So, finally got the plans for our little bridge project, still waiting on the state but it appears that me is gonna need to hire some folks annnndddddd if everything unleashes like I'm afraid it will, I'll need to find a real shop....real fast!!!!
Onward, Mag drills? What brands are considered good? Any type to shy away from? I'm assuming that they don't use ordinary drill bits? Or do they? I have a sheet load of drilling on this bridge thru some thick steel and there is no way I'm standing up there with a half inch handheld drill running 11/16" holes. Bad enough I've got about 160 holes to drill on these plates for the pipe supports and that don't include the other stuff needed to be drilled!! Looking at the plans this is a big son of a gun!!! I do good on this and I will be forging my name around the area that's for sure!!
Anyhow, rambling again. Mag drills!!
Airgas has two Jancy and one other I believe is what he said. I see the Jancy Holemaker II, USA-101(Slugger) and the MagForce. The MagForce is pretty much the same as the USA-101 except it has a little larger capacity and actually a tad bit less hp on the motor. The MagForce is smaller by size, 12" high, 11.5" long where the USA-101 is 17.750"H, 13.5L. They sure do like them though!!! What kind of life can one expect out of these cutters used to pop holes? I have not gone thru the prints yet to see how many of these beam stiffeners I have to drill but I know there are more than 10 for sure.
Is there a magdrill that comes with a built in life vest? About 50 feet of this job is 40 feet+ over the river!!! We've been trying to get this job going for months! Now that winter is coming around we're gonna get the ok! This will be the second December that I've had running the business that will be a breeze!
As always, any input or thoughts are much appreciated!
Shawn
If you're going to be drilling holes horizontally, you might take a look at frame drills. One might modify a frame drill to work more effectively than a mag drill.
Looked up frame drill and first few were on wheels, Hougen makes a frame drill though that is super compact that looks pretty good. I'll have to put eyes on the bridge and see what the stiffeners look like, width, space and see what will work best. Got lots of time though, have tons of stuff to build before we even get to this point! Just wanting to research good name brands. Don't want to pay $800 plus for a turd that will lay down on me in two months. Thanks for the info TAC!
Shawn
Yeah you may want to go lay eyes on what you need to pop holes in beforehand.....Some of those mag drills will only accept bits of a certain length...what if the material is too thick for a short bit to go all the way through to the other side?...or if you can put a longer bit in, will the drill have enough travel to make use of it? We have a few Hougans that fit this category. If you have 3/8 thick stiffeners or less will you have room on the backside to add a thick plate for the magnet to hang onto?
The last rig yard I was in had several different makes. Some I had never heard of. The ones that held up the best were HOGAN. They took a hell of a beating from some of those hands and kept on going..
Hello Shawn, as others have mentioned there are a host of different makes, styles, etc. I myself like the Hougens, the Jancys. They are typically set-up to accept the annular type cutters, but some can be modified to accept stqndard twist bits or morse tapers. If you are needing additional depth consideration most of the major manufacturers likely have models that can accomodate up to 4" depths, although they certainly aren't as readily available. Most will work up to a 2" depth. Milwaukee and Bux have a number of different offerings that use the more traditional approach of standard drill chucks or morse tapers, yet these are generally very large and cumbersome when compared to the annular cutter style machines. Annular cutters may seem pricey when compared to "some" of the twist bit type drill bits, yet they really shine with the larger holes and thicker drilling depths when you consider that they don't remove all of the metal completely from the hole in the form of a chip. They produce a "slug" similar to what you would get with a hole saw. There is a lot more to discuss and say on this topic, yet when others are done replying I'm sure that you will have plenty of information to consider and put to use. Good luck on your project and best regards, Allan
The Steel Max ones I have used were well made and powerful. Hougens are pretty bulletproof and stout. I used the latest and greatest Millwakee a few months back and it was a POS had a goofy chuck, stupid depth guide and I could pull it off of flat steel with one hand...pretty bad considering it was well over 100lbs. You won't find any mag drills that will work well on the side of anything, unless you find one of those shipyard monsters made back in the sixties. Whatever you do, go get you some good carabeners and some quality rope, you will drop tools up there....be nice if they don't make the water.
