Drill Presses

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run91

run91

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Joined
Nov 12, 2007
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Location
Rockwell NC.
Good evening everyone,

How do you determined what's a good drill press. I am looking for a table top model and there are so many to choose from. How do you determine how straight the quill travels. Thanks.
 
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You would need an engineers solid square to check from the table to a drill or round round held centered in the chuck at a minimum. You can also use a combination square, but it may not be as accurate. But unless it is really beat up(the square) it should give a good indication of squareness to the table. Were the vise or jig for drilling will sit.

As been said about the distance that it will down and the depth of the hole. You will be limited by that factor.

When you look for a drill press make sure that the table has some form of hand crank and gear track for raising and lowering it with a vise/jig on it and its own weight, it can be heavy for use old farts to adjust a number of times to drill a long hole.

Another advantage with the crank table is, you can use a longer drill bit say an 8"long one which generally have about 5" of flutes on the drill. and slowly raise the table as it drills. Yes you do have to do a lot of cranking up and down to clear chips. You should also have the vise/jig holding the blank secured to the drill press table. One less item to move about.

I had a knob controlled variable speed bench top drill press years ago it was great. Make sure that changing the belt for speed changes is do easily. With out a lot of extra things you have to do, and that one person can do it.

Check the maximum size of the drill chuck capacity Minimum of 1/2" dia A lot of them are now coming with 3/8" capacity. The chucks seem to use what is called a JT taper shank and it can be a pain to find new chucks to replace what came with it. Of course a #2 morse taper would be ideal but they generally only come on floor models.

Here is something to consider, a floor model will take up the same foot print only on the floor and not the bench! You can make a work table tray that slides over the drill table so you can use it as a glue up or assemble work area.

Most smaller home owner /hobbyist floor models will only take about 16" wide and lee than 24" deep, the whole press will be in that foot print.

The biggest advantage to a floor model is you will only have to buy it once! not buy a bench top and then later decide that a floor model is needed.

Try to make room for a floor model first. You can get by with out a handsaw, but the two machines that you need if you don't drill on the lathe for turning pens. Are a lathe and drill press.
:clown:
 
navycop said:
Make sure it has more than a 2" travel. I am having a hard time drilling blanks on mine beacuse the bit is so close to the tray.
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Mike is correct. A 2 inch quill travel is an absolute minimum Personally, If I were buying a drill press, I would look for a minimum of a 3 inch travel.

Is pen drilling the majority of the use for the DP? If so, have you considered drilling on the lathe? A dedicated pen drilling chuck (imported by PSI and others) can usually be purchased on Amazon for under $70 and a Jacobs Drill Chuck on MT mount is $15 (HF).

For about the same price as a cheap drill press, you can outfit your lathe for drilling. The upsides here are that lathe drilling is considerably more accurate AND you keep a bench top less cluttered. The only real "down side" is that your drilling capabilities are limited to the length of your lathe bed rather that the length of your drill press.

Respectfully submitted
 
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Thanks all. Those answers were real helpful.I do drill on the lathe but I would like more versatility. I think I see a floor model in the near furture. Thanks again.
 
HF has a heavy duty 16 speed drill press ( both bench and floor models) with 3 1/8" quil travel. $229 for bench, $219 for floor.
I myself might get one once I decide what lathe I want
 
navycop said:
Make sure it has more than a 2" travel. I am having a hard time drilling blanks on mine because the bit is so close to the tray.
Click to expand...
I had the Harbor Freight bench top drill press with a 2" travel. I learned to work with it because it's what I had. That meant that when I did a longwood slimline, I had to set up and drill four times for one blank. Was it a hassle to do this? Maybe, but I made three or four, and always had to drill at least twice per barrel no matter the pen I was making.

I traded that one in and upgraded to a drill press with a 2 3/8 Spindle travel, and it make a big difference. The only reason I settled for a mere 3/8" more was because I was using the HF service upgrade, and that's as good as it gets with their bench top models.

It can be done, but shop around and find one with at least 3". There are ones out there with much more. Four is better, six even better than that.

Be patient and don't forget Craig s list. If your buying used, take along a bit or straight rod to check for run out.

ETA:

Forgot to mention that you should also check for distance between the chuck, and table. One of the reasons I had to drill four times for one longwood was because I couldn't start with the table, and had to use the base because there just wasn't enough room between the table, and chuck. My first one only had 7" (IIRC), and when you put a bit in that doesn't leave much room. 3-4" spindle throw would have been a joke with that much limitation between the two.
 
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ghostrider said:
I traded that one in and upgraded to a drill press with a 2 3/8 Spindle travel, and it make a big difference. The only reason I settled for a mere 3/8" more was because I was using the HF service upgrade, and that's as good as it gets with their bench top models.
Click to expand...

