How to make a mini drill with your own hands from a motor, brush, blender

The main advantage that a self-assembled mini-drill differs from standard products is its compact size and the ability to obtain electrical equipment without significant expenditure of money, effort and time. It is easy to make such a homemade instrument at home, since it does not require special skills or highly complex devices. To get a high-speed drill or other devices for making crafts, a home craftsman only needs to be comfortable with a screwdriver and pliers and be able to perform simple technical operations.

Mini drill attachments

A cutter made from a wheel from a lighter. Ordinary drills may not be enough if you are not a radio amateur, but are engaged in model making or other types of creativity that require the use of a mini drill or drill. Some attachments are easy to make yourself:

Milling cutter. You can use a spinning drum from a lighter. Place it on a suitable size bolt and secure with a nut.
Grinding head. A small nail will do. Place a cork champagne cork on it or wrap a cylinder of electrical tape around it. Cut a rectangle out of sandpaper of the required grit and glue it around the circumference of the head cylinder. To process different materials, you will need several of these heads.
A circular saw. The upper or lower part of a C-size battery – the so-called “barrel” – is suitable for manufacturing. The battery material is strong enough to make a compass disk. To mark, use a compass to mark the hole in the center. The oblique teeth must be the same size to avoid runout during operation. To fix it in the drill chuck, use a bolt and secure the disc to it with nuts. As you can see, it’s not difficult to make a mini drill with your own hands from a motor if you are full of enthusiasm. Many scrap materials that you most often throw away will work. The only thing you will have to spend money on is a collet: making it yourself is extremely difficult.

Housing options for mini drills

Lamp socket

If, in order to make a chuck for a mini drill, you need to visit Aliexpress or another similar resource in search of a collet, everything is much simpler with the case. For its manufacture, trash is suitable, which in most cases is recycled. Let's consider several options:

Antiperspirant container

Electric cartridge. The option is less acceptable: making a hole in such durable plastic will not work, so the power button will have to be fixed to the body with glue. You can use a soap bubble container as a back cover.
The tube is the right size. Any material will do - metal, plastic or rubber. Not as aesthetic an option as the above. Please note that when attaching the motor to the body there should be no gaps, otherwise the drill may run out during operation. For additional fixation, you can use cold welding or superglue.

Complete analogue of the factory “Dremel”

Drill example

The original housing is also made independently in such a way that the engine is tightly fixed inside, while leaving a gap or an open part in the heating area.

The body of the mini-drill can be any plastic tube.

There are models that used a tube of sealant, a syringe, a plastic tube of toothpaste or children's candy.

A piece of plumbing plastic pipe cut to the required length will also work, but in this case the open ends will need to be sealed with some kind of movable “plug”, for example, acrylic or cut out of plastic.

You can make a mini-drill chuck or clamp yourself, for example, from a regular connecting terminal, or buy it on the market or in a store. For collets, you can contact engraving workshops, as well as modeling departments or sections of components for household power tools.

The resulting tool is a universal option; Depending on the type of repair, various attachments are fixed with such a clamping chuck: drills, cutters, discs with a cutting edge or screwdriver heads.

From a fishing reel

A simple and effective version of a mini-drill can be constructed using the reel mechanism of an ordinary fishing rod as a drive. Such a tool will work like a drill, in which the torque of the handle is transmitted through a gear.

The craftsman will only need to dismantle the line spool of the reel and trim the axle, and then in their place weld or glue a collet or chuck from a non-working drill in which the drill will be fixed.

The model is mechanically driven, does not require power, and is driven manually.

Method number 3 – Antiperspirant idea

Well, the last version of a homemade mini drill, which we would like to provide to the readers of Sam Electric - using a cassette motor and an antiperspirant container. The advantage of this model is that it is controlled by a separate on/off button and has a convenient housing. Such a homemade product will be powered by a conventional power supply, which must be selected based on the characteristics of the motor.

So, first you will need to prepare the following materials:

motor from a tape recorder;
suitable collet with drill;
used antiperspirant;
RCA socket for connecting power and a mating part for it;
power unit;
switch from an old carrier.

The first step is to make a mini drill according to the instructions provided at the very beginning: place the collet on the shaft and secure it with bolts. Next, the motor housing is installed in the antiperspirant. As you can see from the photo, the dimensions are ideal for installing the part. If the motor has free movement inside the housing, secure it with electrical tape and hot glue.

After this, you need to drill a hole in the top cover for the exit of the collet or the drill itself. At the same time, you need to make a hole in the bottom for the power connector. Using a utility knife, you also need to cut out a window for the switch, then solder all the elements of the circuit in series and install them in a place convenient for you.

The advantage of this version of a homemade mini drill is its convenient operation, small size and stylish appearance. We recommend doing this particular option at home, because it is the most convenient, safe and at the same time affordable.

Review of various creation ideas

Method No. 1 – Second life for an old tape recorder

As you understand, the first version of a homemade mini drill will be made from a CD recorder forgotten by time. All you need from the former bestseller is a motor that will rotate the chuck with the tool. Since the device is powered by 6 Volts, you will additionally have to find an appropriate power supply or several batteries. You can use a USB adapter, but in this case the power will be slightly reduced. In addition, you need to buy a collet yourself (sold in any radio store or on the market, on the Internet on AliExpress, the price is low) and find a suitable housing for homemade work, although this is not necessary, you can hold the tool directly by the motor.

