, you must do so NOW, because we are about to cover up the backs of the drawer sliders.
Next you will be glueing the spacer plywood to the vertical back and then the drawer sliders to that plywood. BE VERY CAREFUL when glueing the drawer sliders on. Apply minimal glue so that it doesnt expand up into the drawer slider's sliding section. If this happens, you will need to buy new sliders.
Once all of this has been glued, and your switch for the dremmel is removed (if you want it to be), then proceed. Locate the important parts of the dremmel: the on / off switch (if still mounted), the chuck lock release button (located at the bottom of the dremmel), and the speed adjustment (if there is one). Make sure ALL of these are facing outwards and not about to be buried in glue. Next you are going to glue up your dremmel on one side only and hold it right onto the 2x4 spacer. Perhaps it would be a good idea to tape it in place while it is drying to ensure it doesnt shift around.
You are all done with the assembly stage now! It should look and feel like a drill press at this stage. It is even operational! All we have left to do is mount the lever arm, finish wiring it, and affix the springs...
Glue everything one piece at a time to ensure everything affixes straight. You can glue it all over the course of a weekend (which I did). Just have 4-5 hour drying periods in between glueings. Clamps are optional, I always just use a book or brick if I think weight is needed.
Before you begin glueing, make sure you are in a well ventilated area and have laid down scrap paper or cardboard so the glue doesn't reach anything pretty like a carpet or floor you plan on using ever again. This glue is strong! I way overused the glue when attaching things, but I know it wont ever break of move at all :)
First, glue your base together firmly. A flat and level base is the most important part. Maybe use weights or a clamp here.
Next, glue the vertical back to the side of the base. Maybe use weights or a clamp here. This connection will need to be the only structurally strong connection in the project (well, it needs to be the strongest at least).
How you can either play it safe here and use screws to affix the 2x4 spacer to the drawer slider, or you can risk gluing it on. The benefit of screws here is that you know you wont ruin your sliders. The benefit of glue is that you dont need any screws and its risky! :) and I suppose with glue you can position the angle while its drying so that you are 100% sure it is sliding straight down. What I want to point out though is that if you take the screwing method, you must do so NOW, because we are about to cover up the backs of the drawer sliders.
Next you will be glueing the spacer plywood to the vertical back and then the drawer sliders to that plywood. BE VERY CAREFUL when glueing the drawer sliders on. Apply minimal glue so that it doesnt expand up into the drawer slider's sliding section. If this happens, you will need to buy new sliders.
Once all of this has been glued, and your switch for the dremmel is removed (if you want it to be), then proceed. Locate the important parts of the dremmel: the on / off switch (if still mounted), the chuck lock release button (located at the bottom of the dremmel), and the speed adjustment (if there is one). Make sure ALL of these are facing outwards and not about to be buried in glue. Next you are going to glue up your dremmel on one side only and hold it right onto the 2x4 spacer. Perhaps it would be a good idea to tape it in place while it is drying to ensure it doesnt shift around.
You are all done with the assembly stage now! It should look and feel like a drill press at this stage. It is even operational! All we have left to do is mount the lever arm, finish wiring it, and affix the springs...
STEP 5: Springs!!!
This should be quick. You can use glue here, but this is one step where it is just faster to use screws (of any size)
I used mounting holders, but they are 100% ancillary. Just screw the end of the spring right into the wood on one end, and right into the slider on the top end. [As pictured]
Play with the length the spring needs to be at before permanently mounting it. This length will vary based on how long your spring is, how strong the spring is, and how heavy your dremmel is.
I used mounting holders, but they are 100% ancillary. Just screw the end of the spring right into the wood on one end, and right into the slider on the top end. [As pictured]
Play with the length the spring needs to be at before permanently mounting it. This length will vary based on how long your spring is, how strong the spring is, and how heavy your dremmel is.
STEP 6: Pull the Lever, Kronk!
You can use a dowel or PVC pipe for this step, whatever you like better. Just find a stick that fits well in your hand.
measure out the distance that feels right to you (I cut mine to 12") and cut it.
Drill a hole in the end of it (with your working new drill press!).
I used a bent metal rod that fit into two holes in the side of the drill press to make the lever pin. The pictures do a better job explaining the shape you want. Do a similar thing to install the second contact pin (the pin that the lever will come down to push the dremmel down). To secure the pins in the correct positions, drill a hole and then fill in some gorilla glue and stab in the pin for good.
Before attaching the lever to the drill press, attach a conductive element (in my case, a metal rod) to the bottom of the lever where it will come into contact with the pin to complete the circuit. Then you can affix your lever on to the drill press.
measure out the distance that feels right to you (I cut mine to 12") and cut it.
