Portable drill press for hand drills

[Peter Kuhlman]

This topic has come up several times over the years. Axminster Tools out of England has finally got theirs on the market. Pricey at 160 Euros but looks really well made. No reviews on their site. Anyone have any experience with it? I have ordered stuff from them before and had excellent experience with very reasonable shipping cost to the States.

[Richard Coers]

Those attachments were invented because drill presses were expensive. China made the world of drill presses cheap. Can't imagine what usefulness that type of thing has any longer.

[Jim Becker]

Richard, they are actually pretty useful for a number of operations that wouldn't necessarily be possible or at least practical on a traditional drill press...including portability when working on "timber" based projects. Sometimes chair makers use them for boring accurately at angles. They don't replace a regular DP for many things where super exact precision is required, but since they have an unlimited throat depth, you can use them in the middle of something really big if you nee to bore a clean, accurate hole which isn't always possible with a hand-drill.

[Stephen Rosenthal]

This looks to be very well engineered, much more so than the Chinese plastic junk heretofore offered in the US. All important parts appear to be precisely machined metal. Looks like something that Woodpeckers would produce.

[Brad Shipton]

Looks like a step up from the Lee Valley one I own. The plastic they used in mine was too weak. It works still in a pinch taped up, but definitely not a Mafell quality. https://www.timberwolftools.com/mafell-bst-drilling-stations

[Richard Coers]

I guess I'm confused. To me a drill press, as mentioned in the title, has a base/table, and an arm to move the quill or drill. Now a portable drill guide is just a base and a slide. With no link or picture, you can see my confusion.

[Jim Becker]

That makes sense, Richard. Terminology sometimes gets in the way and as you state, no photo doesn't help.

Here's the product I suspect the OP is referring to...inexpensive at about $22US plus shipping, but limited in function and to drill/drivers with a 45mm collar dimension.

https://cdn.axminster.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/1800x/040ec09b1e35df139433887a97daa66f/5/0/500458_xl.jpg

UJK (Peter Parfett) also has a nice one also sold by Axminster...much more expensive at about $180 US plus shipping but as you can see, it's pretty much universal fit for any drill/driver and is a bit more versatile.

https://cdn.axminster.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/1800x/040ec09b1e35df139433887a97daa66f/1/0/106072_xl.jpg

There are a lot of folks who do woodworking in very modest situations so I suspect there is a need for these kinds of tools in some markets.

[Peter Kuhlman]

That UJK model is what I was referring to. I was going to post a link but didn’t think that was allowed.
Pete

[Bill Dufour]

For the amount I need that a plunge router is good enough. A magnetic drill is what steel workers use. Not sure but similar or identical items are used for concrete with water cooling.
Bil lD.

[Jim Becker]

That UJK model is what I was referring to. I was going to post a link but didn’t think that was allowed.
Pete
UJK stuff is top notch...I just watched his new video last night about the kit of MFT accessories and since I've gone that direction quite a bit (96mm grid of 20mm holes) in various work surfaces, it's very tempting to bite on it at some point. That drill guide is really nicely designed.

And yes, you can link to things like that as long as you don't personally benefit from it and it's not an auction type site like EBay.

[Jim Becker]

For the amount I need that a plunge router is good enough. .

For angles? For drill bits? This is kind of focused on different tasks than one would use a router.

[Mike Cutler]

Peter
You will find that to be an invaluable tool, as long as it is made well.
The ability to drill an accurately placed, perpendicular hole, at a distance in an object that exceeds the throat capacity of normal drill press, will open up possibilities for you. You may never have to drill a hole at an angle to appreciate what that little attachment brings to the table.
I promise you that you will use it, and a drill more often.
As for the router comparison, there really isn't one. Completely different tools.

[johnny means]

I'm pretty fussy about drilling and use a lot jigs and drilling guides. These types of guides are great when you need a precision hole (every hole should be precise) in the center of a gymnasium floor, or any other similarly unwieldy workpiece.

[Derek Cohen]

I can see this being useful for staked furniture.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[ChrisA Edwards]

The UJK unit looks good and TSO Products has it listed for $145 on their site as a 'Notify Me' when it's available for US customers.

I have the UJK Parf Guide System, so I know this Drill Guide will be made with excellent precision, but I ask, is it that much better than the Milescraft 1318 at $33.

[Rege Sullivan]

I've often wondered why there is no "smaller, woodworking" version of a mag-drill using vacuume as the steadying mechanism with a option for smaller clampinh base. I could think of hundreds of times that would have been useful and time saving over the years.

[johnny means]

I've often wondered why there is no "smaller, woodworking" version of a mag-drill using vacuume as the steadying mechanism with a option for smaller clampinh base. I could think of hundreds of times that would have been useful and time saving over the years.

Because you haven't filed for the patent and started production. Sounds like a great Kickstarter.

[Tom Bender]

Ok, that's a fine tool, but I can't help myself from improving it, at least in my head.

Instead of angling from -45 to +45 it could go -5 to +50. Then the north side of the base could be cut off to allow it to get closer to a wall. Then the base would be too small so it could be extended 8" to the south and a knee pad added. The color is just fine.

[Aaron Inami]

I'm adding some new information to this very old thread for reference to others if they need. I had a requirement to make very precise holes in some projects. I have tried two different drill guides. First attempt was with the Milescraft drill guide. My recent experience with Milescraft products have been very good:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014A1Z92I/

However, this guide guide is pretty much a piece of junk. Large amount of slop in the slider and my "precise" holes were way off. The four little bump pads under the guide made it nice against flat wood, but it was impossible to use this guide close to the edge of wood where one of the bump pads would be off the material - the guide tended to tilt at this point.

Next attempt was using a copy of the Woodpeck Auto-Line drill guide. I did not feel like dropping $430 for the real Woodpeck version and this item seemed like a good enough copy. The reviews on the Woodpeck version were mixed and some were pretty bad. This drill guide has a completely flat bottom which would not have the tilting effect when placed over the edge of material:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BLHB8GRC

This one worked somewhat better, but it still was not what I wanted. The chuck/bearing run-out was actually very good (at about .002"). However, the slider had a massive amount of play and would allow the chuck to wiggle back and forth. I measured this and it would be equivalent to a .03" run-out at the chuck itself. When you get to the bottom of a 5" drill bit, the runout would be more like .05". This is a massive problem and your hole would not be a perfect 90 degree (it could be off by as much as 3-4 degrees measured using a Bridge City Universal Gauge, which creates a huge problem if you are trying for accurate holes). I would say these drill guides are not "perfect" solutions. However, they are a lot better than trying to drill "free hand" where your angle could be radically off to the point of 5-10 degrees. It's more of a "drilling helper" then a precision instrument. These are also impossible to keep perfectly vertical unless the unit is clamped down. This makes it more difficult to operate in the middle of large sheets.

The only other product I found seemed like a great solution:

https://www.diamondtoolstore.com/products/abaco-drilling-guide-m3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FivfdmbTuh8

However, I talked to the folks at Abaco and they did say their drill guide also has some play in the mechanism. I totally give them a "thumbs up" for being honest about their product. It looks like a very heavy duty guide where you can mount a standard corded drill and also has those suction cups to help with mounting. I found the $224 Makita HP2070F would fit the requirement perfect because it's high power 8.2A and also has a speed adjustment dial on top of the drill (making it a true variable speed motor). The $128 Makita HP2050 would also do and it's much cheaper, but the speed control is a little bit more cumbersome to use, since it's built into the trigger itself as a small dial. The Abaco is about 17lbs.

https://www.amazon.com/Makita-HP2070F-Hammer-Drill-Light/dp/B000140B4U/

Ultimately, none of these will work out for my requirements. I am currently looking at magnetic drills, possibly the Milwaukee although they are extremely costly. The lower cost knockoff magnetic drills all have some sort of compromise. Even the new Vevor which is "supposed to be a huge improvement over previous versions" has significant run-out that you can see in the video below (the guy says run-out is significantly improved, but you can still see the chuck moving around at slow speed at 7:08 minutes into the video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1FfAxZQBsE&t=s400

I think this is still much better than the slop of the drill guide, but still not 100% perfect. It depends on how accurate your requirements are. I am considering the high power Milwaukee magnetic drills for two reasons. They are much heavier (72 lbs) then the smaller 30lb magnetic drills. This give you a more solid platform with weight when you are drilling in the middle of large sheets without anything to clamp down. Also, they have motors which can be mounted with the chuck further away from the slide and can allow up to a 4" hole saw. But, they are insanely expensive.