So, in order to make a mini drill from a motor yourself at home, you must follow these steps:

Solder two flexible wires to the contacts of the device, as shown in the photo.
Install a drill of a suitable size into the collet.
3. Place the finished nozzle on the motor shaft and secure the cartridge with screws. Please note that the collet hole must ideally fit the shaft diameter, which is usually 1.5 or 2.3 mm. Otherwise, it will be difficult for you to remove vibration when operating a homemade small drill. If the hole in the collet chuck turns out to be larger than the motor shaft, then you can try wrapping several layers of tape, thick paper, polyethylene or other material. This will compensate for the gap and reduce vibration.
Carefully tighten all 4 bolts on the nozzle, then connect the wires to the power source and test the finished homemade product. For ease of use, it is advisable to add a button or switch to the power supply.

That's all the technology for assembling a device with your own hands. As you can see, making a microdrill from a motor is not at all difficult, even for a novice electrician. The only drawback of this device is the low strength of the thin drill. If you drill holes that are not at right angles, it will break immediately, so be careful and buy a few drills in reserve for practice.

A very important point that you should know about is that to make the drill spin in the other direction, just swap the wires! You can watch an interesting video instruction on how to make a simple drill below:

A simple drill made from improvised means

Toothbrush device

All parts of the brush need to be cut off, leaving only the body. Then you need to connect the shaft of the miniature motor with the drill using a collet mount. The collet clamp is purchased separately, taking into account the diameter of the engine shaft.

The chuck is suitable for shafts with a diameter of 2 mm. The brush motor has a smaller diameter. It is first necessary to grind each fastener to a cone-shaped shape. This will allow you to adjust the diameter of the engine shaft to the size of the cartridge mount.

The drilling machine can be made from a blender, electric manicure tool and other devices.

A mini-drill is sometimes equipped with a speed controller and other options.

The video shows how to make the equipment.

Necessary materials

Before moving on to describing the various methods for making a homemade mini-drill, you should determine what structural elements this tool consists of.

There are four in total:

The drive is the heart of any instrument. It can be either mechanical or electrical, in the form of an electric motor. At the same time, based on safety rules, craftsmen recommend using a low-power unit with an operating voltage of up to 12 Volts for a mini-drill.

Electric motor RS385 12V

Chuck clamp. If desired, you can find a universal chuck suitable for both a drill and a screwdriver. Such are, for example, collet mechanisms - they are cheap, and consist of a chuck and replaceable drills, which are fixed in the chuck with protruding bolts.

Mini small cartridge 0.7 mm – 3.2 mm

A miniature battery or power pack to power our mini drill. If possible, it is better to use a unit with an adjustable supply voltage, this will allow you to change the shaft speed.

Casing or housing.

Reference! There are options for mini-drills with manual or electric drive, in the manufacture of which individual elements are excluded from the design (for example, the power unit or housing).

Drill with fishing reel

This do-it-yourself manual micro-drill can be called the simplest and most effective. If you do it, then you won't have any problems making a hole. A do-it-yourself drill of this type can easily be called the best; if something goes wrong, you can easily fix it.

What do we need:

The reel is inertialess.
A collet or an old drill chuck.
Hot melt adhesive.
Small drill.

The process of assembling a homemade drill from a coil can be divided into two main stages?

First of all, we must dismantle the spool with fishing line, and cut off the axis that we do not need. This is what it looks like in the photo.
Glue the cartridge or scurvy onto the remaining rod. You can use hot glue, but it will be more effective to do everything using cold welding.

When everything dries, we check how our mini drill works with our own hands. We found this video for you on the Internet, here each stage is described in more detail.

DIY mini drill examples and videos

Instructions for making a drill

When making small things, decorative and other products, a compact drill, engraver and similar hand tools are very convenient, and therefore remain indispensable in the home workshop. Using such equipment, you can drill and process products made of wood, plastic, textolite and other durable materials. You will also need a micro drill when drilling printed circuit boards.

To manufacture drilling equipment, select a suitable chuck and a body of suitable dimensions (plastic container). To rotate the work surfaces, you need to select an electric motor and a power supply, for which you can disassemble an old hair dryer or other electrical equipment.

To learn how to make a mini-drill, just read the following list of recommendations:

You first need to secure the cartridge to the electric motor shaft, for which you will need adhesive materials (“cold welding”), which ensure a reliable connection between the metals.
You will have to work very carefully, since the adhesive materials set quickly, which eliminates the possibility of eliminating errors and correcting the connection.
After fixing the cartridge, it is better to cover its surface with a special heat-resistant glue, which will ensure the density and strength of the connection.
On the case you need to make a hole in advance for the switch (preferably a push-button one).
The drill will be more functional with a reverse mechanism, which is implemented using a six-pin switch.
When connecting to the power supply, you will need a 12 V power supply or a battery (2-3 pieces) with a similar voltage.

Having assembled a mini-drill into a single structure from individual parts with your own hands, you can turn on the power and do test drilling.

Complete analogue of the factory “Dremel”

To make it, you will need a motor with a 5V or 12V power supply, which can be removed from a broken children's toy, a miniature fan, a printer, a tape recorder, or simply bought on Aliexpress. If you plan to use the drill for more than just drilling printed circuit boards, you can make a convenient housing from a polypropylene water pipe. We select the diameter so that the motor holds tightly to the walls. Ventilation usually runs along the shaft. You can use an empty tube of construction sealant.

