How to make a router from a drill with your own hands? We make a milling machine from a regular drill. A homemade manual milling machine from a drill.

Many home craftsmen decide to assemble a milling machine with their own hands. Purchasing a specialized device for making printed circuit boards or other work is quite expensive. Having three printers, a drill or a grinder at your disposal, you can make a full-fledged milling machine with your own hands. Drawings and instructions will help you achieve your goal.

It is not uncommon for a home workshop to require a milling machine. It can be assembled from a drill, printer or grinder. There are a number of other options adapted to specific drawings.

Before you make a device for printed circuit boards or the production of small parts, you need to familiarize yourself with the design features of a factory tabletop machine. It is not made from a drill and definitely not from a printer. But you will have to follow the general design principle when assembling the machine with your own hands.

A standard benchtop router consists of the following elements:

Base or bed;
Desktop;
Drive unit;
Electrical engine;
Work tool.

If the base and work table can be made from improvised tools, then the working slotting head, electric motor and cutters are somewhat more difficult to obtain.

When considering the option of using a printer to make a CNC machine, it is worth noting the presence of stepper motors in their design. The drawings indicate that to assemble the router you need to disassemble not one printer, but two. This is due to the fact that three stepper motors are required. There are only two of them in one printer.

In general, making a CNC machine is recommended for those who have experience in assembling simpler structures. PCB manufacturing capability, X-ray table and slotting head are the auxiliary components of the milling machine. Do you need a slotting head or a PCB machine? It depends on the goals you set for yourself.

The creation of printed circuit boards or a functioning slotting head are components whose functioning is directly dependent on technical characteristics. These parameters directly affect what capabilities your milling machine will have. Namely, the following characteristics play a role:

Electric motor rotation speed;
Electric motor power;
Desk dimensions;
The maximum weight of workpieces that a milling machine can process.

Assembly steps

If you decide to make a homemade milling unit, then you have to go through several main stages on the way to the coveted machine.

Whether it will be able to print circuit boards and whether it will have a slotting head depends on you. However, the instructions provided do not provide for the manufacture of boards. Just like the slotting head is missing here.

The presented homemade machine consists of several components, the manufacture of which we will tell you separately:

Desktop;
Bed;
Electric drive.

Desktop

This desktop is not the easiest to assemble. But it has a reliable design, which is important for an actively used milling machine.

To assemble the table you will need:

Sheet of plywood or chipboard;
Transparent plastic No. 6;
Wooden plank;
Aluminum plate;
Glue;
Fastening elements;
Metal profile with T-shaped groove;
Fine-grained sandpaper;
Electric jigsaw;
Router with copier.

First the lid is made.

From plywood (preferably No. 19), cut a rectangle measuring 500 by 600 mm. To increase reliability, cover it with plastic or textolite 2 mm thick. When cutting on each side, allow an allowance of 3 cm.
Apply adhesive to the glue and plywood, then press firmly. Once the glue has hardened, the excess can be cut off.
Cut longitudinal and side trims from plywood. They need to be glued along the edges of the sheet. The width of the pads is 4 mm.
Use a disc cutter to make grooves in the edge trims. Attach the cover to the stop with the plastic part (it is the top). Grooves in the edges will be required in order to secure the T-profile.
Carriage. For a milling machine, the carriage plays an important role. The carriage is used to move the workpiece being processed. Different drawings offer their own options for what the carriage may look like. Determine the type of device that is optimal for you. If the carriage is missing, nothing bad will happen in a home workshop. But still, the carriage expands the possibilities of working on a milling machine.

Once you have assembled the cover, move on to the mounting plate.

