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Date: 09 Oct 2008 19:57:07
From: shaw news
Subject: Drill press for drilling bowling balls
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A question for pro-shop guys out there.
Is it possible to use a regular drill press (ie. Sears Craftsman) to drill
bowling balls? I was looking at Jayhawk and the possibility of buying a
press and a jig from them. I am wondering if I should just buy the jig from
them and get a different drill press since theirs is a bit pricey. Any
ideas? Thanks.
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Date: 12 Oct 2008 18:25:29
From:
Subject: Re: Drill press for drilling bowling balls
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On Oct 9, 9:57=A0pm, "shaw news" <kknow...@dal.ca > wrote:
> A question for pro-shop guys out there.
> Is it possible to use a regular drill press (ie. Sears Craftsman) to dril=
l
> bowling balls? =A0
A drill press is fine as long as you have ability to move the ball in
the X and Y planes as well as clamp it firmly. There are small jigs
that allow you to do this. These systems are crude but if you are
careful they are adequate for home or small shop use. They will not
allow you to mill oval holes with good precision. Exactacator thumbs
or precut oval slugs work for a lot of people and eliminate the need
to mill ovals.
A far better choice is to invest in a decent milling machine which
will have a table capable of precise X,Y movements. This is what good
shops will have with either a mechanical clamp or a vaccu-jig to hold
the ball. Mechanical clamp is fine, vaccu-jig is nice.
For home use you can get away with two bits. If you use finger inserts
that is one bit (31/32 or 7/8). Another for the thumb slug (1 1/8 or 1
1/4) if you use Exactacators or precut ovals.
To get the ball to static legal you can invest in a couple other bits
and a dodo scale but the latter is costly. If you use drillings that
don't require x-holes you can drill a lot of balls without one. Rather
than buying a Dodo scale it would be cheaper to make a deal with a
local proshop to let you borrow thiers (for a reasonable fee of
course).
> I was looking at Jayhawk and the possibility of buying a
> press and a jig from them. =A0I am wondering if I should just buy the jig=
from
> them and get a different drill press since theirs is a bit pricey. =A0Any
> ideas? =A0Thanks.
Jayhawk and Inative just rebrand JET mill/drills. The key that they
provide the jig. If you buy or make a jig there is no reason not to
buy a mill direct from a machine tool supplier. You can fabricate a
very nice jig with aluminum plate and stock with suitable clamps
easily available from sources like McMaster Carr. The only difficult
part to source is the ball cup.
Good luck - have fun.
Mark
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Date: 11 Oct 2008 20:22:00
From: PromptJock
Subject: Re: Drill press for drilling bowling balls
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> A question for pro-shop guys out there.
> Is it possible to use a regular drill press (ie. Sears Craftsman) to dril=
l
> bowling balls? =A0I was looking at Jayhawk and the possibility of buying =
a
> press and a jig from them. =A0I am wondering if I should just buy the jig=
from
> them and get a different drill press since theirs is a bit pricey. =A0Any
> ideas? =A0Thanks.
Not being a pro-shoperator, I don't see why not. Just make sure it's
a ** HEAVY DUTY ** unit, it has a 2-axis adjustment table (for
drilling your pitches and offsets) and you have a clamping system
(manual or vacuum) to immobilize the ball while you're drilling it.
Finally, the DRILL BITS seem to be fairly specialised, so consider
that in your pricing.
That's all for my opining... :)
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Date: 12 Oct 2008 08:32:42
From: litefrozen
Subject: Re: Drill press for drilling bowling balls
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PromptJock wrote:
>> A question for pro-shop guys out there.
>> Is it possible to use a regular drill press (ie. Sears Craftsman) to drill
>> bowling balls? I was looking at Jayhawk and the possibility of buying a
>> press and a jig from them. I am wondering if I should just buy the jig from
>> them and get a different drill press since theirs is a bit pricey. Any
>> ideas? Thanks.
>
> Not being a pro-shoperator, I don't see why not. Just make sure it's
> a ** HEAVY DUTY ** unit, it has a 2-axis adjustment table (for
> drilling your pitches and offsets) and you have a clamping system
> (manual or vacuum) to immobilize the ball while you're drilling it.
> Finally, the DRILL BITS seem to be fairly specialised, so consider
> that in your pricing.
>
> That's all for my opining... :)
If you use your own drill press make sure the spindle has enough travel
around 5-6 inches.
If your going to punch out a ball you should have a Kaufman Scale also
To check the weights.
I think the best deal at jayhawk is the "Value Pro Shop Package" which
is their proshop in a box and has everything you need.
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