End caps can be cut from any material: for example, PVC or acrylic. If the engine is powerful enough, a charger from an old mobile phone will not work. You need a current reserve of at least 3A (for 5 volts). A good option is an old computer power supply (you can buy it for pennies on the radio market).

The collet chuck can be purchased in the store: the department of components for engravers and Dremels. If there is a need to adjust the speed, you can make the circuit yourself, or purchase a ready-made unit.

The illustration shows a Chinese regulator and a power supply from an Internet router (12V, 1.2A).

With this homemade “Dremel” you can not only drill miniature holes. By installing the appropriate attachment, you can work with a milling cutter, cutter, or cutting disc.

Design

Inside any mini drill there is a grinding machine, that is, a device for direct grinding. All of the above functions are performed thanks to attachments and cutting tools installed in the chuck.

A significant difference between the design and a standard size drill is the rotation speed of the spindle sleeve. Popular models of mini hand drills maintain speeds from 10 to 30 thousand per minute. Due to the high speeds, there is no need to secure the workpiece being processed, because it will not be pulled out of your hands. This feature is very convenient when working with engraving and grinding.

Interestingly, the Hammer mini drill is equipped with a flexible shaft, which allows you to use attachments in the most difficult to reach places without unnecessary discomfort. It is very convenient to use a flexible shaft when you do not need to hold the drill in your hand. To do this, the electrical appliance is suspended on a special stand. This approach will free your hands, reduce vibration and overall noise levels.

Drilling machine from car pillars

We bring to your attention one of the simplest designs of a homemade drilling machine to manufacture.

Necessary materials:

construction corner;
car rack;
sheet metal;
spring - for automatic lifting of the rack.

The idea of this homemade product belongs to the author of the YouTube channel Alex DIY.

A metal pallet is used as the base of the machine. If a pallet is not available, it can be made from sheet metal (to do this, cut the blank to the required size, bend the sides, and scald it).

It is clear that the base is quite flimsy, so it needs to be strengthened. Inside the pallet, the author places steel corners and a piece of sheet metal. We weld all the parts together and weld them to the pallet.

Next, you need to make two clamps from the metal strip. We connect them together by welding them to a piece of profile pipe.

A car stand is used as a machine stand. We put a paired clamp on it and tighten it with a bolt.

We drill a hole in the base, install the stand, putting a spring on it, and secure it with a nut. We install an electric drill in another clamp.

You can learn more about making a homemade drilling machine from a drill with your own hands in the author's video.

Just a great homemade product for your drill!

Among the advantages of this design, first of all, we can note the ease of manufacture and low cost (you can use scrap metal scraps).

But the scope of application of the machine is limited - it is only suitable for drilling wood and sheet metal. For more serious and responsible work, where high precision is required, this machine is no longer suitable.

Method number 3 – Antiperspirant idea

So, first you will need to prepare the following materials:

motor from a tape recorder;
suitable collet with drill;
used antiperspirant;
RCA socket for connecting power and a mating part for it;
power unit;
switch from an old carrier.

Review of various creation ideas

What can this tool do?

Initially, it should be noted that a mini-drill is a compact device equipped with a low-power motor, as well as a spindle for securing drills, a power button and a speed controller. A homemade mini-drill is also called a drill, grinder or Dremel.

The miniature drill received the name “Dremel” because it was the company called “Dremel” that first produced such a tool. Mini drills are tools that have a plastic structure that looks like a hair clipper. At the end of such a tool there is a spindle, which allows you to attach various attachments, including small abrasive wheels. The main tasks assigned to the mini-drill are:

Drilling small holes using appropriate drill bits.
Milling.
Cutting, cleaning, sharpening and finishing of materials.
Drawing small patterns.
Engraving, polishing and grinding.

All these tasks are performed thanks to special attachments that are included with the drill under the Dremel brand.

This frequency of rotation of the spindle head of a mini drill indicates that the tool can work even without the need to secure the workpiece in a stationary state, which is done when drilling with conventional drills in order to prevent it from being pulled out of your hands. The various attachments are secured using a special chuck with a collet mechanism. The diameter of the collet chuck is from 1 to 3 mm, which allows you to work in the most difficult to reach places.

DIY mini drill

If there is a need to use a mini-drill, but there is no finance or desire to spend money on purchasing a factory-made product, then you can make the tool yourself. Making a mini drill with your own hands is not only easy, but also pleasant, since for such a homemade product you practically don’t need to buy anything. All structural parts can be found in the garage among the old tape recorders. Let's look at the features of making the simplest model of a mini-drill with your own hands.

First you need to find an old but working motor from a tape recorder. Such motors usually operate on a constant voltage of 6V, so you will definitely need a battery. A collet clamp can be turned on a machine, but it is much easier to order a chuck from any resource. As a body, you can use a plastic shampoo jar or fittings for a polypropylene heating system. When all the elements are available, proceed to the following steps:

You need to solder two wires to the motor, which will supply power and a speed controller (if needed).
Install and secure the motor into the housing (tube, etc.).
Install the switch, regulator and power connector into the housing.
Assemble the housing (install plugs).
It is necessary to fix a drill of the required diameter in the collet chuck.
The cartridge is fixed on the motor shaft using clamping bolts.

After this, it remains to begin testing this device.

Above is the simplest option for making a homemade drill for processing small parts. There are many options for making such devices, but they are all based on the use of motors from old tape recorders. If you plan to use the product constantly, then it is better to give preference to factory models, which are sometimes equipped with all the necessary consumables.

