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Thread: Magnetic Drill for Woodworking

  1. #1
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    Magnetic Drill for Woodworking

    Okay, I'm re-posting this last message to start a properly "named" thread for other's interesting.



    So I rented the Milwaukee from a local Sunbelt. Unfortunately, this is not so good of an experience. The bad part was the drill had such extreme run-out on the chuck that it was unusable. I made a short video here so that I have documented results when I ask for my rental money back:

    https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5ylJp48sRIM

    I'm using a long bit just so that Sunbelt can see, but I measured a runout of 10 thou right at the chuck. In addition, the slide had a lot of play which allowed the drill bit to wiggle and drill at an angle. The unit was so beat up. I'm sure that many people dropped this on concrete and into the back of trucks and such. The weight of the motor caused the slide to drop down all the time (putting pressure on the bit) which made it very difficult to mount bits properly.

    I'm glad I rented it though because it really showed that this unit is just too large to be practical on material (surface area required for metal plate and base plus motor). That being said, I measured a distance of 5" from the chuck center-point to the base, so you could mount up to a 10" hole saw if you really wanted to. It is heavy, but lifting it up onto a work surface is doable. However, because the motor constantly dropped down, I had to hold the feed handle at the same time a trying to lift the unit so that the bit/motor wouldn't drop down. Ugh.

    I have a local place that has a small magnetic drill that I will try next (although it's a single speed).

    I did do a drill test and this unit has excellent power. The couple of Forstner bits I had went though the wood like butter at mid RPM (probably 200 rpm), but this Milwaukee is just too physically large. lol.

  2. #2
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    This weekend's effort was renting a smaller magnetic drill from a local place. They had a Baileigh MD-3500. It's a single-speed motor that is geared for 595 RPM at the bit. It was in significantly better shape and the drill was super tight and accurate (no runout at all). I will say that this unit is really damn loud (so loud you have to use hearing protection -- like a screaming Dewalt 735 planer! lol). It would have been nice to have a variable speed and a somewhat quieter motor, but this will get the job done this weekend. The larger Milwaukee 4206-1 magnetic drill had a nicer motor, but the unit was just too physically large to work with. I may look into getting a variable speed setup sometime in the future. The following demo video shows a drill test in some scrap plywood. I was going slow in the video, but I'm sure I could push the bit through faster. I need to drill precision Forstner hole in the middle of a sheet - something that a drill press won't do.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_d9z0E-jOM

    It's a good alternative and useful tool.

  3. #3
    Forgive me if this seems harsh but why are you looking at these tools for woodworking?
    There are tools better suited for the task.
    There are plenty of portable drill guides available or a radial drill press.

  4. #4
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    See the following thread. I have already gone through the "drill guide" options with poor results (see where I picked up in the following thread). I need precision hole in the middle of a large sheet. A radial drill press will only have about a 16" reach into the material. This is not enough.

    https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....d-drills/page2

  5. #5
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    Was that the model with the MT3 head and the chuck is mounted on a MT3 taper? Mine is, and the taper has to be clean or it multiplies by the time it gets down to the chuck jaws. The chuck can be taken out by hand with a big knurled surround on the part that screws to the drill motor.

    Mine, that I bought off ebay had runout too, but after cleaning it out good, it did great.

    That rental one could very easily have been dropped too. People don't generally take care of rental equipment.

    Yes, it's a beast to have to move around. In any case, I'm glad you rented one before buying one. I don't remember having trouble with the motor dropping while moving it, but it's been a while since I used it. Something doesn't sound right about that either. Probably just a typical piece of rental equipment.
    Last edited by Tom M King; 05-27-2023 at 8:47 PM.

