Drilling / milling machine build

Building something between a drill press and milling machine, using lots of Chinese parts of various quality bought online.
Gear program:
woodgears.ca/gear
BigPrint program
woodgears.ca/bigprint

[@DorrianGrey]

Now this is the classic Matthias content I love

[@jumpleadsx2]

yep.its like youtube gold. Matthias if youre reading this - how about scaling it up and building a wooden gear car in the next episode?

[@Vikingwerk]

I love when you build a machine, and it’s not completely finished, but it’s done enough to start using it to make parts for itself!

[@arcrad]

The bootstrapping phase is quite the accomplishment

[@haroldchoate7497]

I love it when you do a new project. You’re more like a kid at play than a man at work. You enjoyment is a delight to watch. Thanks very much.

[@brianoz2brn976]

Robots making Robots - .... -how perverse ! (quote C3PO)

[@TheofilEggert]

😮😮😮

[@Cezaam69]

This is exactly why I love this channel, building something cool without any plans and just go by trial and error. Flashback to your early videos of making all of your machines, love it!

[@ksbs2036]

Seasoned trial and error, honed by many decades of experience. But yeah, he lets it all hang out there - the great stuff, the okay stuff, and the warts 🙂

[@qkrotor]

Matthias' woodworking precision > Chinese metalworking precision

[@Hsiwuehi]

iPhones are manufactured in China.

[@thomasfowler2964]

So is my precision at the trough after 13 beers. 😅

[@dustinlouder]

To their credit, they have to mass produce it all.

[@smashyrashy]

I disagree

[@RaoulEvilD]

​@@dustinlouder aren't precision and accurary a prerequisite to mass production ? I mean, we are talking about linear ball bearings! Which most dimensions are usually ground to single digit micron precision (or so I thought was an industry standard/common sense...)

[@pocket83squared]

Nice to see you _start_ the threads with the lathe, and then finish them with a die. There's too much idealism going around here on KZbin. Everybody acts like procedure should be perfect and never choppy, when really, the only perfect procedure is the one that gets a good result. Bail out as soon as things start to go off, I say! There's always another way. As soon as I need to make threads, I'll fix myself a hand crank.

[@knucklecorn]

Are you using your second channel as the commenting account?

[@akaHarvesteR]

I should make a hand crank for my lathe too. I'm eyeing an ELS setup also... I did the change gears dance, and it immediately felt like I had enough of that for a lifetime.

[@OnionKnight541]

this man is the largest library of engineering mindset. i swear, this will be important until the end of humankind. i watch his thoughts, and it's just like computer programming, where you build something and then see what's wrong and change it. this isn't a bug, it's error handling.

[@PenMeister-tq3lm]

wow one thing I like about your videos is they dont hide mistakes along the way but rather show how to solve real problems as they arise; there is always some new trick or technique I pick up when ever I watch one of your vids. you are gifted

[@1pcfred]

In theory theory and practice should be the same. In practice they are not. So there's often how you'll think it'll work and how you find out it actually works. Coming to terms with that rapidly is key. Like when Matthias assumed those linear guide bearings were all going to be accurate. They never are. Everyone gets tripped up by that.

[@SiTengoTiempo]

I know exactly the feeling of doing all your measurements right and your build right only to discover that a part you bought and assumed was done right has all kinds of imperfections! Good rescue, Matthias!

[@1pcfred]

If you follow DIY CNC you'd have seen that one coming. I was sitting here with my popcorn and I wasn't disappointed with the show. It went just how I thought it would.

[@GoblinKnightLeo]

Experimental DIY tools like this one are my favorites from Matthias.

[@mechaform]

The fact that someone else’s (even a commercial entity) fabrication standards are not up to our hero’s, regardless of material type, no longer surprises me. The adjustable rack engagement is a slick idea.

[@corncobjohnsonreal]

That is literally the coolest pull a lever to move something down with leverage force mechanism I've ever seen

[@ggtt2547]

Printing out stuff exactly 1:1 was a revelation when i started working. Glad to see it used constantly by the engineering God, Mathias!!

[@Wordsnwood]

All those years of saying you were not going to make a drillpress... And this is not a drillpress. Fun to see all the problem solving.

[@joethompson11]

Looking forward to seeing this one painted green. Great to have another big tool build on the channel!

[@welshman100]

I love it when you're able to use the machine, to build the machine. Gets me every time.

[@johnfreiler6017]

I've been wanting to make my own mill for a while: fun to watch you tackle it. I would have thought that a counterweight system would have worked better than springs.

[@SailingThruLife]

Mathias, I used to be a mechanical design engineer for a cnc machine tool manufacturer. Even on high-end ball screws and linear guides, our assemblers would often leave the mounting fasteners loose until a later stage of the assembly.

