Thought I’d share a tip.
(I’ve gained way too much valuable info from this forum without contributing much. I want to at least try to add something)
I am building my first triple. Ran into an issue with the fitment of the pill. Needed to remove some of the threads. The pictures below show how I went about it.
Hope that makes sense.
Drills can be used for all sorts of things besides drilling/driving.
I showed a file in the picture just as an example. You could also use a belt sander, angle grinder, you name it. All sorts of ways to cut/shape.
Great tip! Thanks a million for sharing, you have contributed well!
And perfect timing!…
I need to do the exact same thing for a light I’m building, and although I consider myself very mechanically inclined and have done similar to this with a drill before (many times in fact) the idea TOTALLY slipped my mind. :person_facepalming:
Gotta love BLF and members like Nooner for taking the time to post their methods and tips. Only yesterday I was thinking how I was going to hold and rotate the (aluminum) pill against my bench grinder or belt/disc sander! Instead of a drill I’ll make up an arbor for the pill and chuck it in my floor press. I feel kinda dumb now cause I should have known better to do it this way.
I’ll just blame it on getting old, nothing to do with “things” :partying_face: I did back in the seventies and eighties!
What an interesting coincidence. Tonight I worked on some some copper discs I was going to use to mount some small XP MCPCBs for a Sofirn C8F triple with SST-40s. I found the center and used a centerpunch to market. Then I slowly drilled a hole using a hand drill. I checked a few times, and it was staying in the right place, but once I was done, it had clearly drifted off center.
I ended up putting a bolt through it, filing it into rough shape by hand, and then using drill and file to finish it off. It worked pretty well, especially considering the runout on the drill chuck is probably 5mm.
You’ve given me ideas of some other things I can do now.
Not wanting to spoil your party, I would like to make some arguments against it. Though depending on brand/model of the drill.
Here is a schematic view of a drill. If you look at the main axle you notice two bearings
The one on the right is (from the viewpoint of functionality) similar with the one below.
It can handle (a lot of) axial and lateral force.
The one on the left is a small bearing, just ment to facilitate the rotation, not to absorb a lot of force.
If you use the (drill)chuck as a lathe, or apply a lot of lateral force on it, you also apply that on the small bearing.
I needed a new small bearing after trying to adjust the km(mile)counter of my bicycle.
I you are looking for something that is more capable of handling the lateral force, try a milling machine or a grinder.
Nooner, my intention was not to play you down.
There are lots of bits and pieces available for a drill that can be used in a way not predicted by the manufacturers of those items.
Just don’t apply too much lateral force :innocent: , when the chuck starts wobbling it’s too late.
Well, if you were looking for a more permanent DIY solution, you could get some good quality gears and bearings and something to make a frame. Then, build a “lathe” to which you can chuck up your drill and not have to worry about lateral forces on the drill’s bearings. The drill then would be the drive motor, and nothing else.
Cant agree Henk4U2.
First of all, cordless drill have nothing similar to corded one. Never try regular AC powered drill for rotating parts!
Than, did you check cordless drill tool capacity (usually wrote on sidr sticker) and calculated or measured side force that this tools can apply as feedback? All this 25-35mm flat wood drills can give lots of feedback force if one side meet more solid piece inside wood. It is so big that you can hardly hold drill with big rubber-coated handle, and never comparable with force that you can apply by pushing a file down to the rotating part.
Extra forces is bad side of regular (one tool) lathe turning. You can minimize forces if you will use cylindrical grinding. You need second tool - bench grinder/dremel/angle grinder (dangerous) or even another drill. With this way you can make parts with good precision and roundness - like shaft with bearing place and etc.
kiriba-ru, are you saying it’s better to try this with a cordless or corded drill? I’m not quite following you. I think something was lost in translation for me
Most AC drills have cheap simistor/tiristor as speed tegulation circuit. As result if you set speed to ~30% you will get ~5% torque. Some modern drills have universal dc motors with more complex speed regulator and dont have torque problem.
Also, today even $30-40 cordless drills have 2 speed gearbox. I dont know all markets but Ive bought cheapest 2-speed bosch drill for near $120, all models below this price had single speed (-》low torque).
:+1:
