How is a "woodworking drill press" different from a "metalworking drill press"?

[Sydney Smith]

And, any advice about floor model drill presses? I'm replacing my old Taiwan-made Central Machinery model from 1981.

[Chris Friesen]

For woodworking you generally want a larger table (with a fence) and a longer stroke.

[Loren Woirhaye]

I don't think there really is, but in drilling metals the press can be under a lot more stress so heavier (and sometimes finely made) drill presses are used for metals more often. For most woodworking applications any drill press that has the throat to do what you need to do is likely to be adequate.

[Brian Lefort]

Speed. table size.

[Mikail Khan]

Metal working drill press tables would typically have t slots for work holding and may have a drain connection for coolant. Delta's relatively new ww drill press has gotten good reviews. I believe that it is around $900 from amazon.

[Thomas Hotchkin]

Woodworking drill press tables tip in two planes. And have a replaceable sacrificial insert, and less horse power 1/2 in place of 3/4. Go used and look for a older Delta or better yet a Powermatic 1150 or 1200.Tom
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[Tai Fu]

Note that Powermatic 1150/1200 production table does not tilt but has rack and pinion table height mechanism. The tiltable table does not have rack and pinion table height adjustment and is quite small... Also the production table has absolutely no provision for clamping, I ended up drilling holes in the coolant trough and bolting a sacrificial table through it...

[Thomas Hotchkin]

Note that Powermatic 1150/1200 production table does not tilt but has rack and pinion table height mechanism. The tiltable table does not have rack and pinion table height adjustment and is quite small... Also the production table has absolutely no provision for clamping, I ended up drilling holes in the coolant trough and bolting a sacrificial table through it...

Powermatic 1150/1200 drill press had many option for table design, and a title table was one of them. Tom

Tilting Table
Production Table .
Base Working Surface
. . . . . . . . . . See Catalog

[Gary Herrmann]

Weight, HP, precision, quill stroke. All in favor of the metal press.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Also the production table has absolutely no provision for clamping, I ended up drilling holes in the coolant trough and bolting a sacrificial table through it...

YIKES!!

I have a WW table on top of my 1150 production table, with a very simple arrangement to securely clamp in in place. It never even entered my mind to drill through the production table.

Not arguing - just that my cat got skinned without holes, that's all.

[Roger Feeley]

Metalworking DPs can be used for wood but not so much the reverse.

MWDPs will have heavier duty everything. The table will be beefier. It will have t-slots for work holding. The quill will be bigger.

MWDPs often just have a MT quill into which you put bits with a MT. You use a drift to remove the bits.

MWDPs often have a power feed that serves two purposes
-- it advances the cutter some distance per revolution
-- it prevents the cutter from advancing too far. Think of drilling a 3/4" diameter hole through steel. When it's about to break through, what you really want to do is prevent the bit from grabbing. A good MWDP will do that.

MWDPs are capable of very low speeds and very high torque

MWDPs are generally not capable of the high speeds favored for drilling wood

MWDPs would not have a through hole because the coolant would drain out.

That said, my DP is hybrid with a very heavy duty quill that's rated for light milling and table with t-slots. I've never done it because I have a milling machine. It also has no power feed.