[@1pcfred]

There's definitely strategies to getting alignments correct with linears. So much depends on everything else. So you work it from one point out to create those relationships. I knew he was going to run into that problem with those Chinese linear bearings. No two are ever alike. I've seen so many in DIY CNC forums ranting about it. Well, I was kind of wondering if that'd been fixed. Apparently not.

[@dieterjosef]

But they left them loose to achieve way lesser tolerances than with these guides. I guess they had had less tolerance when lose than these after being bolted correctly.

[@nickjm37fordel1]

Never understand what Matthias is talking about, but love watching him work.

[@harlanbarnhart4656]

I feel that way with the programming projects. This stuff I understand.

[@AnthonyVandergugten]

Looking at the thumbnail, Matthias, you look like a young lad who is extremely proud of something that he built. And you should be. Your 'cheapness' provides a way for your ingenuity to shine. Thank you.

[@1pcfred]

I was watching a review about a bench top drill press so that got me looking at other ones online. I was surprised just how expensive they've gotten lately.

[@stacey8096]

I find myself with mouth agape as I’m watching yet another masterpiece. Your brain is other worldly.

[@WyvernDotRed]

One benefit of the slight misalignment of these cheaper rails is that this takes out the slack in the bearings. This makes the final press more stable and consistent, so as long as it doesn't bind it should be fine. I love how the machine looks, it appears like a DIY-project with no chance of being accurate, while actually performing well as far as I can tell. It'll be fun seeing how you continue working on this machine and seeing it appear as a tool in future videos.

[@Alexander84129]

A wooden drill press and mill. I never thought we’d see the day!

[@HarrisInteractiveWeb]

You’re a madman, Matthias! I love it! ❤👍🏼

[@Sam_596]

I always thought you should build a wooden drill press so you could build an entire shop from machines you made yourself. Cool to finally see it

[@1pcfred]

Who do you think Matthias is, Dave Gingery?

[@calebbell5018]

Enjoyed a new 'big tool' build. Been a while! Thanks for the video :)

[@boppins]

Think this is the first wooden drill press build I've seen on KZbin, and now I can see why. Nice work!

[@matthiaswandel]

yes. Cost considerably more than a drill press!

[@peltsa]

You making machines is the best thing in youtube.

[@NicoSmets]

Classic Wandel engineering. So exciting. I love it!

[@NickNeutron]

Matthias building machines was the main reason i subed so many years ago, so watching this brings a warm smile to my face. Thanks for the video Matthias

[@bernonic]

love the mix between the inexpensive Chinese equipment and the wood - it's all you shouldn't do and the results are remarkably functional

[@jackellis48]

My favourite quote of the year " I guess I have to put it together the Chinese way, With bigger mounting holes" Remind me of something I do alot, Fuck around and find out Love the work, Great video

[@Spikejwh1]

Yeah, your Big Print program is absolutely perfect. I bought it many years ago and still use it often.

[@Ostap1974]

I always enjoy the point in build when you involve the half-built machine in its own creation.

[@kaboomer13]

I've loved your videos for many years! I'm elated that your building machines again!

[@tocodelray]

"Because it seems I care about price way more than quality, I shop Ali Express!" Best marketing tag line ever haha

[@DustyFixes]

YAAAAA! Back to making machinery!

[@ramachandran8666]

This is a classic of MW where he can work around any "anomalies" in making things work. The moment I saw he bought a chunk of metal that resembled a spindle, I knew this was going to be a very interesting and entertaining one. Just 5 min into the video, I knew the parts look mostly factory rejects (=floor sweepings) that will need the ingenious mind to overcome the "CC (Cheap Chinese) parts

[@crashn]

I've been waiting for years for a wooden milling machine!

[@superdau]

Instead of the normal springs, consider gas springs to balance the weight of the spindle. Their change of force over stroke is way flatter than that of a normal spring. It's as if you start with a very preloaded spring (still Hooke's law, but you don't start a x = 0). I use two gas springs on my self built CNC (the moving Z part is about 14kg with 20cm of stroke), which work very well. They are also "best quality" gas springs (about 3€ a piece 😅) intended for cabinet lids. One end is fixed to the CNC frame (or rather X carriage), the other end has a pulley ("turned" on my drill press "lathe" 😉) and a bicycle gear shifter cable goes over that. That halves the force on the spindle, but doubles the travel. Since your machine has more Z travel, maybe gas springs that keep car trunk lids open are the right thing for you.

[@txkflier]

Caution! Genius at work. When I got a 3D printer, the neatest thing about it was that it could make parts to make itself better.. 😎

[@KyleVeatch]

Always amazing to see what you can do with wood. It would be awesome to see a competition where you and someone else are given the same task, but you build it using wood, and another with metal. It would be interesting to see how someone else tackles the job, then compare cost, time, and effort between the two.