[Tom M King]

Aaron, I found one of the big Milwaukee's on ebay for half the cost of a new one, and it wasn't hurt. Someone had bought it for one job. I was thinking I would use it for my need on one job working on a tractor, but I liked it so much that I kept it. It's a great tool.

Even though it's heavy, I don't think it would work well not clamped down with the magnet. I have used it for drilling holes for timber framing mortises by clamping a 3/4" steel plate to the beam first.

It's not only heavy, but also a bit awkward for moving around much. Once it's clamped down though, it's easily possible to do precision work with it.

I originally bought it to drill out some mounting holes for a front end loader in a tractor motor block. The other picture is drilling a 3/4" hole through three layers of 1/4" steel to put a lifting ring on the front of a mower to make changing blades easier. There is fairly fragile steering linkage under that hole in the mower, but it was no worry with that tool.

[Aaron Inami]

Hi Tom,

I'm already kind of looking into a 3/8" steel support plate. Possible something like these:

8" x 12"
https://www.ebay.com/itm/224473392854

6" x 24"
https://www.ebay.com/itm/374361402645

I'm not even close to making a decision. A lot depends on if I think I'll need reverse to "back out" jammed bits.

Option #1: Large Milwaukee - allows up to 5" hole saw (based on documentation). Very heavy and expensive. Has reverse motor direction.

Option #2: Smaller magnetic drill - maximum hole saw or forstner bit is anywhere from 1-5/8" to 1-3/4" depending on make/model. Light weight. No reverse. Possible fixed speeds depending on make/model.

I don't foresee any need to have this mounted sideways or upside down. All my drilling would be on a flat horizontal sheet, so lifting the big 72lb drill onto a 20lb support plate may not be that bad.

What are your thoughts?

[Michael Burnside]

Aaron. I have the woodpeckers version. I know the red tool company is as polarizing, if not more, than Festool or Sawstop, but I make no apologies for buying a good tool. The WP version is no exception. It is built incredibly well and is a phenomenal tool which I have used many times. I have a very nice drill press but the guide is a pleasure to use anytime I need to bring the drill to the piece. I bought the basic item for 329 (think it was 300 on sale) and much later I bought the 75 accessory kit, which I've used only a few times. You get what you pay for and if you don't like it, they'll send you a return label and full refund so it's zero risk. I've only used that option once in the dozens of WP tools I've purchased.

[Jim Becker]

If I were to buy one of these today and didn't want to go with the UJ version from the UK, I'd likely opt for the Rockler. One thing I like about the "blue" product is that it's already Festool Centrotec compatible...which matches my shop...but also works with drill/drivers that do 1/4" hex, too. Note, it's not magnetic, but someone clever could likely make an adaptation if they needed to drill ferrous metals with it.

[Tom M King]

It's an awkward thing to manhandle. I expect if you can easily pump out barbell curls with a hundred pound bar, it might not be too bad. Also, I'm not sure how much force it will have on 3/8" plate. If it doesn't get enough downforce, it will lift the base up. Listed in the specs locking force is with a 1" plate. I bought the 3/4" plate as a compromise.

That plate bolted to the tractor block is a 12x12x3/4 that I ordered off ebay. I drilled the mounting holes in it with the machine locked to the plate. That's also the plate that I used on the timber framing drilling.

If you get one, absolutely get the model that lets you slide around the head after you lock the base. That model, the one I have, has a lever on the base that locks the head in place when you get it exactly where you want it.

It's easier to drill a hole in steel with it than with a regular sized drill press. Speed control is with a dial. Magnetic lock is with a big button. The "chuck" on the motor makes it really easy to change from an MT3 bit to the 3/4" drill chuck. It's a fine piece of equipment, but I'm still not sure it's exactly what you need.

[John Pendery]

I have a portable “drill press” Mafell makes that I use on timber frames. Fairly specialized for timber framing with good auger type bits, so possibly fitting outside the main discussion of this thread, but I figured someone might find it useful. They aren’t cheap, but when you need a very accurate hole drilled, especially for large timber frame purposes its very nice.



