# New to me drill press... burning wood.



## k223238 (Aug 6, 2010)

Hello everyone... new guy here just venturing into woodworking as a hobby and for repairs and project around the home. My two girls are really having a blast learning some cool stuff too... got them going crazy with the Elmers and a few hundred 1/4" x 4" balsa wood pieces. :thumbsup:
So, in trying to build up some basic tools, while also keeping my better half from going through the roof at the end of the month :furious: , I picked up a used 1/2" drill press for my shed/shop/mini-man cave.

The problem I'm having is the dp will burn the wood even at slowest 
speed (500). Using brand new 1/2" forstner bit ($25 Craftsman set) and smoke appears when cutting head is below the surface of wood.
Any idea on what to look at would be appreciated.

Regards,
Manuel


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

I don't know for sure, but maybe you should dump the shavings from the hole as you drill every once in awhile (if you are not) That sounds like the problem to me.








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## rrbrown (Feb 15, 2009)

Manuel, 

Pictures would help for sure. Have you tried a different bit, even though its new don't mean anything. I got a box of screws that more then 1/2 the box had smooth heads no slots for a bit. What type of drill press and type of wood. 

Feed rate, drill speed, type of wood and sharpness of bit can all cause your burning problem or any combination of same.


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## Sarelp (Dec 30, 2009)

Sounds to me like your pushing it a little to hard:sweatdrop:


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*All of the above*

In particular remove the chips very frequently, make sure the "speed" is really the slowest/lowest at 500 RPM or so... that should work. The last thing to look at is, are the burn marks at the sides of the hole or in the bottom. If on the sides the bit is tapered the wrong way. It should be widest at the bottom cutting edge and taper up slightly if at all toward the chuck. As was suggested try a different bit ..let's go larger one size, say 3/4". Then let us know what happens.  bill


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## dodgeboy77 (Mar 18, 2009)

As Richard said, try another bit just in case you got a bad one. Bill made a good point regarding the speed, too.

You didn't mention any details of your drill press. Most only run one direction but you don't have a reversible one running backwards, do you?

Bill


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Highly unlikely but possible*



dodgeboy77 said:


> As Richard said, try another bit just in case you got a bad one. Bill made a good point regarding the speed, too. You didn't mention any details of your drill press. Most only run one direction but you don't have a reversible one running backwards, do you? Bill


Maybe someone has twisted the belt into an "S" rather than a "O" which will cause it to run backwards....yikes ..the other bill


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## H. A. S. (Sep 23, 2010)

Few weeks ago, I found an old craftsman Forstner bit that did not have enough clearance, burning the wood at slow speeds.

Found out I had to reshape it by hand on a diamond wheel. Some in that set cut just fine, while I had to reshape 2 others.

Just never know what you're getting these days.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

rrbrown said:


> Manuel,
> 
> Pictures would help for sure. Have you tried a different bit, even though its new don't mean anything. I got a box of screws that more then 1/2 the box had smooth heads no slots for a bit. What type of drill press and type of wood.
> 
> Feed rate, drill speed, type of wood and sharpness of bit can all cause your burning problem or any combination of same.


I agree. It could be the bit. Try another one. Try a slow speed, and try a higher speed. Could be the wood. Sounds like a dull bit, feed rate too slow/too fast.












 





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## k223238 (Aug 6, 2010)

Thank you all, I'll try and ease up on it a bit and see if that helps... I've tried the 1/2" and 5/8" and both will burn the sides of the hole. Also, I have to keep knocking out wood from the tip as it gets clogged up fairly easy.
Here are some pics of the press and the problem I'm seeing with the burning... hope the pics help.
































































I'm holding off on installing some dowels on my first project (joiners mallet) until I figure this out.

Thank you all again, I appreciate all the help.

Manuel


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

The bit you're using looks like just a HSS (high speed steel) bit. I would try a different type of forstner bit, something like this. A carbide tipped with a very short sidewall will leave a very clean hole.












 





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## dbhost (Jan 28, 2008)

I am thinking that even if there is runout in the spindle, that still shouldn't lead to burning... Looking at the bit in the photo it is hard to tell, but it looks like the cutter actually bows OUT then back in as you go up the cutter, which would certainly burn the work piece, if not jam the bit in the work. Is that an optical illusion or is that the way the bit is made?