The advantages of a homemade mini-drill include:

Minimum costs for manufacturing the device. You just need to find or purchase a collet chuck.
The simplest version of the design is even smaller than the factory devices.
The product is very convenient to use and manage.
It has a unique look and stylish design, since the manufacturer himself complements his creation with various elements.

Connect the power and start working
To summarize, it is important to emphasize the human need for a tool such as a mini-drill. After all, with its help you can not only drill printed circuit boards, but also use it for grinding various parts that have oxidized or corroded, giving them their original appearance

We recommend reading about a homemade mini-grinder.

From a ballpoint pen

To make a drilling device from a ballpoint pen, no electrical elements are needed, and no skills in working with power tools are required.

You will need a ballpoint pen with an automatic mechanism, hot-melt adhesive, a stick with jumpers at the end that rotates the drill, and a drill of the required size. The main load falls on the body, so you need to choose samples made of metal or thick plastic.

Build process

The ballpoint pen is completely disassembled. A drill is inserted into the lower part of the body, from which the rod usually comes out. The shank is fixed into the hole on the stick. To ensure that the entire working structure of the tool becomes a single mechanism, the parts are fixed to the inner walls of the body with hot-melt adhesive. The drilling process will be performed through mechanical action on the stick, which serves as the handle of the device.

Drilling machine from a screwdriver

This design option is ideal for those craftsmen who have neither a drill nor an electric motor for a washing machine. And in general, this is a cool idea if you want something simple and compact so as not to take up a lot of space on your desktop.

This interesting idea belongs to the author of the YouTube channel “Alexey Chezganov”.

First we make the base. The material used is corrugated pipe. The master decided to make the base not solid, but lattice.

First of all, a rectangle is welded, then profile pipes with a small gap need to be welded inside. A stand is welded to the base at a right angle (90 degrees).

Let's start making a homemade carriage to which the drive will be attached (in this case it's a screwdriver).

We take a grinder and cut the pieces from the corrugated pipe to size. You also need to make a mounting clamp to secure the screwdriver.

We weld two L-shaped parts from profile pipes. We weld a clamp at the end.

We cut off two more pieces of profile pipe, which will be required when assembling the carriage. We prepare hardware and bearings, and then proceed to assembly. All parts must be painted first.

The author made a carriage movement limiter from two pieces of profile pipe, studs and nuts. We install it at the bottom of the rack at the required height. Then we put the carriage itself on the rack.

The author decided to use a gas lift as a return mechanism so that the carriage with the screwdriver automatically rises up after drilling is completed. But you can make some changes to the design and install, for example, a spring instead of a gas lift.

The last stage of work is cleaning and painting the metal. We insert the screwdriver into the clamp, clamp it, and then you can begin testing the homemade product.

The step-by-step process of assembling a mini drilling machine with your own hands is shown in the video.

Stand for drill or screwdriver

In general, the design turned out to be quite easy to use and inexpensive. Thanks to its compact size, it will not take up much space on your desktop. We advise you to take note of this idea.

Homemade collet coupling of the simplest design

The simplest collet, operating on the principle of a coupling, can be made of steel wire with a diameter of 1 mm. It should be borne in mind that the collet of the proposed design is not a universal clamping device and can only be used for drills of the same diameter

It is important that the transverse size of the drills used corresponds as closely as possible to the diameter of the output shaft of the drive motor. In addition, it is important to consider that such a collet can only be used when drilling materials with low viscosity

Homemade wire clamp

To manufacture a collet coupling of the proposed design, the following consumables, fixtures and tools will be required:

a cylindrical metal blank, the diameter of which corresponds to the diameters of the output shaft of the electric motor and drill;
steel wire;
electric soldering iron;
soldering flux.

Manufacturing process

When you have prepared the body and core, you can begin directly assembling the drill with your own hands:

Place the cartridge with the motor connected to each other in the jar. This must be done so that the wires that stick out from the socket are then placed in the lid of the jar.
When the cartridge fits completely into the jar, lock it. To do this, fill the voids on the sides with hot glue and wait until it sets completely.
Attach the switch to the cover and connect the power wires to it. It can also be placed on glue.
We connect all the wires to the switch; the connection diagram is standard. You can use an ammeter for accuracy.
After connecting the wires, they need to be insulated using electrical tape or hot melt adhesive.
Screw the lid onto the jar and attach the drill to the other side.

The good thing about a ready-made mini-drill is that it can run on both batteries and electric power. We considered the option of assembling a universal model.

Naturally, without having the skills to work with electricity, it will be extremely difficult to assemble such a drill with your own hands. Below we suggest you consider options for assembling simpler drills for small household needs.

How to assemble a drill with your own hands based on the handle body

To make it you will need the following materials: ballpoint pen; drill with the required diameter; hot glue; a durable stick with handles at the end that can be used to rotate it.

Pay special attention to the choice of handle for the manufacture of a future drill, and specifically to its body, since during operation the main load will fall on the body. The requirements for the handle body are:

The requirements for the handle body are:

it must be as strong as possible to withstand loads;
the best option is a body made of high-quality metals;
If there is no pen with a metal body, choose a pen with a thick plastic base.

