Mag Drills
What Is a Mag Drill Press?
A mag drill, is a portable drill used to cut steel plate and beams, it consists of a motor, stand, powerful magnet and drill chuck to hold specialized drill bits called annular cutters. They are used to cut holes vertically, horizontally or overhead on steel plate or I beams, its advantage over a standard drill press is that its portable and uses a magnet at its base to hold itself in place. These machines can be used to cut metal almost anywhere like bridges, buildings and truck frames.
How to Choose the Right Magnetic Drill Press
Finding the best and most compatible drill requires the user to know the following things about their application such as: diameter of holes to be cut, depth of cut needed, speed requirements, work environment such as physical limitations as well as the type of material it will be applied on.
The smaller the drill the smaller the cutting capacity is. 75% of our customers use the most compact or mini mag drill since they are not in a production environment or typically do not need a hole larger then 2" in diameter.
When drilling over 2" diameter these machines become larger, heavier and more expensive and typically come in variable speed or 2 or 3 speed options. Pay close attention to the depth as most of them can cut between 1 to 3 inches. If the material requires deeper cutting beyond that these may not be the best option for you.
How Important is RPM?
The higher the RPM the easier the cut will be as there are more rotations per minute for the cutter. Many drills have a variable speed setting that permits the user to select the desired RPM which helps for various applications that require a higher or lower RPM. On average most of these machines have between a 400 and 800 RPM.
Buying a magnetic drill is easy but finding the right bit for the material being cut is essential to get the job done fast and efficiently. There are slugger mag drill bits that can be purchased for different materials such as: mild & structural steel, aluminum, stainless steel, corroded or weathered steel and pipe.
Cutting environment is also a big role in the type needed, some customers use these machines on truck frames and require a low profile drill while others are cutting on bridges or i-beams and require a machine that not only cuts but threads for bolting beams together. Other customers are in a production environment and need a heady jancy slugger to get the job done.
Helpful Hints
The minimum operating thickness is 3/8", anything under that the machine will not turn for safety reasons. If the material being cut is thinner then this you can clamp on another piece of thicker steel onto the work area so that the it can adhere to the metal plate.
There are many different sizes of machines out there, but one of the key things most users do not realize is that a mag drill can be used as a drill press. It's important to know if your machine can accept a 3 jaw chuck. This will allow you to use regular metal cutting bits for smaller holes, as annular cutters typically start at 5/8" diameter and larger.
When drilling vertically or horizontally always use the safety chain, jobsites typically run off of generators. If you are working at higher altitudes such as a bridge or high rise, the last thing you want is to lose your drill if the power suddenly turns off with the worst case scenario of it falling on someone below you.
Always use coolant. If coolant is not used it will dramatically decrease the life of any bit. Another cause of premature cutter failure is feed rate. If the feed rate is to slow it will reduce the cutter life because it will burn up the bit. By using steady pressure throughout the cutting process will ensure long cutter life.
Toolfetch is here to help you find the best machine for sale. Give one of our product experts a call for more information.