An opening is made under the plate in the manufactured tabletop.
You need to make a plate from a sheet of aluminum. This is a square measuring 300 by 300 mm.
Make an indent of 125 mm from the edge of the lid and draw a straight line, which should be divided into 2 parts.
Position the plate so that the diagonals drawn through it can intersect in the center of the straight line. Draw the outline for the plate and cutouts.
A jigsaw is used to make a cut, apply a plate and secure it with double-sided tape.
Install auxiliary rails around the perimeter of the mounting plate. Set the router to 3 mm. In this case, the cutter should pass along the edges of the slats. Choose a material that is 0.5 mm thicker than the thickness of the mounting plate.

bed

To make the bed, you can use number 19 plywood;
You will need 4 ties and two supports. The dimensions of the first ones are 520 by 80 mm, and the dimensions of the supports are 520 by 290 mm. Secure with glue and screws;
For electrical wiring, a strip measuring 51 by 42 by 19 mm is cut out and glued;
Supports are fixed from the bottom of the cover. Make holes in the screed for the screws that will go into the cover.

Electric drive

If your homemade X-ray table is ready, the work head is waiting in the wings for the manufacture of printed circuit boards or other parts, the most important thing remains. Your homemade machine needs a drive, due to which the milling equipment will function.

The characteristics should be selected based on what parameters the head and cutters should have and for what purposes the milling machine will be used.

If your task is sampling on small and simple workpieces, not made from the most durable materials, then a motor with a power of 500 W is sufficient.
If the machine is intended for complex work with metal products, choose a drive with a power of 1.1 kW or more.
You can make a milling machine from a grinder with your own hands, just like you can make a unit based on a drill. An unnecessary power tool can be used as a drill or grinder. Make sure the drill is in working order before using it. Instead of a drill, you can use a stationary motor or borrow it from other electrical equipment.
The best option for an electric motor for a milling machine is an asynchronous motor operating from a three-phase network. But when using a milling machine at home, this is not always possible.

Last steps

The final processes of machine assembly include the following activities:

Treat wooden elements with paints and varnishes to protect them;
Attach a couple of pieces of metal profile to the table and stops;
Set the toggle switch to turn the machine on and off. Don't forget the rip fence and safety guard;
A tube is installed on the inner surface of the stop, which will serve as a dust extractor;
Install the mounting plate onto the prepared area. The homemade router is ready.

From an ordinary drill you can assemble a good homemade milling machine. Based on video instructions and drawings, your machine may have a carriage, a slotting head, and even a CNC module.

Quite often, homeowners have quite complex needs that can only be fulfilled with the help of a specialized tool, for example, cutting a groove for an edging in the end of a chipboard, or smoothing the end of a part that was clumsily cut with a jigsaw. There is one for these purposes, but is it needed to do one-time work??

I think there is no point in paying 3,000 rubles to purchase a tool if you decide to make a table with your own hands - the savings are not enough to cover the costs... What to do? My hands are itching, and my soul wants to create!!!

The milling cutter is made from a conventional drill into the chuck of which the cutter is clamped. To make this device, in addition to the drill and cutter itself, you will need 4 pieces of chipboard, a hacksaw (any, but better, a jigsaw), a 30-40 mm drill (feather or crown) and a clamp for attaching water pipes to the wall.

At the clamp, instead of a screw that is screwed into the wall, we screw in an 8 mm screw.

From laminated chipboard we cut out a base platform measuring approximately 250x200 mm (preferably with rounded corners). In the center of the workpiece we make a hole for the cutter.

In the rack for attaching the drill, a hole is drilled for a clamp, which, together with the drill, is fixed to it with an 8-point screw and a pair of locknuts. You can simply saw off the leg and secure it with two nuts. The installed drill is supported at the end by a small stop, which is a small “cube” made of laminated chipboard, which is secured with a pair of self-tapping screws.

The base and the stand are connected with self-tapping screws or confirmations (the caps must be flush with the working surface) with the addition of a stiffener. It is imperative that in a part with an edge, at least one angle must be strictly 90 degrees.

The assembled structure (see photo) can be quickly equipped with a drill with a cutter clamped in the chuck, and just as quickly removed by tightening/unscrewing the nuts on the clamp.

The result is such a universal device, which has most of the functionality of a conventional router.

Of course, this solution is not without its drawbacks. It is not suitable for long-term work, because... The drill gearbox fails due to “non-target” loads - it is not adapted to them. In addition, it is not very convenient to adjust the offset of the cutter - to do this you have to change the position of the cutter shank in the chuck.