[@1pcfred]

I make stuff out of metal and wood and it takes me a lot longer to work in metal than wood. But I don't have the heaviest metalworking tools. More like the lightest. But when I'm done metal is always a lot more substantial than wood is. Steel is the real deal.

[@hypnolobster]

I built a slot moritiser in the same general family as yours using those same bearings, and found that while the bearing block castings are inaccurate (comically so), the hole pattern for mounting them is very accurate to the bore. It was some extremely tedious layout but it worked out. I did also use socket head screws and very slightly oversized holes, which obviously helped.

[@matthiaswandel]

that's one aspect I didn't check. oops. Guess it makes sense, few would reference to the outside of the housing.

[@misterikkit]

It shows how much fun you have building tools like these

[@JointerMark]

The way you manufactured that pulley was intriguing! Thank you for all the information you presented in this video!

[@markhedquist9597]

Yes! This is the stuff! I love the rack and pinion lever action. Cutting off one tooth for adjustability is genius! Well, the whole thing is genius.

[@JonnyDIY]

Awesome problem solving showcased in this one Matthias! 👏💕👍 PS- only thing I was worried about was the string on the springs 🤣

[@elitearbor]

This is a wonderful project, and exactly the kind of interesting "just because" kind of build that brought me to your channel in the first place. Quite a joyful thing to see once again!

[@Finding_K_Factor]

The rack and pinion idea for the handle is genius. Pretty cool little mill for not a very big outlay of “loonies”.😃

[@1pcfred]

A rack and a pinion gear is the common way presses feed. There's not many other ways to do it really.

[@shubus]

Welcome to "Chinese Quality", Matthias! All those metal parts speak of it.

[@sampull3541]

Love to see you building a machine again!!

[@EitriBrokkr]

Now if we can only get Matthias into casting. With his woodworking skills, machinery design and now machining. He'd make some awesome machinery 😈

[@danharold3087]

Agree. I have been thinking this for years. I have some nice old metal lathes but no milling machine. I still have my woodshope but when I play it is general in metal.

[@andreblanchard8315]

Wood does not melt very well.😅

[@tedsobocienski787]

Why aren't you making a million bucks working for some large company. You are truly amazing. I am in awe every time I watch your channel.

[@johnbarneswood]

Always love watching your troubleshooting process. Great stuff!

[@alexandredevert4935]

The gluing time is often the swearing time. I always feel terrible when I am out by a 1 mm, but if it happen to Matthias too, I feel a bit better. A YOLO CNC mill made of wood and cheapo mechanical elements seems so fun.

[@MatchaBarnes]

Thanks for posting! I've been toying around with the idea of a mill build for a while. Seeing your take on it is VERY helpful.

[@samforsey]

Brilliant.. and you can tell Mathias is having fun!

[@ksbs2036]

That was an excellent project Matthias. Thanks so much for putting the video together!

[@justinahrens1868]

Only Matthias makes a milling machine using 2x4's and Baltic birch! Beautiful!

[@negotiableaffections]

I know you love problem solving but. . . lol. Anyway after all those 'dodgy' parts you really did well, i'm impressed that your next video wont be, "How to Remove a Milling Machine from a Workshop Wall!" Well done Matthias and let me say, that scaling software of yours is tip-top. Since I bought it I use it all the time , it saves so much design-time, cheers.

[@FrontierlessCraftsman]

Back to old school Mathias machine building, love it !

[@211teitake]

It always amazes me how resourceful you're.

[@Sqalman]

Lovely to see a build with gears again!!! 😊

[@MachinedInWood]

Another thing you might run into with those cheap linear rails is that the steel rail will detach from the base that it’s screwed into given enough force applied to them over time. It might be a good idea to take them apart and use thread lock red before you put them into use. I had that issue and it required a complete teardown of the CNC machine they were in. They’ve been fine ever since.

[@mattruth6287]

I love it! I’ve missed your tool builds!

[@y0utubeu5ername]

This is my favorite type of content from Mathias! Super.

[@kevinadrian9366]

Watching this video, I keep shaking my head in amazement at how you just start building and solve each problem as it comes up. If this were me I would be paralyzed for months on end trying to figure out how to do everything before I even start. Kudos to you.

[@nealwright5630]

I've missed these builds!

[@IndianaDoug]

As a fellow content creator, I want to say it’s incredible how much time and dedication goes into these videos. I’ve been a huge fan of this channel for so many years. Thanks for all you do Matthias😁

[@ZachStein]

Wow, I would never have guessed those linear bearing blocks would be so different.

