My regular drill does not close enough to hold the tiny drill bit for my pcbs and I've been having to wrap tape around the bit for it to hold. Is there some kind of tiny drill that you all use?

A dremel,get the chuck 10$
And the dremel drill press 40$  makes working on PCBs and enclosures way easier.

I use a cheap PCB hand drill with a 1mm Drill bit - http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=219909&C=Froogle&U=219909&T=Module

How about these?  http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/products.asp?dept=1273&pagenumber=2&sort_on=&sort_by=

I have used some in a drill press and they worked fine.

You need a mini-chuck which you first mount your tiny drill bit into then mount that mini- chuck into your drillpress chuck.  http://www.woodcraft.com/Family/2000784/Mini-Chuck-And-Wire-Drills.aspx  (Not sure whether mini-chuck is the correct technical name for the tool but you get the idea.)

dave

Quote from: davent on June 12, 2010, 07:36:04 PM
You need a mini-chuck which you first mount your tiny drill bit into then mount that mini- chuck into your drillpress chuck.  http://www.woodcraft.com/Family/2000784/Mini-Chuck-And-Wire-Drills.aspx  (Not sure whether mini-chuck is the correct technical name for the tool but you get the idea.)

dave

Yup.  FAR better than a Dremel tool - particularly if you already have a drill press.


Gabriel

The best way to use the tiny bits needed for PCBs is at a very high RPM .
IIRC 10,000-30,000 RPM is recomeded operating speed for them (smaller bit = faster speed)
I dont know of many entry level drill presses or drills that will spin that fast ?
But John Lyons reports good results in his standard drill press,so its worth trying first.

Thats why so many DIY use dremmels, but to each their own - what works good for one person may not work for another.
If you start breaking lots of bits get something that spins faster and has good alignment.
Wobble will break those tiny bits WAY faster than even a 1/16 bit from Home Depot will under same conditions.
You definetly cant lean one into a direction to fix a hole like a regular bit.

Davent, You're thinking of a pinchuck.

Quote from: panterafanatic on June 12, 2010, 07:56:08 PM
Davent, You're thinking of a pinchuck.

Thank you! I had pin vice stuck in my head but googling that turns up a different animal (one of which i already have). Googling mini-chuck got me a quick good image but now i can zero in on what i was really looking for and i need to add one to my tool collection.

Thanks again,
dave

These bits:

http://www.smallbearelec.com/Detail.bok?no=592

are suitable for PBC drilling, and the shaft is thick enough to be held by a standard chuck.

Regards
SD

I have a #64 bit, while good for resistors and caps, it's a tad thick for IC sockets, So I would use something thinner for ICs.

i use these http://shop.vendio.com/MoranEnt/item/557876438/index.html. i use them in a dremel but they have a wide shank that will fit in regular drill.

Thanks everybody. The dremel drill press looks very cool.

The chuck in my drill press was like that, wouldn't close on the small shank bits I was using. SO I got another, smaller chuck and chucked that into the chuck of the drill press. Every thing aligns straight and true.  You can also chuck a pin vise into a large Jacobs chuck to hold tiny stuff.

Dremmel makes an accessory pack that contains 4 collets  (the inserts that go under the screw {chuck} cap and actually hold the bit) and they include one of the original 1/8" collets plus 3 smaller sizes. These collets will go directly into the chuck of a larger drill press  and will tighten down as the chuck is tightened. Cheap easy fix if you have a decent bench press with 1/2 " chuck.
   


and remember    [shoot for the moon, half way maybe wasn't your goal, but wow look, how far, as opposed to going for down the street, even if you made your goal, how far did you go]
LEAD OR GET OUT OF THE WAY, don't hold others back

Inexpensice drill press and carbide bits from harbor freight. Good for more than just PCBs and less than a hundred bucks.