But for performing one-time work, such a self-milling machine is the method of choice. If you are constantly tinkering, then it’s better for you - over time it will pay for itself)).

When renovating and arranging an apartment, sometimes it is necessary to cut a groove or beautifully grind the end of a board. You don't have to buy an expensive power tool for this. You can make a router from a drill with your own hands. The principle of transmitting torque to the spindle is identical for the units. It is enough to make a milling table for the drill, and you can use it as a router. Options for fixing the tool body may be different. The main thing is that there are no distortions or backlashes.

Attention! An impact drill cannot be used as a router.

Materials and tools

Unlike a drill, it has a flat base - a sole on which it stands and moves along the workpiece or table. The housing is fixed and moves vertically along the guides. To create a homemade router from a drill, you need to create a stand and attach the drill to it. When making a simple design, the following materials will be useful:

plywood 12 or 15 mm thick;
metal clamp;
bolts with nuts M6;
self-tapping screws

Plywood can be replaced with chipboard and laminate of the same thickness. A milling cutter made from a drill will be more convenient to use if the sole - base is made of plexiglass 10-12 mm thick. Then the work area and the markings on the board will be clearly visible.

A standard clamp with fittings is suitable for water pipes. The size is selected according to the diameter of the drill body above the chuck.

The wood milling machine is fastened with screws with a diameter of 4.8 or 5 mm and a length of 19, 20 mm. Self-tapping screws of these sizes are often used in the manufacture of wood crafts. They secure brackets, hooks and shelves. Screws are often left behind after repairs. They can be replaced with self-tapping screws with a diameter of 5.5 mm and a length of 18 and 22 mm.

In order to make a wood milling machine from an electric drill, you need the following tools:

drill;
core or feather drill;
jigsaw;
screwdriver;
drills 4 mm and 8 mm;
wrench.

Usually in any garage or home workshop it is easy to find the necessary tools. A screwdriver can be replaced with a Phillips screwdriver, a jigsaw with a hacksaw.

Design of a milling cutter from a drill

Considering the power and number of revolutions, you can only make a light router from a drill. For high-quality processing of the board, the working tool must be fixed on the table, and the workpiece must move. The top-tool design allows for the production of complex parts. Each craftsman comes up with his own design. They differ in the mounting and location of the electric drill.

Table with router

Processing the ends and milling grooves for the tongue-and-groove connection can be conveniently done using a milling table with a protruding tool. It has a simple design and the drawings are easy to develop yourself. A small workbench will do.

The lid turns over. A hole is cut in it. Its size is approximately 5 mm larger than the maximum diameter of the cutter that will be used. A bar is mounted perpendicular to the table. It is installed parallel to the side at such a distance that the spindle axis of the attached electric drill coincides with the center of the hole.

The body of the power tool is secured to the bar with clamps and stops. In the normal state of the table, the chuck should be located under the cover, and the cutter inserted into it should protrude. During processing, the wooden part moves along the table, resting against the template, and milling occurs.

The tool can be secured in another way. The main thing is that the center of the hole coincides with the axis of the cutter. The switch and socket were accessible. All elements of the machine must be fixed rigidly, without distortions.

Simple machine

The design of the machine for creating a router from a drill with your own hands consists of 3 main parts cut from plywood:

sole;
rack;
headscarf.

They must be positioned strictly perpendicular. A hole is made in the sole for the exit of the tool. The width of the stand is equal to the size of the electric drill body and is 20 mm longer. A drill is attached to it using a clamp located above the chuck. It is additionally fixed with a stop that presses the back side of the body on the opposite side of the spindle, or with a second clamp below the handle. The gusset ensures rigidity of the structure. One side is adjacent to the sole, the other to the stand.

When cutting the sole - the base of the structure - you need to draw a square on the plywood, with sides equal to the width of the electric drill body. Add strips equal to the thickness of the plywood to it on two adjacent sides. Mark the center of the tool and make a hole with a core or spade drill.

Cut the sole along the contour. The corner opposite the connection between the post and the gusset must be rounded. On the reverse side, drill 4 mm holes and make recesses - countersunk for screw heads, using an 8 mm drill. Otherwise, the screw heads will protrude and scratch the table, disrupting the fit of the sole. A skew occurs.

