Hey guys, I'm trying to decide between buying predrilled enclosures when I get them made or buying a cheaper drillpress to use. The drillpress seems like the better option in terms of money, but will obviously take more time. I'm also a bit unsure as to how to clamp my pedals down if I were to get a press, any advice or insight?
I say invest in a little drill press. Even a cheap one from Harbor Freight will do the job. It will pay for itself in a few builds.
As far as clamping goes, I've never had a problem just holding onto the enclosure as I drill (and I still have all my fingers :) )
I use a hand drill, a 1/8" bit for pilot holes and a $5 harbor freight stepping bit to get everything sized right. I just hold everything by hand too, it's much easier to hold it by hand with the stepping bit than it was with the regular bits.
I have a drill press assembly to use with my dremel and it works very well but the stepping but is much less fuss.
Quote from: Matmosphere on August 15, 2017, 12:15:26 PM
I use a hand drill, a 1/8" bit for pilot holes and a $5 harbor freight stepping bit to get everything sized right. I just hold everything by hand too, it's much easier to hold it by hand with the stepping bit than it was with the regular bits.
I have a drill press assembly to use with my dremel and it works very well but the stepping but is much less fuss.
Me too. Hand drill and step bit, with a spring punch to score the centers.
Quote from: dan.schumaker on August 15, 2017, 12:02:09 PM
I say invest in a little drill press. Even a cheap one from Harbor Freight will do the job. It will pay for itself in a few builds.
As far as clamping goes, I've never had a problem just holding onto the enclosure as I drill (and I still have all my fingers :) )
This 100% this! haha. I still have all my fingers too! While you are there, do yourself a favor and buy the stepper drill bit set. its sub $20 and worth every penny.
When I was in the same debate as you I went to Harbor Freight and looked at their smaller bench top presses. I decided to giggles to go across the street to Sears and found they had a Craftsman 10" Drill Press for $35 more than the Harbor Freight one. I decided that the I rather deal with Sears for warranty crap if needed than Harbor Freight.
Don't discount places like Lowes, Sears and Osh since they have good sales from time to time. Don't get me wrong, I love Harbor Freight and a bunch of my stuff comes from them but quality and warranty sometimes trump price.
I also recommend the step drill bit set. I got mine from Harbor Freight.
Saves so much time. They do need cleaning occasionally from bits of metal that get
stuck to the cutting edges, but that's not a problem. You can also lubricate the bits
( WD-40 works well .. or just plain H20 ) for tougher metals.
The standard pedal enclosures drill very nicely.
Quote from: stringsthings on August 15, 2017, 04:14:51 PM
I also recommend the step drill bit set. I got mine from Harbor Freight.
Saves so much time. They do need cleaning occasionally from bits of metal that get
stuck to the cutting edges, but that's not a problem. You can also lubricate the bits
( WD-40 works well .. or just plain H20 ) for tougher metals.
The standard pedal enclosures drill very nicely.
How do you clean the stepped bits? Mine has a little build up but I've been afraid to try anything cause I don't want to dull it.
Quote from: Matmosphere on August 15, 2017, 04:43:08 PM
How do you clean the stepped bits? Mine has a little build up but I've been afraid to try anything cause I don't want to dull it.
I just sort of chip off any aluminum that builds up on the edges using my solder probe (it just pops off). I highly doubt its an optimal method but... well I bought this drill bit set for 8$ so I'm not terribly concerned about long term life span on them, and its better than just leaving the dross on the bit.
Stupid question. What does a spring punch do exactly?
I currently use one of these things to make a smaller initial hole (actually can usually do large enough for pots with a little effort) then drill to enlarge with a stepped bit. http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200635671_200635671
Does a spring punch make a full thickness hole or just a dent to hold your drill tip?
Quote from: junkemail86 on August 15, 2017, 05:27:34 PM
Does a spring punch make a full thickness hole or just a dent to hold your drill tip?
Just makes a dent for your drill bit.
This is a spring loaded one you can get at harbor freight
(http://www.nancylthamilton.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/center-punch.jpg)
Cody
The Harbor Freight one is ok, but I found mine really frustrating. After a few uses it stopped "springing" correctly and never quite worked right again. Ended up buying a 10$ one from amazon ( https://www.amazon.com/Neiko-02638A-Automatic-Center-Adjustable/dp/B008DXYOLC/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1502843852&sr=8-5&keywords=center+punch ) that has lasted me much longer (and the plastic end cap makes it much kinder on the hand)
You can do just as well with a hand drill but a drillpress is such a joy, why i waited so long to get one i'll never know. Currently building a nice big 'drillpress' table so drilling larger wood projects is easier.
I'm a sinner as well and handhold to drill, i'm stepping through 1/32" bit increases, how much torque can there be?
dave
Yep, a set of these (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DU3UWXI), a small drill bit and a hand drill is enough for pretty much all of my builds. I have a small desktop drillpress at home but for enclosures I never use it.
Quote from: kgull on August 16, 2017, 11:54:20 AM
Yep, a set of these (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DU3UWXI)....
WOW that is a cheap set. Do you own it?
Quote from: Tuxedo3 on August 16, 2017, 12:01:29 PM
Quote from: kgull on August 16, 2017, 11:54:20 AM
Yep, a set of these (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DU3UWXI)....
WOW that is a cheap set. Do you own it?
I do. They work just fine, though they have quriks. The 1/2 inch on the short, fat bit isnt exactly the 1/2 inch on the skinnier bit, for example
Quote from: somnif on August 16, 2017, 12:24:21 PM
I do. They work just fine, though they have quriks. The 1/2 inch on the short, fat bit isnt exactly the 1/2 inch on the skinnier bit, for example
That's awesome, exactly what I needed.