500337500338

[Randy Heinemann]

Rockler came out with one a year or two ago. It's much more sturdy than a tool I owned decades ago. However, it's also expensive. I'm not usually a fan of Rockler brand lower end tools and jigs, but this one seems to be a solid drilling accessory. This is it - https://www.rockler.com/rockler-portable-drill-guide. Woodecker has one also, but it is also expensive. Either one is probably better than the $40 - $60 versions which are also available online. They are very useful if you need to drill angles and even 90 degree holes in pieces that aren't suitable for work on a drill press.

[Jim Becker]

Rockler came out with one a year or two ago. It's much more sturdy than a tool I owned decades ago. However, it's also expensive. I'm not usually a fan of Rockler brand lower end tools and jigs, but this one seems to be a solid drilling accessory. This is it - https://www.rockler.com/rockler-portable-drill-guide. Woodecker has one also, but it is also expensive. Either one is probably better than the $40 - $60 versions which are also available online. They are very useful if you need to drill angles and even 90 degree holes in pieces that aren't suitable for work on a drill press.
If you play the sales well, the Rocker unit can be yours for between $150 and $170, not including the vice base if you don't need it. And as I noted, it's already directly compatible with Festool's Centrotec system as well as the common 1/4" hex format meaning you can pick your drill/driver and for those of us with Festool D/D, it's a click fit into the Centrotec chuck.

[Aaron Inami]

That Mafell BST drill guide looks really nice, but at $930 it's too expensive for what it is (especially since I'll have to buy a drill in addition).

Jim/all - I hesitate to look at trying the Rockler or the "real Woodpeck" drill guides since the one I got is priced pretty much the same as Rockler's.

Tom - I may actually look at renting one of the big Milwaukee's locally to see how it works out before pulling the trigger on the big expense. I have a pair of audio amplifiers that weigh 70lbs together and it's not too terrible to lift them up from the floor to the table. I also have no problem lifting a 5HP Baldor motor up (which is in the 70-80lb area). Though I'm not sure how this really translates into usability for the mag drill. It may turn out that a 30lbs device would be better - I would have to sacrifice the 5" hole saw capacity.

[Lee Schierer]

That UJK model is what I was referring to. I was going to post a link but didn’t think that was allowed.
Pete

Links are allowed if the pertain to the topic being discussed as long as they are not to another woodworking site and you have no commercial affiliation with the site or product. You can read all about it in the TOS (https://sawmillcreek.org/terms.php)

[Tom M King]

Aaron, a test trial would be worth it. If you weren't 3,000 miles away you would be welcome to try mine.

[John Pendery]

I agree the Mafell stuff is very expensive, but I don’t think it is overpriced depending on what one does and how you look at it. When the material cost is exponentially more than that tool and screw ups aren’t an option the tool pays for itself very quickly. If you don’t need to drill large holes through very thick timbers with a high degree of accuracy it makes zero sense, but when you need to do that and do it repeatedly it’s a godsend. I can’t however justify the Mafell ZB! Now that thing is expensive!

[Aaron Inami]

Tom, would you be able to measure the size of the magnetic base of your Milwaukee? Not the entire base, just the part which is magnetic. I'm trying to figure out if a 6" x 24" steel plate is wide enough to mount:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/224412586349

The documentation on this big 72lb mag drill indicates minimum steel thickness of 1/2". It is the smaller 30lb mag drill which has a 3/8" minimum thickness.

[Tom M King]

I will when I go out to that shop. It's raining pretty hard here right now, so maybe later today. I'm thinking 6" is not quite wide enough, but that's just guesswork until I examine it.

[Tom M King]

The base specs say it's 4-1/4" wide. I also noticed the 72 lbs. was with the MT3 motor, but without the chuck which will add several more pounds.

https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Products/Power-Tools/Drilling/Magnetic-Drills/4203

[Aaron Inami]

No worries, Tom. This is not urgent. lol. I will say that the drill will never be mounted sideways. It will always be vertical, so my thinking is a 6" wide plate would be enough for the drill to "grip down". Also, I would always be drilling through wood. I imagine that this will not require the amount of drilling pressure you need in metal, right?