You can glue thin rubber or a piece of linoleum to the bottom of the sole. This will ensure smooth sliding when the router is working.

Using a square, place the stand in place and fasten it with screws. The gusset is attached with one side to the base, the other to the stand, ensuring the rigidity of the structure. The position of the electric drill is noted when the tool is lowered below the sole. The clamp and stop are screwed on. For ease of use, the sole can be made of plexiglass.

Machine with vertical movement of the cutter

The disadvantage of a simple machine is the inability to make blind keyways and selections. The tool can only enter the board from the end. A small addition will allow the drill to completely replace a lightweight vertical router.

The sole is made longer. A massive board with a U-shaped profile fixed vertically is screwed to it - 2 pieces. These are the guides. A drill is installed on the bar on one side, and 2 slats are screwed on the other, which are inserted into metal profiles. A screw is installed at the bottom of the sole, which serves as a stop when moving the body of the electric drill down.

Having the experience of a mechanic and the necessary set of parts, you can install a homemade router on the side cylindrical racks. Springs are placed on them from below, lifting the drill upward.

Fastening is carried out with metal corners, brackets and self-tapping screws. The milling depth is adjusted with stop screws.

Assembly algorithm

Before making a router from a drill, you should prepare all the necessary materials and a drawing, indicating the dimensions and how the drill replacing the manual router will be attached.

Mark the center of the spindle axis on the table or base.
Cut a hole for the tool exit.
Place the electric drill on the stand and mark the position of the clamp and stop, secure them.
Screw the stand and gusset strictly at right angles.
Secure the tool body to the base.

A machine made by yourself must be durable, without backlash or distortion. Then you can work on it like a router.

Advantages and disadvantages of a router

The main advantage of a machine for milling with an electric drill is that you do not need to buy an expensive milling machine to perform single operations. Using a homemade device, it is easy to make several grooves and process the edge of the shelf.

In an electric drill, the drill is inserted into a chuck. When working on a homemade router, you must use a drill cutter. The stores have a large selection:

cylindrical;
end;
end;
corner;
curly;
disk.

All of them have a shank and are easily mounted in the chuck. Tool replacement is quick. The disadvantage of the chuck is that it can unscrew during operation, especially if the tool vibrates. It is necessary to constantly check and tighten the fastening.

Before you make a router from a drill, you should decide on the amount of work. A homemade router is suitable for performing home repairs and individual operations on processing wooden parts using an electric drill. It is impossible to mill with a drill for a long time and with heavy loads.

The main disadvantage of a milling machine made from a drill is the low speed. When drilling, cutting occurs over a small area. There is no need for cleanliness; the wood is processed into chips. On the drilling tool, the maximum rotation reaches 3000 rpm. While the lightest router has a minimum value of 4000 rpm. Every specialist knows that the cleanliness of the processing depends on the rotation speed of the tool. The faster the cutter rotates, the more beautiful the edge and end of the key. After processing on a homemade machine, the treated areas will have to be sanded for a long time.

The motor on a drilling tool is much weaker than a milling one. It is designed for short-term use. He will not be able to work at maximum power for a long time. When milling with a drill, you must constantly turn it off and let it cool.

A homemade machine is suitable for one-time work. For permanent use, it’s better to buy a router.

Many people who like to make various products are often interested in how to assemble a router from a drill with their own hands.

Not everyone has the opportunity to keep a large milling machine at home.

But if the premises are being renovated, then your own manual router may often be needed.

This device can mill wood elements, form edges and perform other work.

Tasks and features of manufacturing a milling device

A household milling device works as follows. The engine of the device rotates the spindle with a special attachment put on it - a milling cutter.

The cutter is inserted into a collet or jaw chuck. The motor that provides rotation is powered by electricity.

A self-made milling device is capable of processing wood, metal, glass, plastic and ceramics.

For example, making holes for door locks or processing the edges of parts and cavities.

Which attachment will be used for the job depends on the material being milled and can be completely different.

