radial drill press for w-working?

[Allan Speers]

I'm intrigued by radial drill presses. It seems like one might be incredibly useful for woodworking, but I can't quite think of a specific situation where I'd be drilling on an angle.

Do folks here use them?

[Bill Dufour]

I do not think big radial drillpresses can tilt the drillhead. You have to pay extra to get a universal table that can tilt the work. They are very top heavy and have to have a massive foundation to bolt to or they will tip over.
Bil lD

Like this one?
https://nsmachine.com/product/4-x-9-cincinnati-bickford-radial-arm-drill-2/

[Ray Newman]

Grizzly has "bench top" tilting head radial drill presses:

https://www.grizzly.com/products/Grizzly-5-Speed-Benchtop-Radial-Drill-Press/G7945

https://www.grizzly.com/products/Shop-Fox-1-2-HP-34-Benchtop-Radial-Drill-Press/W1669

https://www.grizzly.com/products/Grizzly-Radial-Drill-Press/G9969

[Darren Ford]

I have one. It's a Fox brand and pretty decent quality. I bought it because I thought of all of the different ways I could use it and it was the same price as a cheap fixed head.

I have never once changed the head angle and miss the rigidity of the fixed head designs. It's served me ok but if I needed a new DP I would get a traditional. There is just way more play in the head and table than I like.

Anytime I am at my dad's place and use his 1980's Enco DP I am amazed at how much more solid it feels. And for all you whippersnappers, Enco was the cheap brand for metal shops before Harbor Freight, Grizzly, Fox, etc.

[Rich Engelhardt]

They pop up on Craig's list pretty regular.
It's 50/50 as far as price. Half the people price them low because they have no idea what they've got.
The other half don't know what they've got either,,,,so they charge a small fortune for the one they have - thinking it's some rare vintage antiquity...

I'd love to pick up an old Walker Turner - - but - - as it is now, I have my bench top drill press mounted on the flip side of my DeWalt 734 planer on the flip top cart. The long arm of a radial would prevent it from being able to flip & I don't have a good spot to mount one anywhere else.

As far as WW'ing goes, the ones I've seen for sale all have a pretty short quill travel - - if that matters to you.

[Mike Cutler]

They can be useful in wood working simply for the increase in depth of throat. However they need to be pretty solid or they deflect under load and you don't get an accurately drilled hole.
I see the big ones, DoAll, Rockwell, Dewalts, Bridgeport, etc on Craigslist frequently. These are big solid 480vac machines that were used in metal fabrication. You would need a forklift to move one.
Occasionally I'll see an older, smaller, Walker Turner, or Dewalt, but these are also 500lb+ machines.
They're worth a look. If you can find a nice one, I can see the value.

[Carl Beckett]

I had one. Got rid of it. I did not like having to ensure it was back to 90 degree square all the time, which is where I did 'almost' all of my drilling. I like the fixed head units, and when I want something at an angle I angle the workpiece.

If you do go for it look closely at how it locks in at 90, and consider what it takes to get it back to square.

[Curt Harms]

I have one, Delta branded but like the Grizzly without the table and arm adjusters. Amazing what I didn't know then:o. I keep the arm extended about 1/3 travel which makes it fairly ridgid, good enough for my purposes but I don't do demanding metal work on it. It and most consumer grade machines come with 5 speeds, the lowest around 550 RPM which is not low enough. I put a 3 phase motor and VFD on it which helps with the low speeds. The 5 speeds come from step pulleys, there was a vibration that I couldn't get rid of. When I put the new motor on I couldn't find a reasonably priced step pulley for it and the original has what appears to be a 15 mm bore so put a single groove pulley on and rely on the VFD for speed changes. New pulley = no more vibration and there's plenty of speed range using a single groove to original step pulley. This was one time using a link belt with easy length adjustment was really useful. I could move the new single groove pulley to increase the maximum speed but haven't needed to. VFD gives me approximately 175 to 2200 RPM.

[johnny means]

Chairs and tables with spindles come to mind.

[Bradley Gray]

I have a Rockwell - like others have said not as rigid as a fixed DP - I find it faster/ easier to make a pitch block to support the work than to tilt and reset the thing.

[Ron Selzer]

I have an AMT, bought it used probably 15 yrs ago and never plugged it in.
Always thought it would be handy to have have never had a reason to use it yet.
Conventional Drill press does what I need all the time so far

[lowell holmes]

I tilt the board when I need angled holes.

[Allan Speers]

Sounds like I have my answer.

Thanks, guys.

[Bill Dufour]

They can be useful in wood working simply for the increase in depth of throat. However they need to be pretty solid or they deflect under load and you don't get an accurately drilled hole.
I see the big ones, DoAll, Rockwell, Dewalts, Bridgeport, etc on Craigslist frequently. These are big solid 480vac machines that were used in metal fabrication. You would need a forklift to move one.
Occasionally I'll see an older, smaller, Walker Turner, or Dewalt, but these are also 500lb+ machines.
They're worth a look. If you can find a nice one, I can see the value.

That one I linked to you need to add a zero to your weights. I think it may have a motor to move the head in and out.
Bill D
T

[Walter Plummer]

I'm happy with mine. It was a fun project to bring it back to use.Large solid table, the head will tilt 45 either way, and you can drill up to 30" away from the column. Pushing 600 Lbs though. I have it on a mobile base now and it rolls fine.

[CPeter James]

Check out this article I wrote.
http://oursplitrock.com/thedrillpress.pdf

I have a Delta Rockwell similar to the one above but later. It is equipped with a three phase motor and VFD for speed control and reverse.

409677

[Allan Speers]

Check out this article I wrote.
http://oursplitrock.com/thedrillpress.pdf


Well done, sir!

thx.

[Carl Beckett]

Check out this article I wrote.
http://oursplitrock.com/thedrillpress.pdf



A nice writeup. The mill/drill combo machine is a great reminder. I use my milling machine all the time on wood, the floor standing drill press does have a wider range of travel than my mill though.