I am part of a robotics team in the LA Area (1160 - San Marino High School) and our mill for making bearing holes just broke down. We are in a somewhat urgent need of a mill and were wondering if there are any teams nearby that would let us use theirs. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Team email:
[email protected]
If it’s just for bearing holes you could use a step drill bit on a hand drill. Would probably do just fine minus some precision.
Not sure if this helps at all but if you were only using it to do bearing holes, a nice pilot hole with the drill press and one of these will get you a pretty decent bearing hole.
We’ve been trying to use our drill press but it’s been a bit too unstable for bearing holes. Are there ways to increase drill press stability or does it come down to the model of the drill press itself? We have the Wen 12’’ Variable Speed Drill Press.
My team is in los angeles, We get orders from McMaster Carr in less than 24 hours. I’m sure they have what you need
Hi, we are team 599 in Granada Hills, and we are willing to provide help to your team. We will be sending you guys an email shortly and any specific information can be determined there. 
drill a pilot hole with a normal sized bit on the drill press, and then use the step drill for the rest of the way. The step drill is usually pretty forgiving for non precision placed bearing holes.
While McMaster used to sell milling machines, they’re thousands of dollars, didn’t ship same-day like everything else, and they aren’t for sale anymore. Probably not a practical suggestion.
As for a mill, if you want to take a drive down to San Diego we’ve got four of them (and one of them is even decent). It’s a bit of a drive, but the offer is open.
OH my, their mill machine broke. I thought it was the cutting tool. Yikes. Beyond my pay grade.
If it were the cutting tool, I’d still go elsewhere. Boring heads ain’t their specialty either, and those are the best for bearing holes.
I’d say our mill down in south Torrance is available, but I’m not sure how many parts still need to be made for our robot (and I have a boring head to tune). Router might be open, though.
Curious what on your mill broke. Can it be fixed? Also, I’ve made some just-fine bearing holes with hole saws on fairly terrible drill presses, worse than yours likely, and they worked out fine. The key is to run at the slowest speed, and feed it hard enough to make a good chip. If you want something more precise than a hole saw, buy this https://www.homedepot.com/p/Klein-Tools-1-1-8-in-Carbide-Hole-Cutter-31876/202868663
If you still are in a bind, reach out to me via DM on here. We’re just 15 miles west of you guys.
And clamp the workpiece firmly to the table of the drill press with at least two clamps.
Just to clarify, a hole saw will not make an accurate hole for a press fit bearing (used a sawzall™ on a bridgeport), the teeth are serrated. Also, a drill press is a lot less accurate than a mill, yet you will probably get a decent hole. I recommend buying a drill bit and reaming to final dimensions. Just make sure to have your piece secure. For the step drill I will say this: most are slightly tapered on the steps, whether a 5-10 oversized hole is fine is up to the maker.
Update!
Our mill is tentatively working. Hopefully it’ll last so thank you so much for all of the open offers and suggestions! Good luck all with build season.
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