Drill a hole in the end of it (with your working new drill press!).
I used a bent metal rod that fit into two holes in the side of the drill press to make the lever pin. The pictures do a better job explaining the shape you want. Do a similar thing to install the second contact pin (the pin that the lever will come down to push the dremmel down). To secure the pins in the correct positions, drill a hole and then fill in some gorilla glue and stab in the pin for good.
Before attaching the lever to the drill press, attach a conductive element (in my case, a metal rod) to the bottom of the lever where it will come into contact with the pin to complete the circuit. Then you can affix your lever on to the drill press.
STEP 7: Finished Product
To finish it all off, I glued down the switch and cleaned it up a little. Here are some final pictures to show what all the sides should look like. It is really quite self-explanatory from the pictures. Of course, feel free to ask questions!
Also, here is a video of the lever arm being pulled down in working action!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrV0yitBWqo&feature=youtu.be
Before starting this project, I probably could have done a bit more research on if it has been done before. I designed the whole thing in a coffee shop and got all the materials before ever getting back to the internet. Now that I have finished the whole thing, I finally posted the video online and can easily see that many have done similar things already. What sets my drill press out from the rest is two things: 1) the knife-switch like mechanism of my lever to complete the circuit and 2) that I used Gorilla Glue as the primary tool in this project :) So enjoy! It is easy and fast (a weekend)!
Also, here is a video of the lever arm being pulled down in working action!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrV0yitBWqo&feature=youtu.be
Before starting this project, I probably could have done a bit more research on if it has been done before. I designed the whole thing in a coffee shop and got all the materials before ever getting back to the internet. Now that I have finished the whole thing, I finally posted the video online and can easily see that many have done similar things already. What sets my drill press out from the rest is two things: 1) the knife-switch like mechanism of my lever to complete the circuit and 2) that I used Gorilla Glue as the primary tool in this project :) So enjoy! It is easy and fast (a weekend)!
44 Comments
kmunnery 8 years ago
Yonatan24 8 years ago
Hi, I've added your project to the "Top 5 DIY Dremel Drill Presses"
This is the link If you are interested:
https://www.instructables.com/id/Top-5-DIY-Dremel-D...
Dardaro 11 years ago
suvinks 11 years ago
I created a similar one with draw slides, steel pipes & flanges. No handle though :)
andrea biffi 11 years ago
suvinks 11 years ago
andrea biffi 11 years ago
I had thought to sliders for mine too, but I hadn't them available.
Don't worry if lot of people had already design this, it's always interesting look how our brains works! And the switch idea it was great!
I've only some notes to make about your project. You shouldn't have disassemble the drill, it should have been enough make another circuit with a switch (which it should had press by the lever) at which connect the original plug of the drill.
aeszok 11 years ago
shazni 11 years ago
Onyx Ibex 11 years ago
KROKKENOSTER 11 years ago
Beergnome 11 years ago
I like your press, it reminds me of the monster I have out in the outside workshop.
the monster is a 1/2" industrial hand drill. It's from the 50's low speed, tremendous tourque, and it's design purpose is to make very large holes in very thick hardened steel.
but it also has a tabletop press attachment. and that thing is comprised of three 1" steel pipe, the two outer ones are guides for the drill carraige that the drill itself clamps into. the center tube holds the drill carriage, the pivet for the cantilever. and a big return spring.
The cantilever arm is made so you can put any length of steel pipe you want as a handle. longer the handle, the more the leverage.
snoopindaweb 11 years ago
Beergnome 11 years ago
patent pending by the black & decker Mfg. co. Towsen MD USA.
and I'm sorry folks, I completely misrepresented what the stand looks like, it is simple one pipe that the drill and spring carriage rides on.
no side guide tubes. I have no idea why I thought of it that way when I was describing it earlier, well besides I was hanging out at the pub after work in the brewery...
but, in any case, I was inspired to go out yonder to the garage to visit the beast to take a pic.
the first pic shows how the assembly works, the second show the data plate of the drill itself. she still works very well, but the smallest bit I can work into the is a 5/32 which, conveniently enough, is the last largest bit I cant fit in the dremel.1/8 being the largest a standard dremel chuck or keyless dremel chuck will take.
snoopindaweb 11 years ago
Beergnome 11 years ago
snoopindaweb 11 years ago
TheGeek1984 11 years ago
soulrider223 11 years ago
criggie 11 years ago
Could be magnet/reed based or an actual physical switch with a tang to press it at the right place. Seems a lot safer.
Just cos something works doesn't mean it can't be improved.