Which Drill Press Should I Keep?

[Julie Moriarty]

I look at that picture and can't help but laugh. Yesterday I decided to take the money I've been squirreling away and see if I could find a long overdue tool. I've been holding out for the Powermatic but I might be dead before I have enough to buy that. After I got it assembled, I looked at it and then at the drill press I've been hating for over 30 years. What was I thinking all those years when I kept putting off replacing it with a real drill press?


In case you can't see the old drill press, look closely at the bottom right. See? It's on the floor. Can't see it yet? It's there! ;)

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/ab233/jules42651/Woodworking/Tools/drillpresscomp_zps2c8d40aa.jpg

[Bill Huber]

Nice looking drill press, I am sure you will love it.

Now I am not really sure which one you should keep, does the dark color go with your shop or is that light green color better..:rolleyes:

Now you have to make a top for the drill press with stops and a zero clearance center and all that..
Now I could add that when you make the the zero clearance center for the table, make it round, not square.

I have my drill press table set up so I can take it off any time I want with just 2 star knobs.

[Charles Lent]

Julie,

I went through the same decision process 20 years ago, and ended up keeping both. My bench top drill press was variable speed and very easy to set up and change. The newer drill press was the size of yours and the speed could be changed, but it required changing belt positions. I found that, while I needed a big floor standing drill press for many chores, it took too long to set up for the smaller jobs. Having both sizes has really helped me, but the little one still does most of my work.

Charley

[Charles Taylor]

I finally let go of one of mine...
288777

[Dave Richards]

Keep the old one. If for nothing else you can use it to stir paint.

I have my father's 1932 Walker Turner bench top drill press. I remember my dad used it a lot and one thing he did was stir paint while he set up a ladder and got things ready. There's still a few drips of paint on it. I've thought about cleaning it up and repainting it but I can't bring myself to remove those old spots of paint.

[Myk Rian]

Looks like Papa and baby son.
I have a 1934 Delta 11" that I'm on the fence about selling.

[Jim Laumann]

Julie

I bought the same 'papa' sized press about 2 months ago. The 'baby' sized press is a Craftsman - will likely keep them both. Also have a unit like Charles in the basement - no idea where it will go yet.

Jim

[Doug Ladendorf]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the answer to "Which one should I keep?" always "Both!"

(When speaking of tools of course.)

[Shawn Pixley]

I had a little one like that. I modified it several times to get more clearance, reach, etc. Eventually stumbled upon a Delta close-out at Lowes with a damaged box at a serious discount. Hauled it home and set it up. Built a table, fence and stop setup. Sold the minipress for what I orginally paid for it (25$ used). Don't look back, the little one must go. We don't need the detritus cluttering the workspace.

For the big press, I need to build drill accessory storage below the top. Right now a vacuum casting bell is in the way. I need to find a better home for it.