The most accessible wood for processing is wood, so cutters for it are affordable and often found on sale.

Metals have varying degrees of viscosity and hardness. For their milling, attachments differing in their qualities are used.

When selecting them, you should take into account the properties inherent in the metal being processed.

Before making a router for home use, you need to design a table on which the device will be installed.

The tabletop can be prepared using a regular sheet of plywood 1.2 cm thick. Four wooden beams are suitable as support for it.

A hole corresponding to the size of the router is marked on the surface of the plywood, after which a guide is added.

The groove hole for the router is made in a semicircular shape and cut out with an electric or manual jigsaw. After preparing the tabletop, begin assembling the milling device.

The router is made from a drill with your own hands, using an electric drive, the power of which should be from 500 to 1100 W, depending on the width of the material being processed.

The most suitable options are a drill, grinder or hammer drill.

The drill is considered the cheapest and most accessible tool for making a router.

To assemble the device, you will need the following tools, parts and materials:

motor powered by electrical network;
hand saw or jigsaw;
drill;
clamp, self-tapping screws, locknuts, screws;
cutter;
cartridge;
four wooden blocks;
clamps that can be quickly clamped;
Chipboard – for the base of the apparatus.

You don't have to be a professional to work with this list of tools.

Make sure to check the functionality of power tools and compliance with safety regulations in advance.

Router assembly procedure

Assembling the router is much easier if you use the drawings. The process of constructing a milling machine using a drill as a motor is conventionally divided into stages.

Construction assembly stages:

making a base-stand;
preparing the clamp;
clamp fastening;
emphasis;
assembly.

The manufacture of the milling machine does not end there, but it can be used in this state.

It is enough to securely fix the drill with a clamp, tighten the cutter into a chuck of a suitable parameter, secure the entire structure and start milling.

To make the work more accurate and safe, the equipment can be supplemented with certain elements.

For added accuracy and safety, a guide must be used.

As a result of its use, the processing of materials will be of higher quality, since there is no need to visually assess the distance.

Self-tapping screws are used to attach the assembled structure to the working surface. If you are going to process a stack of planks or slats, then you need to make the fasteners as reliable as possible.

Quick-release clamps are ideal for securing a guide that controls the movement of material.

A hand-assembled router has several advantages. It is not difficult to make, and the labor costs are low.

To make a device, it is enough to use the tools and materials available to every tinkerer.

You will only need to buy a clamp and cutters.

But a manual router has significantly more serious disadvantages. All tools assembled by hand and having elements that rotate at high speeds require strict adherence to safety regulations.

You should not neglect installing a special shield on the device, because during work in a home workshop it is difficult to predict the occurrence of situations hazardous to health.

You need to know that the drill has a low speed to mill. Therefore, processing hard materials and performing voluminous work with a milling cutter from a drill is difficult.

Incorrect use of the device will gradually render the drill unusable.

You should use a device assembled by yourself only when you do not need to maintain great accuracy.

Even the use of a guide cannot ensure the most accurate milling.

But if you need a device for processing a small amount of non-solid material, that is, the requirements for the milling cutter are low, then you can build the device with your own hands.

When assembling and using the router, you must always follow safety rules - caution will help avoid injury.

The same tool can perform different jobs. Using different attachments, the drill can become a mixer or a grinder.

The choice of a variety of attachments for power tools allows, in some cases, to get by with one basic module. In fact, the main component of any power tool is the electric motor in the housing. The rest is a matter of technique, or more precisely, a matter of selecting the right nozzle.

By installing a cutter in a home drill, you get a manual router. It may not be as convenient as the original, but you can do basic work. At the same time, you do not spend money on another power tool.

A clear example of how to attach a tool to a wooden block

Metal processing with a drill

Using a drill as a primitive router has long been practiced by amateur mechanics. Since Soviet times, hardware stores have sold cutters and countersinks for boring holes and primary processing of metals.

With a roller cutter mounted on the tool, you can bore holes

A cutter is actually a roughing cutter, essentially a mechanized file. But the countersink has all the signs of a real cutter.

