Benefits of Radial Arm Drill press

[Joe Von Kaenel]

Howdy,

Still shopping for a drill press. What are the benefits and drawbacks to a radial arm drill press Versus a regular drill press?

I am looking at the Grizzly G 7946 Radial Drill Press

Regular Drill press G7944, RIDGID DP-1550, Porter Cable PCB660DP

I am upgrading from a Delta Bench top drill press. Thanks

Joe

[glenn bradley]

I was going to go this route but changed my mind. The benefits are more reach, drilling at angles by tilting the head instead of the table and such. Downside for me was accuracy. Till I started looking at semi-serious metal working machines the radial DP's had a lot of flex. Kinda like a cheaper sliding compound miter saw. By the time I found a solid machine it was out of my price range by about triple. YMMV.

[Herbert Mulqueen]

Look for a used RAD they are great. All that I seen in the industrial field were 3 phase, so most people will need a converter.

As to accuracy-----they are very very accurate. I could drill a 4 inch hole with 21 inches of stroke in 12 foot circle.

I set the my RAD with a Wild T-3 optical theodolite. Still think that is state of art for accuracy.

RAD are measured by the size of the circle radius and the column size.

The older ones used Morse Taper drills. My drill weight 38, 500 pounds and that is in the upper middle of sizes. There was a chat thread about 6 weeks ago here that had very large RAD pictures.

If I was to buy a small one today for my garage shop it would be about 4 foot with an 8 inch column and probably a horse power of 5 to 7 hp on the drill head. There are other motors for column raising and of course coolant pump.

I would think you could pick these up for very little money compared to a 24 inch used industrial gear head drill press, or even a quality used drill press.

The radial arm drill is an old workhorse like a coal fired locomotive.

The RAD were replaced with CnC machining centers. Also the precision and cost to make them would not support the industrial climate today.

[Myk Rian]

I doubt Joe is thinking about one that big.

[Will Overton]

Herb gives good advice. Jumping from a bench top model to a 38,000 lb, 7 hp model seem like a good approach. http://www.runemasterstudios.com/graemlins/images/notallthere.gif

Unless you need the reach for the type of work you 'normally' do, a conventional 17" job will probably be more than enough. I've been using a 15" floor model for 20+ years and never felt an urgent need to upgrade. The times (not many) that I could have used the deeper reach, I found suitable work arounds.

[Van Huskey]

This thread made me grin.

OP:

"I have some lumber to haul and wondering what the benefits of a SUV over a pickup are, I am looking at a Toyota Rav4."

1st response:

"I considered SUVs also but they had too many compromises in hauling at least until you got up to a Tahoe."

2nd response:

"SUVs are great they do all manner of cool things very well, just get yourself a Kenworth Class 8 T700 and you won't have any problems hauling 80,000 pounds of lumber."

:D:D:D


Bottom line as with most things added complexity and low price rarely make for a more useful tool, Glen's CSMS analogy is spot on.

[Herbert Mulqueen]

Actually my drill was 15 feet tall and had a 25 hp motor the size of a 55 gallon drum driving a hydraulic motor. BTW one finger with a little pressure could move the drill in the 12 foot circle, because the balance was so superb.

What I was talking about is a small 5 hp radial arm drill weighing maybe
5000 pounds. This sounds large but it just mostly in a iron base.I would guess a footprint would be maybe 30 inches wide and 72 inches long.The height would be less than 8 feet tall.

A solid iron table with lots of T-slots maybe 24 x24 --The base would also be T-slotted to hold anything big like the table above or anything else.

Remember with a RAD, the workpiece is stationary and the drill moves over the work.

5000 pounds can be unload with a small forklift and moved by some rolling pipe. Not a big problem.

Herb

[Will Overton]

As an alternative to the 147 pound model the op is considering? I didn't see a :), but you've got to be kidding, or gloating. :D

http://cdn6.grizzly.com/pics/jpeg288/g/g7946.jpg (http://www.grizzly.com/products/G7946/images/)

[Joe Von Kaenel]

Thanks for all the replies. I am looking for a drill press for hobby woodworking for a small shop. Although a huge drill press with unlimited Quill travel, that could drill vertically or horizontally with a 300HP Turbo diesel would be great. :D

Joe

[Myk Rian]

When I was shopping for a DP, I really was considering a RAD.
I opted to stay with a conventional style and use a machinists vice and the table to set angles with.

