Drill press

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yorkie

yorkie

Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2009
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Location
Charlotte, North Carolina
So, I'm ready to upgrade my Ridgid drill press. I'm looking at the Delta and the Jet, I like the Steel City but from what I'm hearing they are going under fast. I love their products though.

I want to stay around the $600 mark and am in the process of driving myself nuts looking.

As fellow pen turners, what have you found best?
 
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i love my ridgid. i have a five foot tall version. paid about $350 at amazon with 2 day delivery. prime member option. works fine. the only thing i have done is to change out the clamp screws on the belt tensioner. did not like the feel of the original with my arthritic hands.
 
I have the Steel City. It's excellent. Full 6" throw... drills straight on with no variance. Strong motor. Very good product. And it's not like there is much for Steel City to service.

The new Delta is a strong alternative. It also has a 6" throw. Looks like an outstanding machine. Costs a bit more but it has some extra bells and whistles.

You would not go wrong with either one. Oh... the 6" throw... I will never get a drill press without that feature! I love that so much.
:wink::wink::wink:
 
I just bought the Porter Cable floor model from Lowe's for 299. 4"throw with a 1 hp motor. work light and laser. Imho, the best deal available right now. Quality in the upper mid range and great price.
 
To answer the Ridgid questions, I love it, great machine.

Upgrading to a bigger machine is more of a want than a need.

I wish I could find a way to buy a Steel City, is yours the variable speed?
 
Is yours the benchtop model? Are you looking for a floor model? And are you looking for capacity or throw? I am asking a bunch of questions, because I got a DP from Tractor Supply two falls ago (day after thanksgiving). It has served me well and I picked it up for $150 or $120.
 
My Ridgid is a floor standing model. If I'm looking for anything, it's higher quality and throw. Throw would be big as I do a lot of clicker pens and the extra throw would help.

Even though my business is an LLC, I get a lot of orders but don't want to show a profit, so occasionally I find myself in a position where I need to spend money so I've chosen the drill press as a good upgrade opportunity.

I figure $600 would be my comfortable limit and I really want the Steel City burt can't for the life of me find anyone who sells them.

Anyone want to buy my Ridgid? I added a laser to it and an additional LED lightin system.
 
yorkie said:
To answer the Ridgid questions, I love it, great machine.

Upgrading to a bigger machine is more of a want than a need.

I wish I could find a way to buy a Steel City, is yours the variable speed?
Click to expand...

Mine is the regular with speed changes by belt change. I wish I could have had true variable speed. Too bad they can't put a direct drive variable speed motor like you have on a Nova DVR lathe on one of these drill presses.

:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:
 
Stephen did you have any issues with the drill bit slightly wandering when it started drilling the material? I have never been able to stop it, but other than that mine has been reliable.
 
I have always had that issue, I believe it's pretty common.

I was able to reduce dramatically by using Colt drill bits. Also, if you go in just 1/4 inch at a time and then back out the bit to reduce the pressure, that is the biggest help. I don't believe it can be effected by the drill press itself.

When I really need a straight as a dye hole, I go in a little and back out and move real slow then I can get it perfect.
 
Drill Presses.

Bought my drill press used for pen blanks most of fifteen years ago.

Step 1 Replaced the motor with a 1 hp 240 volt here single phase Aussie motor.

Step 2. Replaced the bearings to the quill.

Step 3. Threw away the chuck and replaced it with a decent one with a threaded insert. (never drops out) having cleaned the morse taper with a reamer. Use a locking threaded rod.

I have done thousands of heavy drilling in metal et al, best thing I ever did.

What prompted this was at that time the Australian direct importer said the Taiwan firm charges him the same with or without a chuck, bearings are so so and invariably there is drop out of the chuck on the drilling cycle so I never regret my actions. Also most motors are designed for use not to be stop started so many times in a row on a session so I tend to leave the drill on when drilling 100 to 200 blanks.

Worked for me figure out the economy over all these years.

Have success.

Kind regards Peter.
 
Thanks for the Steel City supplier.

yeah, I've been heavily researching that Delta drill press and love it! Just $200 more than I'm comfortable spending; any sales?
 
There are some guys from the Rock Hill area who have come down to the Carolina meeting. We are now meeting at Mann Tool. It really is just at a little more than an hour from the Queen City.
 
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