Quote from: Tuxedo3 on August 16, 2017, 12:01:29 PM
Quote from: kgull on August 16, 2017, 11:54:20 AM
Yep, a set of these (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DU3UWXI)....
WOW that is a cheap set. Do you own it?
Yep. They are a bit crap but more than good enough for aluminium. Just don't expect them to work for much else.
I finally got some step bits and a center punch and started doing my own drilling recently. Just a good old hand drill is the ticket, although I would like to try a press at some point. I just found that when I ordered drilled enclosures from PPP or whoever, there would always be something just "off" enough with my measurements on the drill template to cause issues with boxing. It wasn't their fault or anything. I just found taping the template to the enclosure and actually laying the board and other parts on it a la juansolo allows me to make adjustments if needed and get it more accurate.
Now, that hasn't stopped me from taping a template onto an enclosure in a slightly cock-eyed manner! But at least everything more or less still fits together and I can use a long, round file to nudge the holes one way or another if needed.
Quote from: Matmosphere on August 15, 2017, 04:43:08 PM
How do you clean the stepped bits? Mine has a little build up but I've been afraid to try anything cause I don't want to dull it.
I usually just chip out the metal bits with my fingernail or thumbnail. If that doesn't work,
I use a thin screwdriver tip. If you spray a bit of WD-40 ( or the equivalent ) on the bit,
and then drill, that will also tend to remove bits of metal that were there before spraying.
Quote from: Matmosphere on August 15, 2017, 04:43:08 PM
How do you clean the stepped bits? Mine has a little build up but I've been afraid to try anything cause I don't want to dull it.
A tool who's usefulness and new uses never ends, a stainless steel dental pick. Cheap and indispensable.
dave
All this great information about buying a drillpress and my father-in-law buys me a battery drill for my birthday... ::) oh well I guess I'm good for a little while.
Quote from: Tuxedo3 on August 18, 2017, 08:17:46 AM
All this great information about buying a drillpress and my father-in-law buys me a battery drill for my birthday... ::) oh well I guess I'm good for a little while.
Nice!! I think you'll find some stepping bits and good ruler are all you'll need now.
If you want the stability and accuracy of a drill press, but have a decent hand drill, can get a press-guide attachment. They're usually under 30$ and help you avoid those off-angle and wobbly alignments. A good middle ground.
https://www.amazon.com/Wolfcraft-4525404-Attachment-4-Inch-8-Inch/dp/B000JCIMEA/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1503070719&sr=8-9&keywords=drill+press
Try using isopropyl as a lube when drilling aluminum- I got that tip here somewhere, it works great
Quote from: wgc on August 18, 2017, 08:54:36 AM
Try using isopropyl as a lube when drilling aluminum- I got that tip here somewhere, it works great
Excellent tip!
When you guys talk about using a hand drill you do mean a cordless battery powered drill, right?? I just picture some ancient rotary kind of manual hand drill, Lol. I personally have a small table top drill press I bought from menards for maybe $60, not sure of the brand. Works excellent! You definitely can buy a cheap drill press style vise for 10 or 15 bucks also. money well spent if you plan on making pedals, or pedal boards, or any such thing
Quote from: devilsnight on August 19, 2017, 12:53:39 AM
When you guys talk about using a hand drill you do mean a cordless battery powered drill, right?? I just picture some ancient rotary kind of manual hand drill, Lol. I personally have a small table top drill press I bought from menards for maybe $60, not sure of the brand. Works excellent! You definitely can buy a cheap drill press style vise for 10 or 15 bucks also. money well spent if you plan on making pedals, or pedal boards, or any such thing
I use a corded electric drill from Harbor Freight. 15$ and its served me well for several years now. The older version of: https://www.harborfreight.com/38-in-variable-speed-reversible-drill-60614.html
QuoteWhen you guys talk about using a hand drill you do mean a cordless battery powered drill, right??
Hell no! I used to use a mains powered hand drill while kneeling on the enclosure on the kitchen floor.
Things got a lot better when I started using a drill press though. Things got even better when I started using a right angle to align my templates properly (I line it up square as best I can, tape it in place, check with the angle and draw on the template any corrections. Works moderately well. I still can't get my holes to line up exactly how I would like though!).
I f you're creating a drill template put center lines across you template, one top to bottom, one left to right. Now draw center lines on your enclosure top. Take a paper punch and punch a whole in each of the center line rays on your template. Now when you lay your template on your enclosure you can see to align the template on the enclosure.
dave
I was skeptical of the HF drill and had been looking to spend 4-5x more on one, but after a mountain of DIY folks' praises, I took a chance and am glad I saved the money. I was even ready to have to re-buy after a few years. This one is still going strong after 3-ish years. 99.9% of all I've done with it is drill enclosures. Small holes in aluminum boxes is far less abuse than most drill presses take. This is the only tool I describe as beating my auto wire stripper for best DIY pedal tool. At one point, the Mammoth folks said they used the HF drill on their enclosures and said they took some mileage before giving out.
I use a step bit like the fat one in the middle of that pic of the multi set. I have a dummy post-it taped to the wall in front of the press:
TOGGLE - 1
POTS - 2
IN/OUT - 3
DC/3PDT - 5
I have a clamp, but hold firmly with my hand. I clamp if I'm drilling something besides these soft boxes. I wanna make a jig to be able to do uniform holes in multiple pedals, but have not messed with that yet - I doubt I will add a clamp to that. I have never ever had an enclosure try to take off spinning on me.
Definitely get a spring punch. I think I got mine at Lowe's, but it's as frustrating as some of the descriptions of the HF ones. I may order the one with the big red part on it posted above.