Drill press question

[Joe Von Kaenel]

Hello,

I've been using my Delta Bench 10" Top drill press for quite some time, and it works well. But, I am limited to the size of drill bit I use. I was thinking about upgrading to a 15" or 20"floor model drill press. Grizzly, RIDGID, etc.

My question is: Will upgrading to a 15" or 20" drill press can I use longer bits and accurately drill deeper hole in wood?

I was trying to make wooden whistles with my son and had to resort to some not so safe practices to get the holes deep enough ( Like drill the hole, stop the drill press, raise the table lowering the bit into the hole, turning the drill back on and drilling deeper) Thanks for the help


Joe

[Kent A Bathurst]

The throat of the press (15", etc.) doesn't automatically govern the hole depth. You want to look at the "spindle travel" or "quill travel" figures.

AIFAK, 6" is about the limit on anything short of a machine tool. You won't get 6" on a bench top - I think - but you don't automatically get that with a 17" press either [like the current version of my ubiquitous chiwanese Delta 16.5" floor DP, which has 3-7/8" quill stroke] . Also - again AFAIK - getting the 6" travel tends to move you into more $$$ for the DP.

As long as your workpiece was well-clamped, I don't think your approach was necessarily unsafe, but there is a certain "pucker factor" involved. - I've done that from time-to-time, and I'd guess so have a lot of people.

[Matt Logana]

I think the main concern would end up being the bit sheering off, or perhaps even ruining the chuck should it torque hard enough..

[pat warner]

Deep drilling, (>the quill traveler permits), should be avoided on any drill press.
Resetting your setup, &/or a change in table height, will only mis-align the drill to the hole.
As such, the hole will be burnt, the drill stressed, your ears pierced, and you get a crummy result. A bigger drill press with more quill travel should be sougth.
If the holes are always deep and large diameter, I'd investigate a/n horizontal drill machine.
& to be sure, fixturing is critical. The tooling on the right (http://patwarner.com/images/drilling1.jpg) , e.g., is a small scale work holder (<2"square) for drill press drilling on-end. The work is jammed in there pretty good; the platform is double clamped to the table.

[Charles Lent]

This isn't the best way but I did it when I only had a bench drill press just for a "one time" project. It isn't the magic answer, but it will allow you to go deeper than you normally can when you only have a benchtop drill press. Drilling deeper in multiple steps results in some mis-alignment of the hole, so don't expect it to come out perfectly centered and take the time to pull the drill out and clear the chips often.

I turned the drill press base around and re-mounted it near the edge of the bench, then turned the drill press head around so it hung off the bench. A temporary support table sitting on the floor to hold the work, a longer drill bit, and I was in business. This was to drill the center hole in a lamp that I was making and it worked out OK for me. To hold the work I used 2 hand screw clamps, one on top of the other, acting as my drill press vise. I have since purchased a new floor style Delta drill press as well as a new Delta bench drill press, but haven't made any more lamps.

Charley

[Nathan Callender]

I don't own a lathe and have never done this, but you might look into boring on a lathe. Maybe some others might be able to comment on that approach to see if it is viable.

[Dave Wagner]

Same problem I am having drilling my pen blanks, the Spindle travel for most table top and small floor models is usually somewhere around 2.25-5" travel, depending. You can probalby pick up a used lathe rather cheap on Craigslist, and get a chuck and drill as suggested.

[Myk Rian]

You could always cut the piece in half, use a router table and a round nose bit to hollow them, then glue back together.

Lowes is selling a nice 15" PC drill for $299 with 4" quill travel.

[Van Huskey]

I think the salient question is how much depth do you need?

[Lee Schierer]

I was trying to make wooden whistles with my son and had to resort to some not so safe practices to get the holes deep enough ( Like drill the hole, stop the drill press, raise the table lowering the bit into the hole, turning the drill back on and drilling deeper) Thanks for the help


Joe

This is not an inherently unsafe practice as long as your work piece is clamped so it is held vertically aligned so it can't get away from you on start up and you spin the drill by hand once or twice before powering up to insure it isn't binding.

Doing this with the piece held in your hand is asking for trouble.

[Will Overton]

The 17" Steel City drill press has a 6" quill travel.

http://www.steelcitytoolworks.com/products_category.cfm?section=2&category=4

[Dustin Lorenz]

I know this isn't exactly what you might want, but remember if you want a taller drill press floor model vs bench top alot of companys I notice use standard pipe for the upright pole. I have converted a couple bench models to floor ones by simply swapping out the upright. You do need to check the dimensions carefully and I would reference them to a standards chart for pipe off of the internet, but you will find that alot of manufactures use inexpensive pipe rather than dimensional/structural steel. I also sand down the outside of the pipe to remove the mill flake that comes from the hot pipe forming process. Also make sure your base is large enough to support the new height of the press. If it seems at all wobbly you should definately bolt it down. I know I saved a lot of money by doing this. Even if you would rather have a floor model and you want to save money and don't need two drill presses if structural steel tubing is needed it would still be cheaper. Of course this is all a bad idea if you can afford two drill presses because you know two or three or four is always better!!! ;) P.S. I would let the wife see my idea.

[scott vroom]

The throat of the press (15", etc.) doesn't automatically govern the hole depth. You want to look at the "spindle travel" or "quill travel" figures.

AIFAK, 6" is about the limit on anything short of a machine tool. You won't get 6" on a bench top - I think - but you don't automatically get that with a 17" press either [like the current version of my ubiquitous chiwanese Delta 16.5" floor DP, which has 3-7/8" quill stroke] . Also - again AFAIK - getting the 6" travel tends to move you into more $$$ for the DP.

As long as your workpiece was well-clamped, I don't think your approach was necessarily unsafe, but there is a certain "pucker factor" involved. - I've done that from time-to-time, and I'd guess so have a lot of people.


Ken, AIFAK? Did you mean As Far As I Know? :confused:

[Kent A Bathurst]

Ken, AIFAK? Did you mean As Far As I Know? :confused:

yep




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