PCB drilling solution

[dogbox]

Hi there - newb to the forum.
Was wondering if any of you experienced diyers can give few tips on drilling pcb's? I have tried making my first pcb which went well untill the drilling part. Tried using a hand drill and carbide bits, but ended up breaking a couple of bits. Ended up drilling outside a pad-back to the drawing board.Suspect the rpm of the hand drill is too slow.

Was thinking about maybe getting a low bench drill, which would be handy for also drilling metal cases etc etc. Any info or advice appreciated.

BTW I'm working on some effects projects that I found on runoffgroove.com - lots of good stuff there.

This looks like an excellent forum.
cheers

[tunghaichuan]

I would suggest getting a drill press. Even an inexpensive Chinese-made press will work better than a hand drill. You should use carbide bits for drilling the PCB substrate, which will dull high speed steel (HHS) bits in a hurry. Check Harbor Freight or Grizzly for inexpensive ones. Since you're dealing with stompboxes and PCBs, a bench top model would suffice.

Also, I would invest in some kind of center punch. You want something that will make a fairly small depression in the pad on the PCB. You want the depression so that the drill bit will catch and drill a hole in the center of the pad.

HTH.

[Commodore 64]

Yep, i was just going to say, get one from Harbor Freight. I got one on sale there several years ago. You can change the belt to different pullies to get higher/lower RPMS. You can always a good use for a drill press.

[dogbox]

Yeah I've pretty much decided on getting a bench drill - boy they don't get much cheaper than this $72.00- http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/online-store/products/Super-Works-Bench-Drill-5-Speed.aspx?pid=102608#details

this is Australian dollars by the way (so that would be about $64.00 USD) I geuss you get what you pay for, buy cheap buy twice etc etc - but I think I will get one for the heck of it-thats ridiculous...

cheers

[BigBadWolf1171]

use of a center punch is good practice, as it will keep the drill bit from straying away from the intended mark as well as assure you are on target, lower the drill press down with it turned off to make sure you are on the mark. then drill away. harbor freight offers cener punches with an adjustable spring load. you simply twist the top of it till its at the desired pressure and then push it on the mark, it will click when it has punched. its very inexspensive,maybe 3$.. but its very useful when you dont wanna hit the punch with a hammer on something soft or something that will bend. also use a dab of cutting fluid on the tip of your bit, it'll cut faster, neater and stay sharp longer. happy drilling :AOK