annular cutters: a better way to drill big holes in thick steel

[jeff77indy]

My MT-3 Arbor came from a tool vendor in the UK, for only $55. I found
much higher prices from the few places I could find this arbor at US
vendors. The coolant collar was certainly more, and seems to remain
stationary while the bit rotates.

I have heard of these being resharpened, but I have not needed it yet.
At least one web site says if you turn these too slow, that can
increase the wear. My machinist pals are skeptical of that claim. I run
slow and cool.

There is an vender on e-bay from England selling these adapters for $55.00 would this be the same vendor yours came from?
How much hassle was it getting it shipped in?

Thanks
Jeff

[dfkrug]

There is an vender on e-bay from England selling these adapters for $55.00 would this be the same vendor yours came from?
How much hassle was it getting it shipped in?

That's the one, Jeff. They got my highest rating. No hassles at all. I
almost bought a set of cutters from England, too. Some brands of
these cutters sold in the UK are very attractively priced, from the
greenback perspective.

[jeff77indy]

That's the one, Jeff. They got my highest rating. No hassles at all. I
almost bought a set of cutters from England, too. Some brands of
these cutters sold in the UK are very attractively priced, from the
greenback perspective.

Thanks, I believe I will order at least the 3MT version.

Jeff

[allenr]

Yes they can be resharpened. I send my dull annular cutters to ohio tool for sharpening. Feed speeds and coolants make a big difference in how long cutters stay sharp.

What does the sharpening cost?

I imagine it might get a fair way toward the price of a new one.

[allenr]

My MT-3 Arbor came from a tool vendor in the UK, for only $55. I found
much higher prices from the few places I could find this arbor at US
vendors.

I think we in Australia have the same Ebay vendor and the price and quality look good.

Price and freight are quoted in AU$ so I assume there should be no nasty surprises?

[jlrsn]

Another drill to look for is a Cole Drill. It was the tool used back in the 1800s that was portable, clamped onto the work, was hand powered, and a ratchet powered downfeed. Every now and then you'll find them on eBay at very cheap prices. Do a Google search to see one. Even though I have a complete machine shop including a full sized Bridgeport Series 1 Variable Speed 2J2 Vertical Mill I am intrigued by old tools and I bought several Cole Drills and Cole Vises years ago. I used to have many full sized Bridgeport Vertical Mills but I sold most of my heavy machinery when I retired but kept one Bridgeport Vertical Mill, a Horizontal Mill, a Metal Shaper, 4 different size Metal Lathes, etc for my home shop. I love equipment!!
Jim

[arrabil]

Anything wrong with the $219 Harbor Freight Drill Press that uses an MT2 taper? The same UK seller has MT2 adapters.

[dfkrug]

Anything wrong with the $219 Harbor Freight Drill Press that uses an MT2 taper? The same UK seller has MT2 adapters.

How big do you want to go on your holes? That DP is prob similar to my
old Delta 16.5. The lowest speed is something like 300RPM, yes?

I have never paid for any sharpening....I would be curious what it cost
and who even does it anymore. At $20 per bit, it hardly pays for the
gas or postage.

[arrabil]

How big do you want to go on your holes? That DP is prob similar to my
old Delta 16.5. The lowest speed is something like 300RPM, yes?

I'm in the same boat as you... plasma for bigger holes, but I've been using a power drill (!) for anything smaller than 7/8".

The specs say yours is 150rpm and the smaller one I was looking at says 220rpm. Considering I've been drilling at WAY over 300rpm I was thinking 220 might be plenty slow! I just picked up a 20% coupon for HF so maybe I'll just wait for the big one to go on sale. I've been meaning to buy a drill press for over a year and this just puts it over the edge.

[dfkrug]

I'm in the same boat as you... plasma for bigger holes, but I've been using a power drill (!) for anything smaller than 7/8".

The specs say yours is 150rpm and the smaller one I was looking at says 220rpm. Considering I've been drilling at WAY over 300rpm I was thinking 220 might be plenty slow! I just picked up a 20% coupon for HF so maybe I'll just wait for the big one to go on sale. I've been meaning to buy a drill press for over a year and this just puts it over the edge.

Go with the bigger one. I used a 20% off coupon and picked it up at a
store (one box at 325#). It is not 150RPM.....it is 180 in the manual....the
catalog #s are wrong. It needs adjustment, but it is the heftiest press
I could find and I am happy with it.

HF has a deal that you can have an item shipped to a store and picked
up there for no shipping charge, BTW. It took two young studs at the
store to load mine on a trailer.