Drill Rack How to Use

I welcome everyone who looked at the light. The review will focus on, as you probably already guessed, the budget stand for a drill Caliber 96203. Of the interesting features of the model, a more reinforced design can be noted in comparison with similar racks from this price range and the presence of a vice for fixing workpieces. To whom it is interesting how the rack proved to be in work, I ask you to be welcome under cat.

General view of the stand for drill Caliber 96203:

Drill Rack How to Use

Brief TTX:

Equipment:

Drill stand Caliber 96203 comes in a blue cardboard box:

There is no additional protection during transportation, although on the other hand, all parts are metal and should not break.

The box contains the model name and brief specifications:

Assembly instructions are presented on one A4 sheet:

In principle, there is nothing difficult to assemble and everyone can assemble a rack.

Appearance:

Assembled stand for drill Caliber 96203 is as follows:

It is a good help for a home craftsman, who from time to time needs a small “drilling machine”, but due to circumstances there is no way to purchase it. I agree that this rack will not replace a full-fledged drilling machine, but for undemanding operations this option has a right to exist. If it is necessary to carry out small drilling works, it is quite possible to install either an engraver (dremel) or a simple electric motor. In addition, the main advantage of the rack is mobility, so if necessary, you can take it with you to the cottage or to the workshop (garage).

For those who do not quite understand why such racks are needed, I explain:

In total, if you are not involved in amateur design, assembling any home-made products and a drill, you only need to whip up a hole in a piece of wood or a block. most likely, you simply do not need a stand. If you occasionally drill any details or you just want to facilitate the work, but accuracy is not important. a cheap rack is enough. If you are engaged in modeling or various homemade products. choose a high-quality rack or desktop drilling machine. over, in addition to the rack you will need a quality hammerless drill.

I plan to use the counter at the country cottage. For precise operations, I have a Lerom BG-5158B bench drill, which I published a review on earlier. The “old man” RITM MES-600ERU, which has been working for 15 years, if not more, will act as a drill. Thanks to the standard landing diameter of 43 mm, the drill stood up like a glove:

The main condition is the presence of a lock (lock) on the start button of the drill, otherwise it will be inconvenient to use the stand:

The drill stand Caliber 96203 is a modular design. All elements are already initially assembled at the factory, the user can only connect the modules together.

Let’s start with the sole. It is an aluminum base with mounting holes, on which, if necessary, you can install any vice:

I would like to note that this model initially comes with a vise. There is a similar model (96202), but without a vice. It is slightly cheaper, but in my opinion, this savings is meaningless. The vise, although not perfect, is a good complement to the job:

On the bottom side, the aluminum base is simply strewn with numerous stiffeners, significantly increasing the rigidity of the structure:

The sole is made by injection molding. The wall thickness is 3.5 mm, which at first glance may seem insufficient, but this is not so. Compared to similar Chinese racks, whose thickness barely reaches 2mm, everything is much better here. But still I would like to see a steel or cast-iron base. The dimensions of the platform are about 150mm150mm, here is a small comparison with a box of matches:

The upper surface is milled, there are no distortions, the surface is rough to the touch. In completely “Chinese” racks, the upper surface is not finished and simply painted, which is why it often has distortions. Without a vise, the detail slides on them. The distance from the center of the base to the tube is 8.5 cm. The smaller this distance, the less all kinds of deviations from the perpendicular, especially in the versions of the racks with hollow guide tubes and frail mounting them to the base of the sole. Those. the smaller this distance, the smaller the lever is, therefore, it acts with less force on the "frail" places of construction. On the other hand, the greater this distance, the more dimensional part we can install on the sole and drill a hole at the desired distance. Here you need to choose a compromise.

Video: Drill Rack How to Use


At the base of the sole there are special cut-outs for attaching a different vice, as well as a central hole necessary for complete drilling of the workpiece, or protection against accidental drilling of the base. As mentioned earlier, this rack model is equipped with a simple vice. They are also made of aluminum alloy, have a sufficiently large stroke and the function of "accelerated" clamp:

The vice is not monolithic, which is why it is reinforced with several stiffeners:

The clamping jaws, as such, do not have a vise, so thin parts are not very confidently pressed:

When you press the part hard, the latter slides over a smooth painted surface and slides out. I recommend tearing off a layer of paint with rough sandpaper, the clip should become more confident. Volumetric parts are compressed quite well, especially wood or plastic. It is not worth it to abuse a strong tightening. nevertheless, the thread is cut in an aluminum base and can not withstand high loads.

