Radial Arm Drill Press

[andrew whicker]

Hola and happy Friday! Hope everyone (except me) is taking some time off.

Another tool for the 'passively looking' category is the Radial Arm Drill Press.. What brands / models are considered quality for purchasing used?

I'm seeing Rockwell (of course), Walker Turner, Donau (looks really nice)... Thoughts?

[Mike Cutler]

Delta, Walker Turner, and Rockwell, all made industrial radial arm drill presses, but they are HEAVY! We have a Delta and a Rockwell at work, probably 50 years old and they require a fork lift to move them. A working DoAll would be a bit much for a home shop. ;)There's also a Grizzly model at work, probably 30+ years old, and it will accurately put a hole wherever you want it in lighter materials.
I see them on Craigslist from time to time, and they're not that expensive, but you would need to be able to replace the bearings and any worn parts yourself, if it were necessary. And be able to pick it up. For some reason, sellers on CL, selling heavy equipment, all have bad backs and can't help move the machine.

Have you considered a lighter duty milling machine? Those are for sale everywhere, and while they may not be able to hold machine shop tolerance accuracies any longer, they would make a perfectly good drill press for wood.

[andrew whicker]

clearly you don't me if you think I don't fantasize about having a knee mill or equivalent. I used to work in machine shops, I'm well aware of how big radial arm drills can get.

I'm see used prices on ebay (probably high) of around $1500 for a nice used one.

[Phil Gaudio]

Hola and happy Friday! Hope everyone (except me) is taking some time off.

Another tool for the 'passively looking' category is the Radial Arm Drill Press.. What brands / models are considered quality for purchasing used?

I'm seeing Rockwell (of course), Walker Turner, Donau (looks really nice)... Thoughts?

A Rockwell Radiall DP I restored a few years ago:
https://i.postimg.cc/J02GwgDN/IMG-3412.jpg (https://postimg.cc/D412Lxc0)

[Edward Weber]

As always, it all depends on your use.
I have the benchtop Grizzly
https://www.grizzly.com/products/grizzly-34-benchtop-radial-drill-press/g7945
Works great but I don't use it everyday. Being able to drill an acurate hole 17" from the edge at any angle comes in handy, especially for splayed leg projects.

[Cameron Wood]

Those things take up a lot of room.

[Phil Gaudio]

Those things take up a lot of room.

Not as much as you might think: see picture above. Slightly more room needed front to back.

[Rick Potter]

Just a warning to those who might be thinking about a light weight unit.

I had a Delta bench unit that was small enough to be in a woodworking hobby shop, and it worked fine drilling holes with normal drill bits, but when I tried to do angles, or especially drilling larger angled holes for a shop stool, the column flexed enough to not be accurate. It also flexed drilling holes in steel if the head was extended more than 7" or so.

Remember, the farther out from the column the head is, the more force is on the column, and angles make it worse.

Two years and I sold it.

[glenn bradley]

As Rick points out, these things need to be beefy to do any but the lightest work accurately. Here's a good starting point :D

512400

Just funnin' with ya.

[Edward Weber]

I've never had a flexing issue.
I'm also one who believes that a drillpress is a drill, not a press. I don't ever apply lots of pressure, if it won't drill easily within reason, the bit needs attention.

I've seen guys almost hanging on the handle trying to get a hole drilled (any episode of Forged in Fire). While a certain amount of pressure is needed and of course varies with bits, materials etc. There should never be a need to apply enough pressure to "flex" any part of the tool, especially the tube which IMO, can't be "flexed"
https://www.roguefab.com/tube-calculator/
Any play comes from between the castings and the tubes, primarily the radial.

Personally. I think the entire subject about flexing is overblown. Not that it can't/hasn't happened, just overblown.

[andrew whicker]

That's a just a small guy when it comes to machine shop work.

[andrew whicker]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/312249403635

This is closer to the size I got used to being around. They're kind of odd tools. Not accurate enough to match mills. They got used for drilling holes that didn't require a lot of accuracy to take workload off the mills. Ours wasn't used that often.

[Christopher Herzog]

Happy holiday season!