[Tom M King]

If you do get one, you can pick up side jobs line boring new loader brackets on heavy equipment with it.

https://www.americanmachinetools.com/line_boring.htm

[Aaron Inami]

Blechh, side jobs are yucky, Tom, lol. Although, the first video in that link really illustrates how large this Milwaukee drill/motor is. Although, when you look at an approximately 300lb woodworking drill press, a 75lb device is light weight (I am seeing an MT3 drill chuck weigh in at 3 lbs).

Although, I might consider the 6.2A motor version of the Milwaukee, which is 58lbs (not quite as difficult to handle as the 75lbs with an 11.5A MT3 motor). It has a standard drill chuck built-in (though I really like the tool versatility of an MT3 spindle). Based on this guy's statements, this 6.2A motor version will allow up to a 4-1/2" Forstner bit / hole saw. His bi-metal hole saw that he uses is completely bent and you can see it wobbling around:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URIvMuuy22A

Otherwise, the best solution I have found (that includes variable speed) is the Cayken (smaller 28lbs weight, but with supposedly a 1700W motor -- not sure how much I believe this based on the actual motor size), but I'll have to decide if maximum 480RPM is a concern and a 1.8" hole saw limitation:
https://www.amazon.com/Cayken-KCY-48-2WDO-Magnetic-Variable-Weldon/dp/B00YCUQ1IO/ref=sr_1_5
(https://www.amazon.com/Cayken-KCY-48-2WDO-Magnetic-Variable-Weldon/dp/B00YCUQ1IO/ref=sr_1_5)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ep-YdX8_yr0


Still need to rent one.

[Tom M King]

Aaron, sorry I forgot to measure the base today. Got sidetracked trying to save a bridge going in to one of the old houses and just didn't remember.

Soon after I bought that magdrill, I needed another tool cabinet anyway, so I bought this one that had a spot to keep it.

edited to add: Lost the battle. Too much water, and too poorly designed stream crossing. Needed to be redone anyway.

[Aaron Inami]

Yikes! Trying to tip toe across that trunk is a no go!

[Tom M King]

There's room for a four foot culvert pipe under there, but they only used a 12". It kept clogging up with debris. I expect the whole thing is gone today, but didn't go back in there.

[Bill Dufour]

For shallow holes under 3/8 diameter or so a micro countersink cage is a good portable drill guide. Better ones use ball bearings.
Bill D

[Aaron Inami]

Hi Bill. Yeah, I hear here. That small drill guide I used would be perfectly fine for shallow holes (like in 1/4" or even 1/2" material). In my current project, I have a need to drill through 1-1/2" of material and the hole need to have extremely high precision and be perfectly 90 degrees. The Magnetic Drill is the only solution I have come across. A normal wood-working drill press will not work because it has limited reach over the material.

[Bill Dufour]

Clausing and others made a drill.press designed to be hung from the ceiling. Throat depth was as far away as the farthest wall in the shop. You provide the table .
Bill D

[Aaron Inami]

Okay, so I rented the Milwaukee from a local Sunbelt. Unfortunately, this is not so good of an experience. The bad part was the drill had such extreme run-out on the chuck that it was unusable. I made a short video here so that I have documented results when I ask for my rental money back:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5ylJp48sRIM

I'm using a long bit just so that Sunbelt can see, but I measured a runout of 10 thou right at the chuck. In addition, the slide had a lot of play which allowed the drill bit to wiggle and drill at an angle. The unit was so beat up. I'm sure that many people dropped this on concrete and into the back of trucks and such. The weight of the motor caused the slide to drop down all the time (putting pressure on the bit) which made it very difficult to mount bits properly.

I'm glad I rented it though because it really showed that this unit is just too large to be practical on material (surface area required for metal plate and base plus motor). That being said, I measured a distance of 5" from the chuck center-point to the base, so you could mount up to a 10" hole saw if you really wanted to. It is heavy, but lifting it up onto a work surface is doable. However, because the motor constantly dropped down, I had to hold the feed handle at the same time a trying to lift the unit so that the bit/motor wouldn't drop down. Ugh.

I have a local place that has a small magnetic drill that I will try next (although it's a single speed).