The build process looks like this:

Disassemble the handle until only one body remains.
The lower part of the body, where the writing rod usually sticks out, needs to be unscrewed.
Instead of this part, insert a drill into the body in such a way that its working part sticks out from under the lower part, and the second part is inserted into the hole that is in the stick.
The stick is inserted into the body at the same time as the drill.
To ensure that the structure of the drill is complete, it is fixed to the wall of the housing using hot-melt adhesive.
When you twist the mechanism using the special handles, the drill will rotate, providing the desired work by pressing the handle body.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=kKLL_tvTc94

Steering rack drilling machine

The idea of making a homemade drilling machine from a drill and a steering rack belongs to the author of the YouTube channel khám phá và sáng tạo.

Necessary materials:

sheet metal;
round pipe (steel);
car steering rack;
steel round timber;
metal strip;
electric drill.

We start by making the base. From sheet metal 2-3 mm thick, cut a rectangular blank of the required size. We round off sharp corners using an angle grinder.

Next, cut a piece of metal strip 30-40 mm wide.

We weld it to the bottom of the base, and immediately bend it along the contour of the workpiece. The bend area must first be heated with a gas burner, or you can first bend the strip to size on a bending machine.

Using a grinder with a petal wheel, we process the outer part of the base so that the edges are flush with the welded strip of metal.

After this we need a steel disk. We attach it to the base and fix it with welding. Then the author drills three holes to install the bolts - tighten them with nuts.

Now we need to make a vertical stand. A round pipe is used as the starting material. Use a grinder to cut the workpiece to the appropriate length. Using welding, we attach it to a metal disk.

Additionally, you need to strengthen the rack in the lower part with the help of three or four jibs cut from thick sheet metal.

Next, from a pipe and a pair of steel plates, you need to make a tightening clamp that fits onto the rack. It is needed to rigidly secure the working support table.

Two metal plates with holes are welded to the top of the rack, which are needed to secure the steering rack of the car.

A section of professional pipe is welded to the end of the rail, to which the master welds a homemade metal clamp, with which the electric drill will be rigidly fixed.

Now we need to make a support work table (we cut it out of a sheet of metal) and a flywheel to lower and raise the drill.

We clean the weld seams with a grinder with a flap wheel, after which the surface of the metal must be painted - it will last longer and be more beautiful.

Step-by-step instructions and a diagram of how to make a drilling machine for a drill with your own hands for a home workshop are shown in the video.

Hướng dẫn làm máy khoan bàn mini tuyệt đẹp từ phế liệu

The design turned out to be quite inexpensive and easy to use. It is very convenient that a drill is used as a drive - if necessary, it can be removed and used for other purposes.

Second option - Self-assembly + (2 videos)

If the task is to make a miniature instrument with your own hands, then you must initially select an electric drive. A motor from various devices - a printer, an old cassette recorder, or from an ordinary children's electrified toy - can be used as an electric drive.

Depending on the power of the electric motor, you can build a mini grinder in two directions. The first direction is to use a network power source. For example, from an old mobile phone. The second direction provides for a completely autonomous model consisting of a motor that will be powered by batteries or accumulators.

The difference between the two directions is in the design of the case. In the first case, space will only be required for the electric motor, and in the second, a battery compartment will need to be installed.

It is very convenient to use a piece of PVC pipe for the body. If its diameter is slightly larger than the diameter of the electric motor, then electrical tape can be wound onto the motor. You can secure the engine using a glue gun.

As plugs, you can use plugs that are placed on PVC pipes during transportation and storage. It is necessary to make a hole in the front plug for the motor shaft, and in the rear plug for the power wire. The power connector and switch must be secured to the housing.

The ideal option would be to attach some kind of collet clamp to the shaft. This will allow you to use standard burs, drills and non-standard mini cutters and discs. If installing a collet clamp does not work, you can connect the shaft and cutting tool using a double contact from an electrical block.

In a similar way, you can make a case for a mini angle grinder with autonomous power supply. Only after installing the engine in it, it is necessary to install the battery pack. The battery wires will be connected through a switch mounted on the case.

In both cases, on mini grinders you can use both homemade tools and standard industrial ones - burs and drills.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wihkqVEz1k

Homemade plywood machine

A drilling machine made of metal is durable and reliable. However, not every craftsman has a welding machine.

Therefore, we offer an alternative option - to make the frame and main parts of the drilling machine from plywood.

The idea was shared by the author of the YouTube channel SF Crafting.

Please note: to assemble a homemade drilling machine, the author uses MDF, but it is better to use plywood.

Necessary materials:

plywood;
furniture guides;
edged board;
plastic legs;
fastening clamp;
metal plate.

First of all, we take two furniture guides, and after removing the internal movable slats, we screw them to the plywood blocks. The bars themselves will need to be secured to a wide piece, as shown in the photo.

Next, we take another pair of furniture rails - we screw them to the plywood platform between the side rails (we also remove the internal movable strips).

We make a mount for a drill. You must first cut off a metal plate and weld a clamp to it. Additionally, we make reinforcement using round or square rods (this is the only operation where welding is used).

Now you will need to make a movable platform. We saw off a piece of plywood of the required size and screw the internal strips of the furniture rails to it. We connect both parts of the structure together.

Another plywood board must be screwed to the movable platform, to which a metal plate with a clamp is attached.

After this, we cut out the base of the drilling machine and screw plastic legs to its lower part.

Next, we install a stand made of edged boards. The previously assembled structure must be attached to the rack.

Install the return spring. We fix the electric drill or screwdriver in the clamp.

You can watch the video for details on how to make a drilling machine from plywood and furniture guides.

