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Hi all,
I KNOW this would be a sub-optimal setup, and that a milling machine will be more solid, etc.
But I would like to hear from anyone using a seat stay mitering fixture like the Anvil, Sputnik, or one of Alex Wetmore's on a drill press. Tips? Tricks?
I have a big, solid old drill press that could be dedicated solely to this fixture, so would like to find a way to make it work.
Thoughts?
Thanks.
How slow can it go? Have you tried cutting a tube at 50* or so?
50 rpm or at 50 degrees?
The press will go down to 100rpm or so...pretty slow. The table is cast iron, and really burly. Actually, the whole thing is cast iron and pretty burly! Obviously, it doesn't have the same spindle design as a mill, but I'm thinking it's not going to have big side loads as long as I'm using the right hole saw, low rpm, cutting oil, and a rigid setup. I have cut tubes on the drill press held in a vise just to experiment and it's been fine with .9mm 4130.
Just hoping to get some first hand affirmation before I take the plunge on buying the fixture.
Just try cutting a tube at 50 degrees on the lowest RPM and see if it works. The more acute the angle the more side loads you'll have.
It works, I did it for almost a year. Then I got a mini mill, and the drill press was "just ok". Then I got a Bridgeport...... you get the idea.
It will work, I'll leave it at that.
It won't work very well. I don't know what these jigs look like, but it might be difficult to set up work accurately without a slide table.
I would hold your fixture in a vise that's on a cross-slide of some sort so you can take a known finish cut (you will be side loading) but you might be able to reinforce the quill or the hole saw itself with some clever support blocks (UHMW). The rigidity depends on the spindle (backlash) and the quill atmo.
Wear eye protection.........
- Garro.