I did do a drill test and this unit has excellent power. The couple of forstner bits I had went though the wood like butter at mid RPM (probably 200 rpm), but this Milwaukee is just too physically large. lol.

[David Buchhauser]

Hi Bill. Yeah, I hear here. That small drill guide I used would be perfectly fine for shallow holes (like in 1/4" or even 1/2" material). In my current project, I have a need to drill through 1-1/2" of material and the hole need to have extremely high precision and be perfectly 90 degrees. The Magnetic Drill is the only solution I have come across. A normal wood-working drill press will not work because it has limited reach over the material.

Aaron - depending on the positional accuracy you need, I think you are on the right track with the mag drill. After reading thru this thread, it got me to thinking about my Hougen mag drill. Although it is primarily intended to use annular cutters, it does have an adapter to mount a drill chuck. With the drill chuck/adapter mounted to the spindle, it as approx. 4" of UP/Down travel. I used a precision gauge pin installed into the chuck to check the run out. It measured approx. 0.003" TIR (total indicated run out). This is on par with most of my drill presses (I have measured them all).

Most of this measured run out is from the chuck/adapter combination. I did test the run out at the spindle, and it is only several ten thousandths (0.00015") using the same setup. Depending on the drill bit you wish to use, I see no reason why you couldn't mount the mag drill to a steel plate and clamp the plate to your work piece to accomplish your task. I'm not sure what size holes you need to drill - as you mentioned both a speedbore bit as shown in your photo and you also talked about using hole saws. Perhaps you could share some details of exactly what you are intending to accomplish - wood species, thickness, hole size, hole depth, and required positional tolerance and actual hole size tolerance.


I'm not sure how to insert the actual video, but here is the link to my video showing the chuck run out test.


https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lLEoijPvGs-LkY03oVqiBNx29tgIGxME/view?usp=drive_link

Here is the spindle run out test.


https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bEmZ0y-sIre6qIt-pj1lvdFeb83sFujb/view?usp=drive_link

Here are some photos of the Hougen mag drill and test setup.

501970501971501972

Chuck/adapter assembly removed from drill spindle.

501973

Measuring spindle run out.

501974

501975

[David Buchhauser]

Here are some photos showing the drill. The name plate indicates 450 rpm, but the actual measured speed is 425 rpm.
I think I paid around $800 for this drill back in 2018. Current price looks to be around $1000. This is a quality product made in USA.

David

501976501977501978501979

Here is the spindle drive detail.

501980

And here is what it looks like in the normal configuration for drilling precision holes into steel, aluminum, etc.

501981

[Aaron Inami]

Hi David. Thanks for posting all your pics and details on that Hougen. In my research, Hougen is one of the top brands for mag drills, but unfortunately, all their drills are single speed. I ended up renting a Baileigh mag drill locally (same size as your Hougen), and I actually started a new thread here to document my experiences. I was surprised on how many forum users posted somewhat negative responses, even after stating that I had already rented this mag drill. The common feeling from these forum users was "Why the !#Q@%$ are you looking at a mag drill?!?! You should be using proper woodworking tools instead!" I have not bothered responding further on that thread because it feels like defending my choice of tool. I have already finished my project and the mag drill worked absolutely beautifully! It's unfortunate that some users have somewhat narrow minds (Tom King being the exception).

Anyways, thanks David. Oh, my comments on hole saw capability were for future reference. My current project did not require hole saws, but I thought it would be useful for others and future projects where one might want to use a mag drill when using a hole saw in the middle of a sheet.

[David Buchhauser]

Aaron - thanks for your response. With regard to needing 2 speeds, was this for a slower speed or faster speed than 450 rpm? I also had one of the larger Hougen mag drills with 2 speeds and power feed. As I recall the slow speed was around 300 rpm. If you wouldn't mind, perhaps post a few photos of your project showing your mag drill setup and the actual holes you drilled. If you don't want to post them here, you can email me to keep them private.
Thanks,
David

[David Buchhauser]

Aaron - I did receive your emails with photos and video. Your finished table top looks great!! That is exactly the way I would have done it (mag drill mounted to steel plate). I'm not sure why others here would not consider the method as a viable alternative to using drill jigs, routers, etc.
Thanks,
David