Can this drill press be used for wood working?

[Travis Conner]

Home depot describes this drill press as a metal working drill press. None of the other places I see selling this machine say anything about it. I'd like to know if it's fine for using for wood working also. I don't see a difference.

Here it is. It's a 20in jet

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_52466_52466

[Dave Richards]

Sure. there's no reason it wouldn't drill holes in wood.

I'd like to see a quill lock but that doesn't seem to be a very common feature on drill presses these days. When I bought a new drill press I had to look pretty hard to find one with a quill lock like my old W-T and Atlas-Craftsman have. I ended up with a Delta.

[Travis Conner]

So what's the difference between a wood and metal drilling drill press?

[Rich Riddle]

Typically there is a difference in speed of the drill press. Slower speeds are for metal where faster speeds are for wood.

[Charles Lent]

Rich is correct. A metal working drill press is designed to run slower than it's counterpart for wood, but I prefer this so I can drill anything with it. The highest speed on a metalworking drill press is way more than fast enough for any woodworking that I do. A metal working drill press usually has a larger motor too. The only thing that I don't like about most metal working drill presses when doing woodworking with it is that many have a small round table that either doesn't tilt at all or only tilts side to side. I bought my floor standing Delta Drill press because the table also tilts toward the front, is larger than average, it is square (rounded corners), and the speeds go from very slow to faster than I want and it has a 3/4 hp motor which seems more than adequate for my needs. I was also fortunate enough to get it when it was on clearance from Lowes for $150 YES!!

Charley

[Lee Schierer]

With 12 spindle speeds, I would think you could find 1 or 2 that would be suitable for drilling wood. If not, they probably use a step pulley for speed changes and you can buy a different one for Just a few dollars.

[pat warner]

Essential difference functionally: diddly.
Essential differences in quality: Almost every component for the metal working press will be machined more accurately, stand far more stress, run with far less runout, have a quill lock and a means to manage wear, change speeds handily, not vibrate, have a more sophisticated chuck, more bearings, better rack, better motors with more HP, have an accurate depth stop that won't move, & weigh at least twice as much as a press for woodworking.
Your Jet press, good for woodworking? In spades.

[Keith Outten]

A drill press for metal work will always have a table that is designed to catch coolant and a drain hole that is threaded for a coolant removal tube or hose.

[David Hostetler]

A drill press for metal work will always have a table that is designed to catch coolant and a drain hole that is threaded for a coolant removal tube or hose.

You'd be surprised by how many folks trying to cut / drill holes in relatively thick metal don't understand the need for coolant / cutting lube and then complain when their bits / hole saws / blades / whatever break or wear out prematurely on them... Early tool failure I have seen seems to be caused by poor operator than poor tool...

[Dave Richards]

According to the photo on the website, this one doesn't have appear to have a coolant trough. The manual shows stepped pulleys and you should be able to find speeds suitable for whatever you need to do.

[Dave Paine]

In addition to the other replies, a drill press designed for wood work sometimes has a larger table, the slots in the table are 3/4in wide for the common woodwork hold down/clamps.

I have a Powermatic 2800 drill press which was claimed to be designed for wood work. A large main table, and two slide out wings. The support for the wings are two plastic sleeves, so not going to take a lot of load.

My main table has two slots which are about 8in apart, run front to back and parallel.

Many metal style tables, like the Jet have slots which run on the diagonal. Sometimes I would prefer this pattern, other times my parallel pattern is better.

There is likely a poor mans quill lock. The description mentions 3 nuts. Two likely for a depth stop, and one for a height. Tighten them against each other and it will hold the quill, as long as not too much vibration.

[William Addison]

I have a Grizz that appears to be very much like that one and for 'way less money even with shipping. I like mine a lot, I don't like VS presses and the only complaint I have is that I wish the minimum speed were a little slower.

[Travis Conner]

I checked it out at the store today and I noticed it had the diagonal slots like Dave said. My question is how come it doesn't have a hole in the middle for the bit to go through? Do you have to place some wood on the table for the bit to go into so it goes all the way through without hitting the table? What is the normal method for this?

[Myk Rian]

Home Depot describes it as for metal working. Does Jet.
Gotta take HDs word with the grain of salt.

[Travis Conner]

I guess I have to clamp some 3/4'' plywood to the table so I can drill straight through without hitting the table?

[John Downey]

We have that drill press at work in our little machine shop. I use it for wood all the time. Ours has a center hole in the table (it does have a coolant trough around the perimeter, btw), hole was probably added at some point. Ductile iron drills really easy so you can just drill one if you want.

It has kind of a quill lock - a third nut on the depth rod that is underneath the stop. Not as easy as a real quill lock, but it will do fine if you don't need it often. I use the quill lock all the time in my shop, but when doing similar stuff at work I just set the depth by trial and error. Not too hard really.

Ours also has a task light up behind the chuck. I like that a lot. Like the center hole, that could be a retro-fit.

[Luther Oswalt]

A year or ago, I bought a Jet 17" woodworking floor drill press which works just fine. It cost something like $450.00. Has a nice square table made so that clamps are easy to work with when clamping things to table. Also has a approximate 2" square "hole" in the center with a wood insert which is removable / replaceable. Model # JDP-17DX. Has Light!
Leo

[Art Mann]

I guess I have to clamp some 3/4'' plywood to the table so I can drill straight through without hitting the table?

It is always a best practice to place a flat piece of wood underneath the piece you are about to drill a hole in to prevent it from breaking out on the back side. This is true whether there is a hole in the table or not. Also, many people build an auxiliary table and fence for their drill press in order to get precision and repeatability when drilling a series of holes.

[Mike Heidrick]

In metal working you could mount a vise and use parallels to lift the work up that you want to drill through. No need for holes in a table.

[Travis Conner]

This drill press draws 18 amps of current running 115v and 9 running 230 according to the owners manual. Do they really expect it to draw that much? Btw that's full load. I believe my wall outlet is only 15 amps. I may just get the 17in one like luther said which is designed for wood.

[Curt Harms]

This drill press draws 18 amps of current running 115v and 9 running 230 according to the owners manual. Do they really expect it to draw that much? Btw that's full load. I believe my wall outlet is only 15 amps. I may just get the 17in one like luther said which is designed for wood.

I wouldn't worry too much about 15 amps @ 120 volts being adequate for woodworking tasks. Drilling 1/2" holes in thick steel plate all day long? That might be a different story. A lower speed can be useful for things like fly cutters and large diameter forstner-style bits. They often recommend 200-250 RPM.