Let me know if ya need a hand up there, I am ready for a road job to get away from these contractors for a while.
I have this Hougen with adjustable base. I'm very happy with it.
http://www.hougen.com/mag_drills/hmd904/hmd904.htmlThe annular cutters work very well. I've had good luck with Hogens's "Slick Stick" lubricant. It is a paste and is much less messy than coolant.
I have the coolant bottle accessory but never use it.
I would recommend the jacobs chuck accessory. That way you can drill holes smaller than the annular cutters you may have.
I've drilled overhead holes in 6 inch channel. That coolant bottle won't work upside down but the Slick Stick does.
I made a sort of stand that I can clamp to my shop table and use the Hougen as a drill press if needed.
Floyd
I have an Evolution . It cost about half of what the others do . I bought it for one job in particular and have work the hound out of it since. I was a little leery when I took it out of the box, it was sort of cheap looking but I haven't had any problems. If it dies tomorrow I will have gotten my moneys worth.
Ive used the hougan and millwalkee drills and they are ok. I would get one that has variable speed and jacobs taper drive or any way to easily run a standard chuck or a threaded arbor for using the broach style hole cutters .
The ajustable base like the one Paladin links to is the way to go working on the side or bottom of something. I used a really big heavy duty Milwaukee in tool & die work, the ajustable feature allowed easy & accurate positioning. I only used this machine in the normal on top of the job position, but it was nice [machine was borrowed from another company for a few days].
All the ones I have used or owned have been set up with a chuck, taper or quick change, none were set up for anular [slugger] cutters. If You are going all the way through material 2" thick or under, anular cutters are the way to go. If You need to drill & tap or drill & counterbore, You won't be using an anular cutter setup. Tapping works better with a reversible drill motor [many of the smaller machines are not] and if doing multiple operations like drill, countersink & tap or drill, counterbore & countersink, a Quick change such as a "Wizzard"
http://www.toolfab.com/mccrosky/wizard-quick-change-chucks-collets-and-tap-drivers.html greatly reduces the time spent changing tools.
The low clearance right angle drive machines have limited depth capacity. They are made for drilling truck frames, & don't get used on thick material.
These machines have provisions for and usually come with a safety strap or chain. Use it on any out of position jobs or where the machine could fall ANY distance.
Of the ones I own, only the Milwukee #4270 is still in production, and I have not used that enough to have an opinion, but it is much smaller & lighter than the others I own or have used.
Go with a hougen it's what I have mine will only do a two inch hole two inches deep they make bigger ones get the hole saw or Rota-broach bits too way better then the Jacobs chuck and your standard bits, keep plenty of coolant fluid on the bits and go to work. I don't even us my up-right drill press anymore hardly. Hougen makes several different models but they are the best in my opinion and I have used them all
Shawn
I recommend nothing but NITTO
It has the best safety features and it is user friendly as it is automatic feed.
Just my ¢¢'s and experiences
Pick it for your needs
Good Luck
Marshall
Shawn
I recommend nothing but NITTO
It has the best safety features and the auto line is user friendly as it is automatic feed.
Just my ¢¢'s and experiences
Pick it for your needs
Good Luck
Marshall
Another good feature of the Nitto drills is weight. I've used all brands at one point or another the Nitto's are the only ones that don't work you as hard as you work it. That means a lot when muscling one around for 8 hours or more. As far as I have seen they stand up as well as all the other brands but are 2/3rds lighter in weight.