[Bob Aquino]

I wouldn't bother with that type of lightweight radial press. That design has been around for a while and it never caught on. Like this one:

http://www.owwm.com/photoindex/images/4579-A.jpg

The amount of flex at the end of the bit on that flimsy design is not something I would want to deal with. The farther out you extend the head of the press, the more flex you will create. Honestly, I've never had that much of a need to drill holes at odd angles, and if you do, there are ways to orient the work at an angle either with a jig or by tilting the table rather than by tilting the head.

If you really want a radial press worth its weight, keep an eye out for an old walker turner radial or delta version, they do pop up now and then, sometimes for reasonable money. Though it may entail some work to restore, they are great machines. Here is a beautiful example off OWWM.com that was done by Shane Whitlock:
http://www.owwm.com/photoindex/images/10916-B.jpg
http://www.owwm.com/photoindex/images/10916-A.jpg

[Jeff Strickler]

Was really keen to buy Grizzly, in part due to the stories here of good products and customer service. Didn't read anything favorable about the radial drill press though - lots of unfortunately negative commentary. Eventually settled on the Ridgid as best value. Someone with very specific requirements might feel otherwise, but for my money it was a good all-around tool and I would recommend it to others.

[Van Huskey]

Bob thanks for posting those pics, that is one gorgeous RAD.

Lots of stuff I see on OWWM look so pretty I couldn't use them.

[Rick Markham]

Was really keen to buy Grizzly, in part due to the stories here of good products and customer service. Didn't read anything favorable about the radial drill press though - lots of unfortunately negative commentary. Eventually settled on the Ridgid as best value. Someone with very specific requirements might feel otherwise, but for my money it was a good all-around tool and I would recommend it to others.

Jeff, That was what I ended up with as well, I have been very pleased with mine. My quill is extremely tight and has almost no runout. I am a not a professional either, and it has suited my needs very well. Granted the quill travel isn't as large, but it cost me substantially less, and has served my needs very well. You will be more than happy with it I am sure. If I need machinist precision, I would be buying a vertical mill... which actually I am looking for right now :D

[David Nelson1]

Jeff, That was what I ended up with as well, I have been very pleased with mine. My quill is extremely tight and has almost no runout. I am a not a professional either, and it has suited my needs very well. Granted the quill travel isn't as large, but it cost me substantially less, and has served my needs very well. You will be more than happy with it I am sure. If I need machinist precision, I would be buying a vertical mill... which actually I am looking for right now :D

+1 0n the vertical mill just be aware that the footprint and weight or excessive. I bought RAD and am pleased with-the quality vs dollars spent. The controls as sloppy but they can be shimmed to make up the difference.

[Matt Winterowd]

I've got the General International 75-550 M1. I used to have a Steel City 17", but I drill a lot of angled holes and changing the table angle or jigging up work pieces was just a PITA. I've been very pleased with this DP. As far as accuracy, I have no problems. Once it's locked down it's very rigid. And the extra reach is really nice. Would it pass muster in a machine shop? Probably not. But this is woodworking guys.

[Stew Hagerty]

I have a Rikon 30-140 Tabletop RAD and I love it. It has reasonable good accuracy and great versatility. Great bang for the buck in my opinion.

[Curt Harms]

I have a Rikon 30-140 Tabletop RAD and I love it. It has reasonable good accuracy and great versatility. Great bang for the buck in my opinion.

I have a Delta that is discontinued. Would I buy one again? Dunno, probably not. But when the arm is pretty much retracted, there isn't much flex. When the arm is fully extended is another matter. In terms of accuracy, it seems okay for woodworking, there's not typically that much force exerted on the quill. For precision metal working? Forget it. The other issue with the cheaper radial drill presses is only 5 speeds the slowest of which is 500-550 R.P.M. That's pretty fast for big forstner bits, fly cutters and such.