I have both a standard drill press (craftsman) and a delta radial arm. I would say it is 50/50 which one i pick. Radial is nice for deep depth from an edge hole. Never done it, the manual shows that i can rotate the head 90 degrees and drill things from the ground up. Picture a 6' board from the floor standing up. Not sure what it would take to make me try that, has not come up in the several years since I got it.

My experience,
Chris

[Cameron Wood]

Not as much as you might think: see picture above. Slightly more room needed front to back.

This is the type that shows up the most. The difference between a 15" and a 32" would be 17" additional needed front to back if I have that correct.

512408

[Daniel O'Neill]

As always, it all depends on your use.
I have the benchtop Grizzly
https://www.grizzly.com/products/grizzly-34-benchtop-radial-drill-press/g7945
Works great but I don't use it everyday. Being able to drill an acurate hole 17" from the edge at any angle comes in handy, especially for splayed leg projects.

I have this one as well. It's a great DP. Someday I'll have it on a cabinet with a clamp/vice so that I can drill into longer items. I haven't started the design yet so that could all go out the window. As far as it being a nice drill press it totally does what I want/need.

[Phil Gaudio]

This is the type that shows up the most. The difference between a 15" and a 32" would be 17" additional needed front to back if I have that correct.

Hence the location kitty/caddy corner in the corner of the shop where that space would have been likely wasted anyway. Point is: slightly larger foot print is not a reason to reject owning one of these, particularly since they are usually on a mobile base and can be afforded the necessary room when the time comes to use it.

Af far as accuracy and repeatability, I have not had any issues: perhaps I have lower standards or I just have not pushed the machine beyond its limits.

[Bill Dufour]

Be careful moving one. They can be very top heavy. they need to be bolted down before use so it does not tip forward into your face.
The smaller Walker Turner DP uses custom extended race bearings in the drive pulley up top. This is the 17" one with a top hat on the pulley guard.
Bill D

[Cameron Wood]

Hence the location kitty/caddy corner in the corner of the shop where that space would have been likely wasted anyway. Point is: slightly larger foot print is not a reason to reject owning one of these, particularly since they are usually on a mobile base and can be afforded the necessary room when the time comes to use it.

Af far as accuracy and repeatability, I have not had any issues: perhaps I have lower standards or I just have not pushed the machine beyond its limits.



That's a really nice looking machine that you've got. I've been on the drill press upgrade hunt for a couple of years and have looked at a lot of them. Momentarily considered that type, but it would have to stick out a window to fit in my very full shop- no empty corners!

[Larry Edgerton]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/312249403635

This is closer to the size I got used to being around. They're kind of odd tools. Not accurate enough to match mills. They got used for drilling holes that didn't require a lot of accuracy to take workload off the mills. Ours wasn't used that often.

There is one like that at a steel place down the road. Very cool. All of the adjustments are motorized. I always wanted a Bridgeport, just because.

[Philip Glover]

This is what I have. A Walker - Turner (4" stroke) radial drill.
512426

512428

I had been looking about 5 years for one of these that was within a five hour drive from me. This was on CL near where I used to live in CT.
It came out of a sheet metal shop. It was in okay condition (no rust) and was already set up with a motor to raise and lower the column.
These are relatively easy machines to rebuild. The only parts that needed replacing were bearings. I sandblasted the major parts and repainted everything.
For woodworking there really is not another drill press, new or used, that comes close. Metal working is a different situation as these do not have the power for any serious work. Think Cincinnati-Bickford for that.
If you don’t mind rebuilding a machine, get a 6" stroke version of one of these and you will never regret it.
The best place to learn about these is www.owwm.org

Regards,

Phil

[Michael Schuch]

I have a few drill presses. I use a 16.5" Delta variable speed drill press for woodworking. I guess it must just be the projects I make because I have never, in the past 40 years that I can remember, come across a situation where I said to myself "If I just had a radial arm drill press!"

I am probably as much of a machine junky as I am a woodworker and I am not saying that radial drills aren't cool. I just haven't found the situation I needed one. I have passed on a few decent deals because I just couldn't come up for any real need for one (which is VERY uncharacteristic of me!)