By design, everything is trite and simple:

Pleased with the presence of a special orange button ("accelerated" clamp), which releases the thread. It is very useful when there is no desire to manually twist the vise handle and allows you to quickly move the clamping sponge to the desired distance.

For fixing the guide tube, a special hole in the base is provided, equipped with two screws:

The screws have a hex head, but there is no special socket wrench included. I hope the manufacturer corrects this annoying misunderstanding.

The guide tube itself is steel, about 1.9 mm thick, 24.9 mm in diameter:

The tube clamp at the base is very good, there are no backlashes at all:

Here I would like to make an important point. no need to try to tighten the screws with great effort. Since the base is made of aluminum alloy, the thread may tighten if it is tightened and you will have to look for a larger diameter screw and / or cut a new thread. The rigidity of this node is good, but when drilling large holes with decent effort, violations of perpendicularity are possible. The increase in the thickness of this node or the addition of stiffeners completely solved this problem. When drilling small holes, everything is fine.

Now the turn has reached the head part, in which the electric drill or electric motor is directly installed:

It is also made of aluminum alloy and coated with green paint. For the convenience of drilling there is a depth gauge:

As you can see from the photo, the maximum stroke is only 6cm. I would like to note that most racks just still have a working stroke of only 5-8cm, no more. This is enough for most jobs. A special collar with a landing diameter of 43 mm, clamped by a special screw, is designed for mounting a drill or motor:

If the drill has a smaller diameter or if you need to install, for example, an electric motor, a plastic spacer ring is included in the kit. Unfortunately, this rack does not have a restrictive ring on the tube, which is why when unscrewing the stopper, the entire head part of the rack still strives to “move down”. A kind of notches on the inner surface of the clamp would be completely useful in order to completely eliminate the slightest rotations of the head part around its axis.

The principle of operation is quite simple. The head of the stand with the drill installed is fixed to the steel tube with a screw. By pressing the feed knob, we make the entire head module move relative to this attachment point. A special steel guide rail in black helps in this:

Due to the presence of a rigid spring, the entire head module returns to its original position without additional effort. There are only two points of contact between the head module and the pipe; there are no loose leaves:

Roughly speaking, the aluminum head creeps up / down the steel tube. Due to loose fitting, a slight backlash is observed. This is a distinctive feature of all drill stands. both expensive and cheap, just in the first backlash is minimal and there is the possibility of their adjustment (adjustment).

Inside the head module there is a special pin designed to limit the depth of drilling. a very useful function, especially when drilling blind holes:

That’s all in design. There are some comments, but the whole rack works and deserves attention. This is not the “plasticine slag” that can be found on sites for inexpensive.

Advantages and disadvantages of the rack:

Of the significant comments, I can note the following:

Now the good points:

Tool Requirements:

The accuracy and quality of the resulting holes, regardless of the type of rack used, directly depends on the following factors: tool feed (if rough, then this is the ratio of the pressing force to the speed of rotation of the cutting element), the condition of the bearing assembly of the drill (dremel / engine), straightness and sharpness of the cutting element (drill). Obtaining perfect holes using an impact drill is almost impossible. Due to the design feature, there is always a backlash of the chuck spindle, so with such a drill. only rough operations. For more precise operations, hammerless drills, drowsers, or simple electric motors are needed. It is desirable that the bearing assembly was not broken (there was no play), and the gear case itself was metal.

Brief conclusions on the rack Caliber 96203:

When drilling relatively soft parts (wood, plastic, color), as well as when drilling small holes in steel, there are practically no disadvantages. With this option, both percussion and hammerless drills will fit perfectly. A small play of the guide head does not have serious consequences on the quality of the resulting holes. When drilling hard metals, especially large-diameter drills with good feed, deviations are possible. With a small feed, the result is satisfactory.

I will tell you frankly. it’s not particularly suitable for precise work, since there is a small backlash in the head part and it cannot be corrected without assault. Stands for precision work are 3-4 times more expensive, and they also have their own “sores”, although not as serious. This is Sparky, Proxxon, Wabeko, Lux-Tools, Encore. At a price slightly lower than the cost of a desktop machine, their purchase is very doubtful, although in some situations they are indispensable, for example, angular drilling.