New milling stand

After a frustrating episode with my cordless drill, I decided to bite the bullet & make a proper milling stand. I found a wooden kitchen cart on CL for $30 and bought the Harbor Freight low speed hi torque drill with a 20% off coupon for $40. The results:





I used the drill for pilot holes through the 1.25" thick top-wow that thing is a beast. Looking forward to my next batch to fully put it to the test.

That looks great! Nice work!

Nice! Where'd ya get the mill?

tonyc-Thanks! That is a straight up Monster Mill that I bought off the Monster website. The drill has a threaded insert for a side handle that I used to bolt it to the top:

You should mount the drill inside with a chain drive to cut down on noise


Just thinking out loud haha.

GrantH said:

You should mount the drill inside with a chain drive to cut down on noise


Just thinking out loud haha.

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The drill mounted outside will stay a lot cleaner --- nice job on the build!

While this is a dedicated mill stand, there may be times I'll want to use that drill for other projects. Like boring through concrete, or railroad ties. The locking speed adjust is sweet on this drill-it allows you to re-lock at the same setting repeatedly.

That is BEAUTIFUL. May have to steal this from you

By all means, steal away! If at all possible, get the same drill (do a search for "Harbor Freight coupon" for 20% off) I don't think anything will stop this thing. It's also the exact height for the MM spindle, no shims necessary. I had to do a daily search on CL before I was able to get the right cart.

can you send me the link for that drill? All I see is this drill - http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-half-inch-heavy-duty-spade-handle-drill-93632.html

But it doesnt look like your drill -thanks!

scottvin said:

can you send me the link for that drill? All I see is this drill - http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-half-inch-heavy-duty-spade-handle-drill-93632.html

But it doesnt look like your drill -thanks!

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That's the drill; Both handles are removable. Originally I thought I'd fashion a switch controlled plug to operate the drill, but the way the speed control is implimented, that would have been a total waste of time. There is a thumb wheel on the trigger that can be adjusted while the drill is locked & running, a great feature for milling.

logdrum said:

By all means, steal away! If at all possible, get the same drill (do a search for "Harbor Freight coupon" for 20% off) I don't think anything will stop this thing. It's also the exact height for the MM spindle, no shims necessary. I had to do a daily search on CL before I was able to get the right cart.

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I already have the drill, been using it since June last year and yeah it's a tank. I've been wanting to figure out a way to solid mount the drill and mill together and this just looks awesome!

blaster_54738 said:

I already have the drill, been using it since June last year and yeah it's a tank. I've been wanting to figure out a way to solid mount the drill and mill together and this just looks awesome!

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I kept the mill mounted to the original base in the (rare) event I'd want to go mobile. I counter sunk four holes in the cart top with a Forstner bit to recess the bolt heads. Feel free to ask any questions.

Very nice end result...just might start looking for a cart like that...sweet work, nice and simple! You couldn't build that for $30, that's for sure!

I don't have a lot of woodworking tools, so this was done mostly w/ the drill & a cheapie jig saw.

Nice looking build!

Real nice!

That cart has a hardwood end-grain cutting board/butcher block top and you got it for $30?! Must be pretty stout! Very nice setup!
Cheers!

Looks nice!

headfullahops said:

That cart has a hardwood end-grain cutting board/butcher block top and you got it for $30?! Must be pretty stout! Very nice setup!
Cheers!

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Yeah, the top cutting board is righteous. I lucked out on that score. It also has a set of locking/swivel wheels.

logdrum said:

While this is a dedicated mill stand, there may be times I'll want to use that drill for other projects. Like boring through concrete, or railroad ties. The locking speed adjust is sweet on this drill-it allows you to re-lock at the same setting repeatedly.

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May I ask what setting you have the speed dial on? I've been trying to get this drill in the local store but they've been sold out for weeks. May order online but I don't want to fork out $7 for (unnecessary) shipping...

UPDATE: I went to the store and managed to snatch the display model since the (apparent) replacement model does not have the dial to set the max speed. I'll see if it still works.

funnycreature said:

May I ask what setting you have the speed dial on? I've been trying to get this drill in the local store but they've been sold out for weeks. May order online but I don't want to fork out $7 for (unnecessary) shipping...

UPDATE: I went to the store and managed to snatch the display model since the (apparent) replacement model does not have the dial to set the max speed. I'll see if it still works.

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Since the top speed is 500 RPM, I set it at about 1/2 way on. It would be a shame if they changed the switch, it's one of the drills most useful features-for milling.

Is this the drill you're looking at?
http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-half-inch-heavy-duty-spade-handle-drill-93632.html
They have several very similar models, the one linked is the one I have & recommend.

logdrum said:

Is this the drill you're looking at?
http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-half-inch-heavy-duty-spade-handle-drill-93632.html
They have several very similar models, the one linked is the one I have & recommend.

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That's the one I got. The local store didn't have any more but others do. Apparently it has been replaced (temporarily or permanently) by the model without the speed dial. Mine works without load so I'm happy so far. Will try to mill soon

Sorry to bump an old thread but I've been using the harbor freight drill "free hand" with my MM mill and it's a little exciting getting it going when the mill's full of grain (not to mention tough on the wrists). logdrum, do you happen to know specifically what type of hardware you used to bolt the drill to the table? It's a bit hard to make out in the photo. Thanks!

The HF drill has a side handle that bolts on the drill. It appears to me that the OP drilled a hole in the table top to accept a bolt into the drills threaded insert for the handle from beneath the table top.

wilserbrewer said:

The HF drill has a side handle that bolts on the drill. It appears to me that the OP drilled a hole in the table top to accept a bolt into the drills threaded insert for the handle from beneath the table top.

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Sorry I didn't see this sooner, but that is exactly what I did, I believe it's a 10 mm allen head with a couple of washers.