[@imqqmi]

They are sand cast after all, if they haven't been ground to precision, that's what you get. That sand cast rough texture is never going to give you an accurate surface to work with unless you machine it to within spec yourself. These blocks seem to be rejects and sold cheap. But that'll never stop Matthias from whipping them into shape.

[@1pcfred]

No one ever does. But they always are. It's something I've run into a lot in DIY CNC forums. The fake THK stuff is all out of wack like these rounds ones too. What people do is they measure one and use it as the bolt pattern for all of them. They just assume they're all the same. Nope.

[@IanJohnstonblog]

It is so gratifying to know that even you have issues when fabricating things sometimes. Thanks for sharing the good, the bad and the ugly!

[@CarlinComm]

I love how you can make it work with what ever you happen to have laying around the shop! Great looking build!

[@gloriousapplebees]

Always so incredible! Love seeing another wood machine too!

[@Beakerbite]

Matthias, you're a mad man. Keep up the good work.

[@davidschouten4097]

At my bachelor study (engineering!), The students rely on 3d printing for a lot of the projects. The university supports this, aquiring an army of printers. It is interesting to see that a band saw and a blok o'wood can give you stronger, precision parts at a fraction of the time that it would take you to print them. While 3d printers are often hailed as good at rapid prototyping i like that glueing some blocks together and sanding where nesicairy gives you the ability to "design as you go"(which, while fun is not always the right approach. It think an engineer should be familiar with both though). For hobby projects it is definetly better as an afternoon of screwing around in the shed is way more fun than an afternoon of screaming at solidworks

[@matthiaswandel]

If you are designing something that will eventually be manufactured in quantity, 3D printing makes more sense. For one-off experimenting, less so. But the 3D printer is sort of the universal hammer, easier for people not handy, injuries unlikely.

[@rzerobzero]

Having struggled hand making a simple shelf with roughly $3000 worth of woodworking tools, I look at this like it's science fiction. You are a wizard, alien, and madman, all with the patience of a saint.

[@chrischris1722]

Are you mentally challenged?

[@stefanre8129]

This is just great. I love your appoach and creativity! Please don't stop.

[@minimanjos84]

I know it's hard showing your muck ups, but I really enjoy watching problem solving skills at work!

[@sebastianmuller1210]

Saw the preview picture and thougt: It's about damn time for this! 👍 Somehow I expected this earlier.😉

[@richbuilds_com]

More of this sort of thing! Awesome stuff!

[@craigsudman4556]

Really cool machine, Matthias looking forward to further design changes. Great video thumbs up.

[@danmichaud580]

Great video. It's fun watching your thought process.

[@jonvannatto]

I've been really looking forward to the spindle section of the milling machine series!

[@c0ldc0ne]

16:57 I don't know why that made me smile so much.

[@heikovanderlaar3780]

Best video in ages.

[@martinpanev6651]

Its essentially a jig borer- with the counterweights and everything!! Awesome work as always- its really cool!

[@hpda44]

This is precisely the sort of thing that I very much enjoy about your work.

[@albertvuijk7083]

you never cease to amaze me with building your own tools. loving videos like this.

[@sabelch]

Mattias knocks it outta the park with this build. Wow!

[@flockshot1967]

I have watched your inventions/innovations for years and have built a couple. I just love your creativity. I find your methods for problem solving particularly helpful.

[@sprint955st]

Amazing. Classic Matthias workshop action.

[@bunkie2100]

Bolts: an almost limitless supply of inexpensive fodder for the mini lathe!

[@LarsDunemark]

Like the honest show of "failures", since I was planning to make an assembly video about my new dust collector and during the assembly I felt that I screwed up all the time. Didn't help that the instructions was really bad. And that I got bolts that wasn't in the plans with no information on where the different sizes should go. :)

[@eric13hill]

You are incredibly talented and have a wonderful can-do attitude.

[@Delectes_Studio]

I'm so glad to see your videos. Every time I am amazed and inspired. You truly are an inspiration. Thank you for sharing your ways with us.

[@doriandari]

You are the builder i wanted to be when i was a kid .... the whole combo.. !! Your achivements Makes me happy... your are an inspiration

[@yorky7557]

Holy moly - I've missed this. Great job fella!

[@Curtis-Randall]

Awesome build!!

[@ArnimKuqi]

so cool to see which tools you have created to get the precision needed even when working with wood

[@BrianBoniMakes]

A wood milling machine? I love it. I liked your pulley making technique. How about a custom set of stepped pulleys? You'll likely need a couple of speeds.

[@ericperkins3078]

Re watch the pantarouter series. I think that was his first million $$$.

[@dylanpetriko4843]

Good to see another machine build!