How to make Drill Press Machine at HOME | How to Build a Drill Press Machine | homemade drill guide

The design turned out to be quite inexpensive and easy to manufacture. Every home craftsman can do it with his own hands. By the way, if you change the method of fastening the clamp, you can completely do without welding.

Simple mini drills

Many people who do not want to shell out a significant amount of money for a ready-made tool often ask how to make a mini drill with their own hands.

You can make your own small mechanical drill using an old fishing rod reel.

To do this, you need to remove the spool from the reel (the core in the form of a cylinder on which the fishing line is wound) and cut the protruding metal axle to the desired size. Then you need to glue an old cartridge from a conventional drill or collet to the protruding rod.

Video:

A collet is a device for clamping round-shaped parts in a small chuck; in this case, you will need to clamp a drill.

You can attach the collet to the spool axis using cold welding or hot glue. After the glue or weld has dried, you can insert a small drill into the collet and get to work.

By twisting the reel handle, the mechanism rotates the collet with the drill, thereby creating holes in the desired material.

It is necessary to take into account that the resulting mini-drill must be held strictly perpendicular to the surface being drilled, otherwise there is a risk of breaking the drill. It is also not recommended to press hard on the instrument.

You can also make a mini drill with your own hands using an old motor from a CD player.

To start the engine, you need either a suitable power supply or a battery (or several smaller ones). The collet must be attached to the motor shaft using cold welding or glue.

It should be noted that the diameter of the motor shaft is usually 1.5 millimeters. Sometimes there are motors with a shaft diameter of 2.3 millimeters.

This size must be taken into account when choosing a collet, since the shaft must fit into the hole tightly, without gaps. Otherwise, there will be vibrations during drilling, which will sooner or later damage the mechanism.

After the collet is placed on the shaft, you need to attach the wires to the motor that will go to the voltage source. It is best to solder the wires, which will improve the strength of the fastening.

Then you can insert the drill into the collet and start working. The motor may start to spin in the opposite direction (not the one needed), in this case it is necessary to swap the wires, otherwise there will be no drilling.

Using the same principle, you can assemble a mini-drill with your own hands, using motors from other electrical appliances.

When using a motor from a small washing machine, the mini-drill will be more powerful, and drills of larger diameter can be inserted into it.

Another good option would be a motor from an electric razor, faulty screwdriver, printer or fan.

You can leave the mini-drill as is, and it will cope with its functions, or you can place the motor and collet in a plastic case, this way it will be much more convenient to hold the tool.

DIY mini drill

All the homemade mini drills that you can make yourself can be divided into electric (powered by an electric motor) and manual mini drills (rotated by hand). The first option has significant advantages due to autonomous operation, but at the same time, you need both a motor and a power source for it. The second version of the mini-drill does not require either power or an electric motor, so it is much easier to make if you have all the necessary materials. Having chosen which type suits you best, you can proceed to its manufacture.

Electric

Please note right away that this is a smaller version of the classic drilling device, so the work that can be performed with a mini-drill is limited to plastic, printed circuit boards, plywood, and soft wood. It will not be able to work on steel workpieces and concrete, therefore the power of the device is relatively low.

What do you need for an electric mini drill?

Each of us can find a huge number of improvised devices at home that we no longer use, but they can still be used to create a mini-drill.

Rice. 1: structural components of a homemade drill

To assemble such a tool yourself you will need:

The small motor is the most important part, since the capabilities of the mini-drill will directly depend on its parameters. The most suitable options are engines from old hair dryers - they have quite good power and speed from 1000 to 1800 rpm, and the hair dryers themselves are often relegated to the rubbish category with a working engine. The motor from a blender or mixer is also good (you can leave the housing from them), the motors from a tape recorder and children's toys are less powerful, but they are quite suitable for a mini-drill.
Power source - depending on the type of device, the motor can be powered either from a 220 V AC network or from a reduced voltage of 6 V DC. In the first case, it is enough to connect it to an outlet via a power cord. If the motor runs on DC voltage with a nominal voltage of 3, 6, 12 V, you will need a power supply with conversion to the appropriate level or several batteries.
Chuck - as a chuck for a mini-drill, the ideal option would be the original element of a failed screwdriver or small drill. But not everyone can get hold of such a luxury, so a collet is considered a universal option - a part for clamping round elements or a homemade bushing made of a metal tube with bolt clamps.

Rice.
2: collet for the cartridge An important parameter of the collet is the internal diameter - it must clearly fit the diameter of the motor shaft. If the collet has a smaller diameter, it simply will not fit on the shaft; if it is too large, it will dangle, which will affect the drilling process. Therefore, before purchasing a specific model, measure the shaft, as a rule, it is 1.5 or 2.3 mm, but the value may vary.

Frame – the main function of the housing is to protect both the device itself from clogging and exposure to external factors, and the person, isolating the electrical part of the mini-drill from hands. Therefore, plastic parts are perfect as a housing for a mini-drill: deodorant bottles, plastic pipes for the water supply system, housings from old flashlights and other options. The issue of insulation is especially relevant for devices powered from a 220 V network; if the drill is powered from a safe low voltage of up to 42 V AC and 110 V DC, the housing can be made from metal pipes, cans, etc.

Rice. 3: syringe housing option
Connecting wires - selected depending on the load, but due to the low amperage of the motor, you can choose insulated brands of small cross-section. To solder them you will need solder and a soldering iron or male-female connectors. The second option is relevant in situations where you need to turn on the reverse movement of the mini-drill.
Drill and other attachments are installed in the collet; if desired, you can replace the drill with a cutter, etc. Selected according to the diameter of the collet hole.

