Linc, clear your pms

would you use the drill press to hold your drill and use like a mill to cut out sections in your tvps?

if so, what sort of drill bit would you use... and how safe is it putting so much side load on a drill?

I have not had much luck with using a mill bit with a drill press. I just use a skil saw to cut out stuff. Drill a hole to start, and finish with a file. I am pretty quick once I get start.

a skil saw? hmmm... i should get one of those. Does it make light work of alloy then? What does it look like so i dont get the wrong tool :/

Sorry to thread jack linc

Sure he means a jigsaw; "Skil" is just a brand. And you can get metal work blades for it. Personally I don't like the jigsaws for cutting metal, I never have good luck with it but could just be me... I went the route of getting a router with carbide tip to do it.

You do need good blades. The problem you run into is that the bade will load up with al and you effectively lose the teeth. I have a dewlat jigsaw and it has a function that offers a variable oscilation of the blade. So imagine the blade reciprocating, and moving forward and backward in line with the material. This helps the cutttings escape and stops the blade loading up. Works like a charm. Still not as good as a cheap badsaw, but you can cut an area out inside of something with a jigsaw. I spent around 90 bucks for the jigsaw, and the bandsaw was about 100. Setting up a bandsaw is a bit of an art, but you can use a finer tooth blade and get very nice smooth cuts.

I love my delta band saw for cutting aluminum. Candle wax works awesome at keeping debris from sticking to the blade/teeth. Even on softer aluminum.

Pretty sure I have a delta too. I will give the candle wax a try. Seems like the cuttings get lodged between the blade and the "tires" on the bandsaw wheels. I have had to replace the original tires already and have another set as spares. The stock tires were very hard plastic, and they dried out and cracked. At least the off brand replacements seem more like rubber.