  6. #6
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    The Milwaukee I rented from Sunbelt was not the MT3 version. It was the model with the 3/4" chuck built into the motor. The slide was really loose with a lot of wiggle (wouldn't hold the bit straight). I'm sure all of these problems were from being dropped on concrete or thrown into truck beds by contractors who don't care that they are abusing a rental tool. lol. I have watched multiple videos on the Milwaukee and none of them presented the problems I experienced with the Sunbelt rental.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Aaron Inami View Post
    See the following thread. I have already gone through the "drill guide" options with poor results (see where I picked up in the following thread). I need precision hole in the middle of a large sheet. A radial drill press will only have about a 16" reach into the material. This is not enough.

    https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....d-drills/page2
    How precision a hole?
    What size hole?
    How far into the center, 24"?

    Could you use a plunge router?

  8. #8
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    Maybe I am missing something here, but why not use a scrap piece of plywood with the the correct size hole you want drilled thru it and double stick tape it to the sheet and use a router with a pattern bit to cut the hole.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Dave VanDewerker View Post
    Maybe I am missing something here, but why not use a scrap piece of plywood with the the correct size hole you want drilled thru it and double stick tape it to the sheet and use a router with a pattern bit to cut the hole.
    I agree. Maybe I don’t understand the context well enough, but I had a similar task to do recently and did what you have outlined above. Considered plunge router with guide bushing, etc etc but a double thickness (1.5”) plywood template properly laid out with attention to drilling depth was all that was needed for perfect enough accuracy in a pretty high end application.


    What is the context of this drilling?
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Still waters run deep.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave VanDewerker View Post
    Maybe I am missing something here, but why not use a scrap piece of plywood with the the correct size hole you want drilled thru it and double stick tape it to the sheet and use a router with a pattern bit to cut the hole.
    I have actually already tried that. First, it's really difficult to find a router bit that is long enough to reach 2-1/4" down. Second, the two router bits that I tried were not 100% accurate. One router bit under-cut the hole by 0.3mm and the other router bit over-cut the hole by about 0.25mm.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Aaron Inami View Post
    I have actually already tried that. First, it's really difficult to find a router bit that is long enough to reach 2-1/4" down. Second, the two router bits that I tried were not 100% accurate. One router bit under-cut the hole by 0.3mm and the other router bit over-cut the hole by about 0.25mm.
    Really? You consider when working with wood, a dynamic material, 0.3mm or 0.25mm an inaccuracy? The only time I have ever dealt with that type of accuracy was centering the x-ray tube on CT scanners in all 3 planes after installing a new tube. Then we used special jigs, phantoms and software to measure those type of extremely small specifications.

    People routinely route thick materials using a combination of two different router bits.
    Ken

    So much to learn, so little time.....

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ken Fitzgerald View Post
    ........ 0.3mm or 0.25mm an inaccuracy?...
    Ruh-roh. I gotta scrap the three end tables in process and start over.
    When I started woodworking, I didn't know squat. I have progressed in 30 years - now I do know squat.

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Aaron Inami View Post
    I have actually already tried that. First, it's really difficult to find a router bit that is long enough to reach 2-1/4" down. Second, the two router bits that I tried were not 100% accurate. One router bit under-cut the hole by 0.3mm and the other router bit over-cut the hole by about 0.25mm.
    It's not hard at all to find long router bits. Easy to buy even a 6" long bit.

    If the hole is "under-cut" (you mean in diameter?), then isn't it just your template that needs adjusting?

    You're talking about <1/64" error. How are you handling even positioning this drill/jig/router/whatever with better tolerance than this?

  14. #14
    It would be helpful to know what the details of the application are to enable a bit more of a specifically targeted response…as opposed to all of us saying “you’re worried about 0.3 mm?”

    I have seen extra long spiral and straight 1/2” shank router bits from Amana / Tools Today in the past, though without knowing more details, it would be hard to recommend much more specifically than that.
    Still waters run deep.

  15. #15
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    You don't have to reach all the way through wood with a single straight bit. You can bore down with say a 1 1/2" long bit. Then drill a 5/8 hole through to the other side. Then switch to a flush trim with the bearing on the bottom and come from the other side of the board. Run the bearing on the previously routed hole. But with you need for high precision, you may want to look into a jig boring machine.

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