You can find most of the parts at home, but if you can't find a chuck, it's best to purchase a collet or order a bushing from a turner. You should not solder the drill directly to the shaft, as some “craftsmen” advise. Such a mount can easily fail long before the first work with a mini-drill is completed.

Assembly procedure for an electric mini drill.

For assembly, choose a dry place so that no moisture gets inside the device at this stage. Because water or condensation can damage your drill when turned on or cause an electric shock. The whole process is conventionally divided into several stages, following which you will receive a mini-drill, which is not particularly different in parameters from factory products:

Solder two conductors to the contacts of the electric motor (if you did not leave them from the previous product). For DC models, it is important to observe the polarity of the connection, so for convenience it is better to mark the wires in different colors. Rice. 4: Solder the wires to the motor
Solder the button into the motor start circuit - this is not a mandatory option, but quite convenient if you are going to work with a mini-drill for a long time.

Rice. 5: button for electric drill
Secure the drill in a collet or sleeve, depending on the design of the chuck; it must be clamped so tightly that it cannot be turned by hand. Rice. 6: Install the drill
Install the assembled chuck onto the motor shaft, achieving the maximum possible depth. But be sure to ensure that the cartridge itself does not touch the motor housing when rotating; there should be a gap of at least 2 - 3 mm between them. Since at high speeds it can become loose and cling to the engine housing, which over time can break the engine.

Rice. 7: Put the chuck on the engine
Secure the cartridge to the shaft with bolts. Please note that tightening should be done alternately by an equal number of turns of each bolt. If during fixation you find that one or more of the bolts no longer stretch, loosen the previous ones to equalize them. If the head moves relative to the shaft, the drill and the mini-drill itself will become loose during drilling.

Rice. 8: chuck tightening order
The mini-drill is ready, connect the device to an electrical outlet or battery and try to start it. Rice. 9: Connect the power supply

Please note that at the moment of start-up you should never bring the rotating elements to your face, much less to your eyes. In emergency situations, the drill may fly out of the chuck or the chuck itself may jump off the shaft.

Mechanical

For such a mini-drill you will need any mechanism with transmission gears from a horizontal to a vertical plane. The best option available in everyday life is an inertia-free fishing rod reel.

Rice. 10: fishing rod reel

This option is especially good because the entire mechanism already performs rotational movements, it has a handle, so you need to put in minimal effort when making a mini-drill.

But you still have to acquire a suitable cartridge. As in the previous version, for this you can take a part from an old unnecessary screwdriver, a collet or a bushing. It is better to select a specific collet model after disassembling the reel, when you can measure the diameter of the shaft.

The manufacturing process of a hand drill can be divided into the following stages:

Remove the spool - to do this you will need to unscrew the screw on the shaft;

Rice. 11: Unscrew the screw

Rice. 12: remove the bobbin

Unscrew the nut and remove the cassette

Rice. 13: Unscrew the nut
Measure the length of the shaft and the depth of the future cartridge - if these parameters are comparable, you can attach them to each other; Rice. 14:Measure the length of the shaft
To secure the chuck to the shaft, use a collet or bushing bolt; Rice. 15: collet for shaft
If the spool handle is too large and you catch the surface to be worked with your hand while drilling, it should be shortened so that it does not interfere;

To shorten the handle, it is necessary to saw off part of the shoulder, and the mini-drill handle itself is re-fixed with a pin. The mini hand drill is ready for use, but it should be noted that you should not put too much pressure on the drill, as it will easily break or become deformed.

Scope of application

The mini drill is widely used to perform various tasks.

Creating holes in plastic, circuit boards and other objects. Of course, the device will not be able to drill through thick iron, but it will be strong enough to make a hole in a sheet up to one millimeter thick.
Screwing and unscrewing small head and thread screws. Such fasteners are found mainly on automatic machines (switches), electrical wiring panels, office equipment, as well as in small, low-power electric motors.
Equipped with special attachments, it can be used as an engraver or grinder; for this purpose, spherical attachments with a rough working surface are placed in its cartridge. During rotation, the nozzle processes the part or applies the required pattern.

These are the main areas where a mini-drill is used, but, in addition to them, it has found extensive use in everyday life, for example, for processing (cleaning) two objects made of plastic or glass that are being glued together. When preparing the joints, both products are cleaned, after which the surfaces are adjusted so that the pieces are closely adjacent to each other.

From an old tape recorder

Another basis for a mini-drill can be the electric motor of a well-worn player or tape recorder that rotates a CD disc. The standard motor of such devices runs on 6V voltage, so you may need to additionally purchase a portable power supply or build a mount for a battery or battery.

Using two soldered wires, the power unit (via a switch button or without it) is attached to the motor and fixed with tape or glue in a homemade tube-shaped housing. After this, the same collet chuck is attached to the shaft, which holds the drill.

Assembling a mini drill + (Video)

First of all, you need to attach a cartridge or collet to the motor shaft. To do this, before buying a collet, measure the motor shaft, they come in two sizes - 1.5 and 2.3 mm, and buy the corresponding part. To avoid unnecessary vibration, secure the cartridge with hot glue. When using cold welding, work very quickly; it hardens almost instantly.

In the prepared case (for example, a plastic cylinder with a lid), cut off the bottom; here you will need to insert a motor. Make holes in the cover for the wires to exit. If this is a flashlight housing, then this is an ideal option with ready-made output points.