Hello again Shawn, as I mentioned earlier and it has held true, you will get great suggestions from a lot of different folks. Superflux mentioned leasing, renting is also a decent option for use of a mag drill. In my area both Star Rentals and United Rentals have mag drills for rental, could be a great way to "assess" the performance and ease of use for various brands. Punching was also mentioned, there are a number of hand-held and crane hung portable punching options out there too. One of these systems might address your needs very well. Iron workers, if they can be applied for your needs, are a great option and very versatile for lot of shop situations and needs. But if you're punching beams they could be a bit of a pain to set-up for.Anyways, consider your options and get after it sir and if this job allows try to go with something that you can come away with that is yours and could be used again for future needs. Best regards, Allan
Shawn,
I have a Jancy Slugger/Holemaker that we have used for better than 10 years (I believe). Anyway, we use it with the roto-broach bits and love it. Not too big, but does some good sized holes. I highly recommend it but there are many other good ones as well. It ultimately depends upon your usage, money available to invest, and personal preference for functions and extras.
Oh, and it does come with an attached strap for tying off a safety line incase it comes loose out of position. No need to fish it out of the water.
Now, I would recommend caution before buying. Though you may be able to "afford" it because of this job, will it really keep earning it's own way later? How often do you NEED one?
A person can justify the expense to buy with even moderate continued usage if it takes so much time to always go rent one that between the rental charges, travel time, and time at the rental office (two trips each time you need it) that the cost is offset very soon. But only you can really decide the value of 'Buy' over 'Rent'. But that could be an option for a short term to check out various models before buying.
Another option, I notice you said "real fast". If it can wait till after FabTech and you could justify being there you will get to see about every model made and be able to test run them at the show. Besides, maybe we could get a chance to meet.
Have a Great Day, Brent
I have a Jancy Holemaker 2, here is my though, i rarely go past 1" plate so why buy a 4" machine? ( I know a friend who has one so it kinda helps ) The bit set is 110$ at Beaver Tool in Kansas City Kansas, so there is another plus, when im on a ladder 20' in the air the lighter weight machine is quite honestly a lot easier to handle. The good thing about the bits, 12$ to send them back in a resharpen them. Just my opinion, what works for me.
We use a Jancy that I bought about 10 years ago. I don't know the model nomenclaturer, but it looks very much like their USA5 model, which I believe is an updated version of the one we have. We bore mostly 13/16" holes through material 1" think or less. For that application it has been a bit over kill.
We have not had any mechanical problems, but the students managed to break off the valve that controls coolant flow almost immediately. Since we use a seperate bottle to squirt coolant on the cutter. Additionally, the electronic board that the start switch attaches to has had to be repaired or replaced every several years.
I have a Jancy I got in trade(damn carpenter trying to put up his own steel) for a job over 5 years ago and it is one of the most used tools on my rig. So far I have not been able to kill it, and my buddy has gone through 2 of the smaller Milwaukee's. If you are going to be popping a **** tone of holes for stiffeners, and tie ins, check out renting an Enerpac portable punch, much faster and you will make it up on the other end.
Shawn
I have had Jancy drills and beat the hell out of them , i do like the Hougen cutters better than the Jancy Cutters,I have had to replace bearings on the drill shaft and brushes ,there is an eletronic board in them that does burn up once and a while
My thoughts are that no one takes care of your tools like you the owner would ,especialy if they are from the hiring hall they will not have as much interest in the drill as you
you would want to use the smallest and lightest drill you could get to do the job if you your self are going to do the drilling or a trusted long term employee than buy a new one
if strangers will use you new drill and bust it up or drop it you will cry because you will have to buy a replacement,
expect to break drill bits and cutters everyone thinks the more preasure you put on the bit the better it cuts
if you could use an automatic Nito it will be safer and use less cutters
I suggest buying a good used one for field work ,if it is all shop work than buy the new one there is less chance of dropping the dril
Now here comes the sales pitch
after 21 years in my own buisness closed my shop 3 years ago and still have a lot of tools and equipment to sell off
I have 3 Jancys drills Jm 1000s 1 works good an the 2 are good for parts ,1 small Jancy works good , 1 NITO automatic drill ,several used resharpened cutters i am looking to sell them all
also it looks like you are in Tennesee ,the company i work for reciently purchased a fab shop near Memphis you may want to concider subcontracting the shop fabrication if you do not have a shop
Good luck
Bill
I will not give up my Cummings Diesel