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## H. A. S. (Sep 23, 2010)

Quality control is slipping all over the world. I just measured a couple more Craftsman bits and one was .0005 larger at the top, than at the cutting face. The only thing to do is grind out more rake and radial relief.


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## Roger Newby (May 26, 2009)

H. A. S. said:


> Quality control is slipping all over the world. I just measured a couple more Craftsman bits and one was .0005 larger at the top, than at the cutting face. The only thing to do is grind out more rake and radial relief.



I hope you misplaced the decimal point on that measurement....5/10ths of 1/1000th of an inch? A standard sheet of paper is 8X that dimension.


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## H. A. S. (Sep 23, 2010)

Roger Newby said:


> I hope you misplaced the decimal point on that measurement....5/10ths of 1/1000th of an inch? A standard sheet of paper is 8X that dimension.



I'm pretty sure I know what a half thousandth looks like.:laughing: In a well equipped shop, I can lap a piece down to .0001. A little harder to do on a lathe, though. Some dies had to be polished to a millionth, using a microscope.


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## Itchy Brother (Aug 22, 2008)

I think its the bits unless your trying to bore something like ebony or bloodwood,something really hard..$25 for a set?You should be able a pretty good set for maybe $50 - $80.Not great but adequate.


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## jeffreythree (Jan 9, 2008)

I think it is the bits also. I have a cheap set and they just don't clear chips well enough to keep from burning in anyhting over 1/2" thick. A regular twist bit will not burn on mine, how about yours?


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## k223238 (Aug 6, 2010)

Well, I guess it may be the bits... I switched to the unused 7/8" bit and had no problem with the same piece of wood. Ran it at 500rpm and 900rpm, both left nice clean hole and no burning! I was careful to clear the chips repeatedly and found no clogging this time at the tip. One thing that did not go away is an annoying 'squeek' when in the cut... minor, I know, but weird. :icon_smile: I'm just glad the dp is OK... I'll invest in some good quality bits going forward.

Thank you all for the help!

Regards,
Manuel


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## dbhost (Jan 28, 2008)

If you want a recommendation for a Forstner Bit Set, I have the Grizzly H7694 Master Forstner Bit 31pc Set and have been pleased as punch with it. I bought mine a little over a year ago at about $65.00, I think, looking at Grizzly's site, they are currently on sale for $39.95 which is a steal.

While they aren't premium bits by any measure, they are quite good quality, fairly accurate, have done everything I have asked of them, and the 31 piece set gives you a large enough selection of sizes that unless you are cutting huge counterbores, you won't run out of options.


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## phinds (Mar 25, 2009)

Unless you have really a really good angle of the outer wall side moving in towards the shank as it goes up, that squeek is just natural. I don't know if the best forstners do that or not; mine are lower end (on quality) ... they do a great job of cutting but do squeek occasionally on really hard wood.


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## dbhost (Jan 28, 2008)

I don't think the squeaking is normal. I am on my 2nd set of forstners and have had some individuals and the results have been...

#1. Grizzly forstner bit set. No squeaking on burning with any bits tried so far.
#2. Porter Cable forstner bit set (MUCH smaller selection than the Grizz, which is why I replaced it, needed more size selections), no squeaking, no burning.
#3. Harbor Freight forstner bit (borrowed). No squeak, no burn, but then again, most inaccurate in regards to size. 
#4. Freud. No squeak, no burn, most accurate in regards to size (dead on according to my caliper).
#5. Craftsman forstner bit. (owned) Squeak, burn, returned to Sears for a refund. (then went and bought the Freud...)

Not saying that all the Craftsman forstner bits are duds, but the odds are there is something problematic in their machining of the bits that is causing this problem...


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## k223238 (Aug 6, 2010)

Got it... Thanks for the info. I do plan on replacing these with some quality bits once they quit working... the squeek I can live with for now, as long as I don't get burning and the holes are OK.
I found some info on this site on checking runout on DP's so I'll check for that over the weekend as well... just in case.

Thanks again for posting your experience with this!


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## rrbrown (Feb 15, 2009)

Glad to here you found the problem. I bought 16 pc set from HF for $22 and have no problems at all.


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