When you have placed the motor with the cartridge in the housing, check whether it sits tightly there, because during operation the slightest vibration will affect the quality. If necessary, apply glue or cold welding.

Solder the output wires to the power supply or battery, be sure to insulate the connection points. For ease of use, you can solder a switch button into one of the wires. On this side, the flashlight housing has another advantage - there is a ready-made hole for the button.

If the drill turns in the wrong direction, reverse the polarity of the wires. In case of strong vibration, check the tightness of the collet or chuck.

What to make it from

On the Internet you can find a lot of video materials on making homemade models of mini devices. The most popular designs of mini drills are represented by the following list:

MD from an electric cartridge.
A complete analogue of the factory “Dremel”.
Drill made from a toothbrush.
MD from the printer drive.
Economical option without housing.
Second life for an old tape recorder.
Antiperspirant idea.

MD from an electric cartridge

Every home has an electric light bulb socket. The body can be made from it. There are standard sockets and housings for minion bulbs. Both of them are suitable for homemade products. It all depends on the outer diameter of the electric motor.

Manufacturing proceeds as follows:

The core of the fittings is removed.
Unscrew the back cover.
A motor is inserted inside the housing, the side surface of which is covered with hot glue or cold welding.
Adjust the shaft thickness to the size of the collet clamp hole.
A polymer lid from a plastic container is glued to the front of the case. A hole is first cut in the cover to allow the motor rod to pass through.
The cartridge is secured to the shaft with a transverse locking screw.
The motor wires are threaded through a hole in the screwed cover, which are then connected to the output terminals of the rectifier.
If you can place a microswitch in the back cover of the electric chuck, then using the drill will be convenient.

Note! The rectifier regulator changes the current and voltage, thereby increasing or decreasing the rotation speed of the functional attachment. At the same time, we must not forget that if the permissible current is exceeded, there is a risk of “burning” the motor

Complete analogue of the factory “Dremel”

A mini drill is often called a Dremel by name - the leading manufacturer of this type of power tool. It is almost impossible to make a homemade product completely similar to the Dremel model.

It all depends on the master in terms of selecting spare parts. Making homemade products in a home workshop can never compare with professional MD production. Although, with some effort, you can achieve some success in this direction.

Advice. There is no need to blindly copy an industrial production model. It is better to purchase a ready-made tool.

Drill made from a toothbrush

Those who have used electric toothbrushes know how quickly the cleaning heads become unusable, and new brushes are impossible to find on sale. If you have one lying around the household, then this is a suitable option to make a mini drill.

The difficulty of manufacturing is to remove the vibrator and install the cartridge on the engine shaft. The device is powered by a battery or an 18650 battery. Such a device will not have a large number of motor shaft revolutions. But the MD will serve well as an engraving tool.

Dynamo from printer drive

An old printer is an excellent “supplier” of parts for making a mini drill. The electric motor and power supply are removed from the device. If the electric motor shaft is too thick, it is ground on a grinder. The engine is turned on and brought to the abrasive. Regularly measuring the diameter, the turned rod is adjusted to fit the opening of the collet chuck. After completing all the work on installing the housing, attaching the cartridge, and installing the limit switch, the device is connected to the power supply. After this, all that remains is to install the desired functional attachment and get to work.

Engine from an old printer

Economical option without housing

In order not to search for a suitable product for the drill body, the motor is wrapped in 2 layers of shrink film. The heated coating tightly covers the side surface of the motor, thereby creating reliable insulation of the power tool.

Mini drill without housing

Second life for an old tape recorder

A thrifty owner can find an old tape recorder or player. If the sound reproducing device is made in a stationary form, then use a power supply, as in the previous case.

The engine from the player is also adapted to rotate the cartridge with the nozzle. The device will be mobile, since powerful AA batteries are placed in the power supply instead of batteries.

Electric motor from a tape recorder

Antiperspirant idea

The body of a used roll-on deodorant is quite suitable for making a mini drill. The advantage of this option is the shape of the plastic bottle. It is made so that it is comfortable and firmly held in your hand.

Roll-on deodorant body

Additional Information. When manufacturing the MD case, you should try to install the power button within the reach of the worker’s thumb. This will create an additional comfortable option for controlling the device.

From an electric toothbrush

Toothbrush Example
An interesting option is a mini drill that can be repurposed from an outdated electric toothbrush.

The motor and gearbox installed in it are capable of transmitting sufficient torque to drill a hole in thin metal, plastics or computer boards.

The main thing that is required from the master is to replace the cleaning head on the shaft with the same engraving or collet chuck. Before purchasing a cartridge, it is important to determine the diameter of the shaft so that the cartridge is securely fixed on it - sometimes this will require filing down the mounting screws.

Reference! Many brushes, including older models, are already equipped with a rotation speed controller and are sold complete with a battery pack.

Tools and materials

Required:

electric cartridge,
engine,
plastic container for soap bubbles,
sharp knife,
hot glue,
insulating tape,
soldering device,
toggle switch

Preparatory work

To make a housing in the lid of a jar of soap bubbles, use a heated soldering iron to make a hole with a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the base of the drill. The bottom of the container must be removed. The core of the tool is made from a motor and a cartridge. An engine of suitable power can be taken from old equipment. Before attaching the engine and cartridge, they are degreased with acetone. Fastened by cold welding or hot glue.