8020 counterbore

[JeffKiper]

I'm looking to get into mobile machine guarding. I will be using 8020 and have 1 stumbling block for a mobile setup. It's counterboring 13/16" dia 5/8" deep in a a piece. In the shop I use the mill, its quick and clean. In the field or in an enclosed trailer I can't see a mill traveling very well.

I'm buying an enclosed trailed setup for field service work.

DO you guys have any ideas on how to do this? I've thought of a drill press with a fixture. Do drill presses have enough rigidity to handle this?

[Mac's Crew]

I think a drill press would have the rigidity needed, depending on how it is anchored... an 8 inch harbor freight sitting on a bench may have some troubles... but bolted to the bench would give it a better chance. Machine, set-up, feeds and speeds... that's what it would come down to in my opnion. If you could do it in your shop, with a drill press you should be able to duplicate it in your trailer

[JeffKiper]

IM all about anchoring stuff down. I hate when things are just bouncing down the road. i may have to try the drill presses in the shop.

[jpump5]

How about a mag drill with a base/centering jig?
Drill might also be useful for drilling on machines.

[Brand X]

It will not take much to drill into 80/20..Might even just use a wood router/jig with wd-40 as lube

[albrightree]

I have a jet 18" drill press and a Palmgren cross slide vise that I used to do some of the 8020 drilling, It was accurate enough but really slow. Most of the time I just order it, especially if it has mitered joints on it. Any good bench top drill press should be able to do the job, though it might help if you have Drilling Jigs You could also invest in a small bench top mill, Grizzly makes some nice looking ones.

I chuckled when someone mentioned a Mag Drill, thinking its all aluminum. Upon further thought, and finishing jpumps5's post ,I thought it could be useful when doing the machine mounting itself. I used to weld , and install guarding for injection molding presses, and I would have loved to have had a mag drill when mounting those. Those machine were made from some thick cast steel. I spent lots of time hand drilling and tapping those.

[thegary]

I wish I had a nickle for all the aluminum plats I drilled with a mag drill . Either bolt or clamp a 1/4" steel plate to the aluminum. The Op does not say what size through hole he is counterboring but any size can be purchased at an industrial supply house fairly inexpensive. Any drill press should be able to do the job. I have counterbored hundreds of holes in a drill press. If its too big for a drill press a mag drill used as stated above should work just as well.