HF now has a bench top with 3 1/8 travel. Uses the same head as one of their floor models.
 
A good friend and fellow wood turner bought the HF Bench Top DP. We set it up, put a drill bit in the chuck and checked it out. Not good, the quill had about an 1/8" play in it. The DP wouldn't drill a hole in the same place twice. It might OK for sanding. He returned the HF DP and bought a 25 year old Delta DP off of Craigs List that needed a new belt.The Delta was dead on the first time, no play in the quill and it is still going strong. I bought a similar DP built by King Machinery in CA and use it every day.
 
I know you said you were interested in a bench top, but if it is due to space restrictions that's fine but if it is a monetary issue when you really look at prices there is not that much difference between a bench top and a full size. The difference in versatility is huge however. Quill travel and wood working is not the only thing some times when you need to drill something large you can do it on the full size.
 
ren-lathe said:
I know you said you were interested in a bench top, but if it is due to space restrictions that's fine but if it is a monetary issue when you really look at prices there is not that much difference between a bench top and a full size. The difference in versatility is huge however. Quill travel and wood working is not the only thing some times when you need to drill something large you can do it on the full size.
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Not wanting to highjack this tread, but in my case...
HF has a bench and floor model that use the same head. The FLOOR model is $10 cheaper. Thing is, my woodshop is my dining room (I'm in an apartment) so I can't see me putting a DP on the floor. I'm not going to be making furniture or building cars or things of that nature. Just pens and a few bowls, etc. I think the bench model will be fine. I looked at it and the quill seems pretty good at full extention. It was the same tightness as on their $400 DP.
 
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Although I'm not normally a huge Ryobi fan (major exception: BT3000 table saw), I recently picked up a 12" benchtop drill press at Home Depot for about $140. 3"+ quill travel, variable speed (no belt adjustments--lever controlled), solid table for clamping, and a digital speed readout (RPMs). It also has a laser line and built-in lamp, but neither of those have been particularly helpful. It drills straight as an arrow and the 3" travel is more than enough for all of my barrels. I've been pleasantly surprised.
 
HD has a very nice Ridgid 15" floor press for $299. Lifetime warranty and 12 months same as cash on HD card.

I have this press and it is much better quality than the Delta it replaced. It had nearly a 4 inch quill travel.

Other than having an orange top, it's perfect!
 
run91 said:
Thanks all. Those answers were real helpful.I do drill on the lathe but I would like more versatility. I think I see a floor model in the near furture. Thanks again.
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I have a Delta bench top model which serves me well, but I now do all blank drilling on the lathe. Most bench top DPs, mine included, just do not have sufficient quill travel.

That being said, a DP is a MUST for any woodworking shop, and a bench top model is a very economical way to get started. I have an oscillating spindle/belt sander now, but used my DP for drum sanding for years.

I'll add a floor standing drill press to my shop eventually, and it will the most quil travel I can find, but I'll still keep the bench top model.

I have a 14" heavy duty bandsaw, and still use my little 10" bench top bandsaw for light duty work, using fine blades. I have a radial arm saw I use for crosscutting, and my table saw stays set up for ripping most of the time. Having a second major tool in the shop really is a blessing at times.
 
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danielbelltn said:
I just picked up a 12" Ryobi Desktop at Home Depot. If you can find one in a store somewhere they are selling from $30-150 on clearance at Home Depot. I don't know why the price ranges so greatly around the country.

I bought won based on this review the low price. Ryobi Drill Press Review
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Funny, just did a search on HD site and this model comes up as ... "not found" :mad:

Not available in any of the 35 HD's within 50 miles.
Also can't find it anywhere on the web. Amazon, zilch....
 
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Home Depot has a floor model with a .5HP motor, and they claim it has a 14.81 spindle travel!:eek: I want I want! If it was practical for me, I might just consider taking back my HF DP, and upgrade to that one. My friend says that his is a 12" (or was it 16") travel, but I did a lot of looking around last year at the discount hardware stores, and didn't see anything like this (of course I was looking at bench top models, but I don't remember seeing Buffalo Tools).

Xander said:
ghostrider said:
I traded that one in and upgraded to a drill press with a 2 3/8 Spindle travel, and it make a big difference. The only reason I settled for a mere 3/8" more was because I was using the HF service upgrade, and that's as good as it gets with their bench top models.
Click to expand...

HF now has a bench top with 3 1/8 travel. Uses the same head as one of their floor models.
Click to expand...
I just looked at that one today. It's HUGE:eek:. For the size you might as well buy a floor model. It also weighs over 40lbs more than my current one. In my previous setup, I sometimes had to move my DP off the desk to make room for other equipment. Once I got the 12 speed DP, that stopped. It was more weight than it was worth. It looks puny next to the 16 speed model.
 
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