Valve seats are restored using a special countersink

Countersinks (or countersinks) allow not only rough processing of holes, but also the formation of a recess of a given shape.
You can also use standard cutters in drills, but take into account some features:

The drill has lower speeds compared to the router, so the quality of the cut is significantly worse.
The shaft bearings are designed for a different load vector – longitudinal.

Transverse forces when milling metal can quickly damage the gearbox. Therefore, the pressure on the workpiece must be moderate, and this increases the processing time.

The electric motor of the drill is not designed for long-term operation; after several passes of the cutter, it is necessary to give the power tool a rest.
Most modern power tools have a plastic gear housing.

Under increased lateral loads, it deforms. In addition to the fact that the housing may simply break, misalignment of the armature in the stator leads to increased mechanical wear of the motor.

The collet chuck of an electric drill, under lateral loads on the cutter, can give way to the fastening, and then you can either damage the workpiece, or a dropped milling attachment will cause injury.
And the most important thing is safety.

The absence of a so-called “shoe” or thrust plate, as on a standard router, makes the work dangerous. When working with end or face mills, you can still control the tool with your hands. But disc cutters will simply tear the drill out of your hands.

Hence the conclusion: It is possible to work with a drill as a milling cutter for metal, but subject to a number of rules and precautions.

The optimal solution is to make a router from a drill yourself

In fact, it will be necessary to make a fixing bracket and a primitive milling plate.

If the tool is fixed to the base, then you can make a kind of milling cutter out of it

Aesthetics come last in such a homemade product; the main thing is to ensure reliable fastening of the tool and rigidity of the structure. For convenience, you can equip the device with comfortable handles for moving around the workpiece. And also remove the switch, since the trigger trigger of a drill is not the most convenient solution for a router.

You can adjust the immersion depth by simply moving the drill body along the fixing clamps.
With due diligence, a more advanced design is made. With a microlift, like on a real manual router. With such a device, you can already take on serious work, without forgetting about the features of the power tool.

Homemade router design from a drill with a microlift

IMPORTANT! The body of the electric drill is elongated along the axis of the shaft, which increases the center of gravity and makes the structure unstable.

This danger should not be forgotten during intensive work.
If you have made an unambiguous decision to make a router from a hand drill, pay attention to a stationary solution to the issue. You can build a drill into a homemade milling machine.

Plywood milling machine and electric drill

This option is relatively safe and allows you to perform more precise work. If the drill mount is easily removable, you can quickly change the purpose of the tool. That is, both the drill itself and the stationary router remain in the arsenal.
At the same time, the typical disadvantages will not go away - as before, you work at low speeds, and the drill wears out under lateral loads.

Homemade cutters

Since you can make a homemade router, why not start creating cutters.
From scrap materials it is quite possible to make cutters and attachments that are superior in quality to their Chinese counterparts J. At the same time, the cost of these devices tends to zero.

A plywood cylinder and glued sandpaper petals make a convenient sanding drum.

By connecting a suitable axle and a wheel from a flint lighter, we get an excellent micro-mill. The quality of the material is at the highest level, this nozzle works for a long time. When critical wear is reached, simply replace the working ring.

An original solution to make a micromill for small parts

Having sharpened the dowel properly, you can make an end or cutting mill. This attachment will work not only on plastic and wood, but also on non-ferrous metals.

Homemade dowel cutter

There are no limits to initiative. Each home DIYer makes a tool that allows him to perform personal tasks, as opposed to standard factory tools.

Working with wood and plastic blanks using a homemade router

While working on metal with a milling cutter and a hand drill is quite difficult, processing wood with such a kit is a real pleasure. Using the developments described in the previous paragraphs, you can perform milling of any complexity on wooden blanks. Wood cutters for drills are available in a sufficient range.

We put a wood cutter on a power tool

In addition, with some skill, you can securely secure any cutter for a hand router in the collet chuck of an electric drill. The main thing is that the shank is cylindrical and not conical.
And if you fundamentally do not want to buy a separate manual router, you can use a ready-made industrial solution.

Drill mount that simulates the operation of a hand router

Such a device is safe, functional, but at the same time quite expensive financially. Although compared to the new router it looks attractive.