Thread: Router Bits in Drill Press

I use the Carbitool wheel cutting bits, which are made the same as any other router bit, but designed for use in the drill press.

Once they have been in the drill press, they are basically no good for use in the router again - the chuck on the drill press rakes the crap out of the shaft. Router bit shafts are a lot softer than drill bits.

If you were to use this technique - don't use your favourite router bits!

Why cant a router be used?(make a jig)

Or... cut the recess on the lathe in the 1st place!

My router has #### itself so I hav to find an alternative until i can save $300..

Originally Posted by falz

My router has #### itself so I hav to find an alternative until i can save $300..

Ouch! Sorry to hear that Falz; its a pain in the proverbial when a tool goes down. Would you mind posting what brand of router it was and how long you have had it?

Cheers

Falz, I have done it in the bad old days before I got my router and it worked ok but of course the cut is not as good because of the slower speed. Do a test run.
I could not comment definately on damage to the bit shaft though I don't think there was a problem.
David

The bearings in a drill press aren't made to take the kind of side loads that routing would put on them. Often the chuck is just an interferance fit on the tapered quill of the drill and can work loose with excessive side load. This sort of question comes up frequently from people wanting to use their drill press as a vertical mill (metal working) and the usual reply is that it is not a good idea.

cheers

George

I've done it and it worked ok.
But the side pressure tends to cause the chuck morse taper shaft to fall out.
Why not get a gmc router till you can afford something better.

Falz - when I do these sorts of joints I pefer to do a sliding dovetail, but whatever form of joinery you choose, be it dovetail, M&T, floating tenon or dowels, you have to either cut a flat on the shaft, or shape the leg so that it only contacts the shaft on the outside, where you see it. Shaping the end of the leg sounds the more difficult, but in fact is probably easier to get right than forming a perfect flat, which not only has to be flat, but the exact width of the leg, or it just don't look proper. That means if you mess up even a little, and have to plane a bit more to get it flat and square, your width increases at an alarming rate.

All that said, I prefer making a flat, because if you cut a dovetail housing on the curved face, you end up with these very thin, splitty edges, not to mention more difficulty marking-out accurately, etc. I've found the best way is to do them by hand, unless the wood is really nasty. Mark out accurately, put a saw-cut through to depth at the end, and chisel away the waste. Making more saw-cuts along the waste often helps. Clean up with a sharp and well-set block plane, and Bob's your uncle. You could have all of the flats done in less time than it would take to make the jig to do it on the lathe or dill-press.

Cheers,