Drill Press ?

I'd like to get a drill press, mostly for metal fab projects around the shop. Drilling stuff up to 1/4" mild steel, which is as far as I can go with my wire welder. I'd like to buy used, but I see a wide range of stuff available.

Is benchtop a waste? Should I hold out for an upright?

What brands / models should i avoid? What brands/ models should I want? What features are a plus?

I sort of have this vision of an old 50-60s industrial upright, but that may not be realistic.

Oh, and I'd like to keep it under $200 if possible.

Just spend the coin for a mill/drill machine? Then you get two machines for the price of one.

I have a sixty year old bench top Dunlop that my grandfather bought new and I use it more than any other power tool that I own. I'd never part with it, but if I ever bought another, I'd buy an upright with rack and pinion height adjustment.

Other than trolling CL, I would suggest trying a professional tool supplier. They may have trade-ins, and they will explain the differences between the various brands. When I lived in Tampa and was doing a lot of metal work, I would go to one on Adamo Drive that had at least 10 different units on the floor, and a few recycled ones in the back.

Most of the posters on Garage Journal would tell you to buy an old one off Craigslist and fix it up if it needs it. The old Rockwells were good.

A quickie scan in your area brought up some good ones. All 110 power. Even though you know you're going to do 1/4 inch work, get a 1/2 inch chuck anyway. You can always make a 1/2" chuck spin a 1/4" drill, but not versa visa.

Dan

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/eat/tls/3319302110.html

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/eat/tls/3362695284.html

http://macon.craigslist.org/tls/3353277689.html

I have a 1977 Eagle 5/8 chuck bench model I bought off of craigslist cheap. This is a pretty nice drill press and has 12 speeds, although I've never moved any of the belts. I recently saw a rockwell for 100$ and those look like nice drills, but my old eagle works good enough for me.

I'd just troll craigslist until I found something I like.

914- I've actually got emails out on those last two. I'm in macon so the tabletop would be local, but that green one looks cool. Hopefully they'll get me some more details on the upright, like does it work?

Glad no one recommeded the one from HF. I snagged one at a garage sale for $5 and I'm not sure it's worth that much. Hugely underpowered.

Jack wrote: Glad no one recommeded the one from HF. I snagged one at a garage sale for $5 and I'm not sure it's worth that much. Hugely underpowered.

I got the Chicago power tool HF benchtop unit for my b-day from the FIL...its not terrible, but I cant adjust the play out of the spindle to save my life - anyone got a link to a general how to for this?

I will eventually upgrade to a floor unit when I have the space. For now though, its surprisingly tolerable.

Just 'cause you can only MIG 1/4" plate now doesn't mean you should limit yourself.

Remember - a drill twisting in mild steel plate doesn't care how thick it is.

A drill press trying to twist a drill does care how big the drill is, the speed and feed rate. You can adjust the speed super slow, but (for example) in stainless you'll need more feed pressure to keep it cutting rather than burnishing the work, than a lightweight Chinese made press can provide.

I have a 1 hp Craftsman 15" floor type, and it's working hard to go 3/4" in mild steel at a proper tool speed.

So, bigger is better.

In reply to benzbaronDaryn:

If you've never changed the speed, you must only have one drill bit and one kind of material.

Drill type, speed, feed and lubricant vary widely for different applications.

Thanks for the info Motomoron, I'll look into getting a better set of drive belts and I still need a chuck key. I guess I should get a drill speed table and tape it to the drill press.

I have a Delta 1/2" benchtop which has been great, it looks almost exactly like the top one in Dan's pictures. I have drilled or holesawed stuff thicker than 1/4" with no problems. I've never used it on stainless, though.

those $50 dollar bench top ones are kinda bunk. Get something nice. (Not HF, Clark, etc...)

Ge a floor model if you can. A bench top IMO takes up more space that a floor model. I need my bench top space for projects not to store my drill press!

I have a 20 year old Craftman 15 inch model, 5/8 chuck, 12 speeds, with a work table that tilts and rotates in two planes. I have used it to notch tubing for roll cages as well as all my drilling work that I can't fit on my lathe.

Ditto, I also have a Delta bench top that I got on Amazon. Love it. Its not the most powerful tool out there, but you gotta be reasonable with your expectations.

914Driver wrote: A quickie scan in your area brought up some good ones. All 110 power. Even though you know you're going to do 1/4 inch work, get a 1/2 inch chuck anyway. You can always make a 1/2" chuck spin a 1/4" drill, but not versa visa. Dan http://atlanta.craigslist.org/eat/tls/3319302110.html

I have this exact drill press. It works fine for most of the projects I do. The most annoying thing is the chuck likes to pop off the spindle if the bit jams in the work piece, which can be rather disconcerting. I paid full retail for mine at Sears years ago and wouldn't do it again, but for $60 you could do worse. Plus, it could work well as a secondary press a bunch of widgets and need multiple drilling operations.

I have a HFish table top drill press I bought used for something like $20. The table top doesn't bother me, but the thing is so sloppy. Next time I will buy a real drill press....

benzbaronDaryn wrote: Thanks for the info Motomoron, I'll look into getting a better set of drive belts and I still need a chuck key. I guess I should get a drill speed table and tape it to the drill press.

Here's a quickie reference.

http://its.fvtc.edu/machshop1/drillpress/cutspeeds.htm#Top

If you have a computer in your garage:

http://www.custompartnet.com/calculator/drilling-speed-and-feed

Ball Park, off the top of your head reckoning: Assume a Brinell hardness of 190-220, the cutting speed = 50 - 70.

Cutting Speed X 4 divided by the drill diameter.

Dan

What do you guys think of this? with a little research I found that it's a 1950s Paramount Woodworker, a combination drill press, horizontal drill, lathe, tablesaw, and disk sander. Do you think the drill is decent for basic metalworking? I can't find any reference on motor size, but it appears to be 5 speeds and have a 1/2" chuck. The guy has some of the accessories, but I don't think he knows what it really is. He's asking low money, but I haven't heard back to know if he still has it.

User manual:

http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/1624/2644.pdf

okay, so the guy still has the Paramount pictured above. And he said he'd take half what he's advertised just to get rid of it. We're talking less than the HF bench model when it's on sale.

....of course he's 100 miles from me, but I think I'm still money ahead. And it's just so cool.....

He's going to check for a motor rating and see if he can tell what size chuck it has...

Anybody know why this wouldn't be a good idea?

I would say it won't do any of those things well, and has not done for 60 years. An exercise in frustration.

I have an early 1950s Craftsman model 150 press.

They sold these things for about 20 years, so they aren't too hard to find. Figure on paying anywhere from $50 to $150, depending on condition and how good a deal you can work with the seller. It's very well built and drills accurately. Mine is a bench model but they also made floor standing models; I built the stand and it works just as well.

Lol, Martin , you're probably right, but I don't really do woodworking anyway. As long as it works as a drill press, the rest is kind of incidental.

It's got a 1/2" chuck, and a GE 1/2 horse motor. And the guy is asking so little for it I almost can't pass it up. I'd pay what he's asking just to have the base as a table.

Road trip!