Drill press suggestions

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Sammy-2016

Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2016
Messages
58
Location
San Antonio, Texas, USA
Hi,
I am not sure this is the correct place to ask this:
I need to buy a drill press. What kind do you use or suggest?
I think I would need one with more chuck travel than 2 inches so you dont have to finish drilling blanks by hand.
Price is an issue. I am looking to spend between $100 to $200.
Thank you
Sammy
 
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Just a thought, Sammy, but you probably already have a lathe. Why not drill on that? A chuck and 1/2" drill chuck will cost less than $200 and will drill with more precision.

Regards,
Michael
 
Check Craigslist in your local area. I have bought and sold quite a few items on Craigslist including my current lathe and just sold my old one. I recommend you stay away from the cheap stuff like Harbor Freight and other similar cheepees. A floor model or good quality benchtop will serve you well. I drill all my blanks on my Delta 12" floor model with no problems at all.
 
One possibility might be to start out with chucks to drill on the lathe and keep an eye out for a good quality, used floor-mount drill press.

I've had my 13" Craftsman floor-mount drill press for about 40 years. It's built like a tank & still going strong. Quill travel is about 2.5" - a longer travel would be nice, but it only takes a few seconds to move the table up when I need to drill deeper.

Most modern drill presses aren't built nearly as well unless you pay upwards of $800 or more, but you might be able to find a good deal on an older unit on Craigslist if you're not in a big hurry. In the meantime, lathe drilling works well and there are times when it's still useful even if you have a good quality drill press.
 
TimS124 said:
This one has 4" of travel and is a decent brand...fairly easy to set up as well. It's a bit above your price range, but worth the extra cost:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/PORTER-CABLE-8-Amp-12-Speed-Floor-Drill-Press/1000132463
Click to expand...

I have that WEN and I am not happy at all.
Mecompco is right. If you just started probably it is better to start to drill on the lathe.
The drill press comes really helpful if you have several pen blanks to drill at the same time. In that case it saves time.
If you need it for other kind of projects, that's another story.
 
I have a 15" craftsman that I have had since Moses had short hair and it has served me well, it's nothing special, but works well. I got a 100.00 gift card to Harbor Frieght and bought the 12" DP to put on my bench for convenience.....it is a POS...I have had to modify it multiple times....don't go to HF and drink the poison!
 
I drill mainly on the lathe, but I use the Porter Cable drill press above when I don't use the lathe.
 
Kloss said:
TimS124 said:
This one has 4" of travel and is a decent brand...fairly easy to set up as well. It's a bit above your price range, but worth the extra cost:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/PORTER-CABLE-8-Amp-12-Speed-Floor-Drill-Press/1000132463
Click to expand...

I have that WEN and I am not happy at all.
Mecompco is right. If you just started probably it is better to start to drill on the lathe.
The drill press comes really helpful if you have several pen blanks to drill at the same time. In that case it saves time.
If you need it for other kind of projects, that's another story.
Click to expand...

What don't you like about it? I have one and have no major complaints.

Drilling on the lathe is fine for normal situations, but I've had plenty of projects that just can't be drilled there....antler tips for closed end pens/styluses/etc can't be gripped by pen jaws on a lath due to the curve of the antler tips. Drilling a whiskey barrel blank near the inner edge so the charcoal surface remains intact in the final pen like this:

http://www.penturners.org/forum/f13/whiskey-barrels-charcoal-pens-oh-my-143943/#post1883375

Yeah, not the sort of thing somebody just starting out will likely make, but it's all too easy to outgrow lathe-only drilling.
 
I bought a variable speed Delta Rockwell 15" in 1972. It's still going strong, never any problems. It ain't Tiawainese and it ain't Chinese. Good ole USA. If you could find one on the used market I think it would fill your needs.

Ben
 
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