I do have a Walker Turner radial arm saw which uses the same base and arm as their impressive radial arm drill. With the arm retracted the base does have to sit a couple feet from the wall which does make it difficult to integrate with other machines.

So what are you guys working on where you really wished you had a radial arm drill press?

[Jim Becker]

As some have noted, this is one of those tools that you absolutely want a "beast" because of the stresses that come with a heavy head that moves around the way it does in multiple axis!

[Keith Outten]

You might consider purchasing a portable Mag Drill. Certainly not for everyone but a Mag Drill can put a hole in the middle of a full sheet of plywood, the roof of a truck or a solid steel beam. The trick is to find a way to bolt, clamp or use other means to attach a metal plate for the mag drill to set on, energize the magnet and your home free. Years ago I owned a large radial drill press that I felt had too much flex for any type of heavy duty work particularly large hole saws. I reclaimed my shop space by selling the radial drill and purchasing a small mage drill in a case that I can store on a shelf. I don't use it much but it has never failed to poke any size hole I have needed to machine in wood or metal.

[Mike Cutler]

I have a few drill presses. I use a 16.5" Delta variable speed drill press for woodworking. I guess it must just be the projects I make because I have never, in the past 40 years that I can remember, come across a situation where I said to myself "If I just had a radial arm drill press!"

I am probably as much of a machine junky as I am a woodworker and I am not saying that radial drills aren't cool. I just haven't found the situation I needed one. I have passed on a few decent deals because I just couldn't come up for any real need for one (which is VERY uncharacteristic of me!)

I do have a Walker Turner radial arm saw which uses the same base and arm as their impressive radial arm drill. With the arm retracted the base does have to sit a couple feet from the wall which does make it difficult to integrate with other machines.

So what are you guys working on where you really wished you had a radial arm drill press?

Michael
I tended to do projects that were more architectural, than small enough to pick up, before it got to be to much with a full time+ job. The ability to accurately locate and drill a hole in a larger field with repeatability of result, can make a project much easier. There have been times I have flipped my bench top upside down and mounted it to the ceiling over my work bench.It was very weird!!
A "standard" drill press is just inadequate in my opinion for wood working. Having only 3"-5" of capacity between the quill and post is way to limiting, as is the depth of quill throw. The biggest inhibiter though is speed, in rpm. Most drill presses are just too fast for woodworking. A drill press in woodworking needs to go below 100rpm.
If I'm drilling holes in material with a handheld drill, in the shop, it's because either my drill press is too limiting with respect to capacity, or the speed needs to be much slower. However, radial arm drill presses take up quite a bit of room, even the small bench top models.

[Curt Harms]

I have the Delta (Asian) version of the lightweight radial drill press, bought it when I was starting out. I don't know that I've ever used it fully extended but I imagine there'd be a lot of flex. What I found annoying is that the minimum RPM on it and its kin is around 550 RPM. That's too high for many woodworking bits. I was curious about VFDs anyway so bought a VFD and 3 phase motor from Dealer's Electric in north Jersey. I couldn't re-use the step pulley on the motor - it was a nonstandard bore, I think 15 mm. Just bought a good quality single groove pulley for the motor. Given the speed range afforded by the VFD, I have an approximate speed range of 150 RPM to 2200 RPM at the chuck. It'll actually turn slower than that but torque is too low to be useful.

A side benefit is that the drill press always had a vibration. Getting rid of the motor step pulley got rid of the vibration. Works for me.

[Ron Selzer]

I have an AMT bench top radial drill press, definitely on the low end, used it with a fly cutter to cut 7" holes in 3/4 Baltic Birch plywood, when I built the filter box for my dust collection system. Underpowered, YES. Too much flex, NO. Drilled over 20 3" nominal holes for the filters. Got the job done. Didn't think about a mag drill or I would have bought one, I want one bad, just need an excuse to buy it.
Ron

[Michael Burnside]

Read through the posts, so sorry if I missed it, but OP if you just want to drill holes, that you can’t with a drill press, in wood and other types of material, why not look into a Shaper Origin? It’s brain-dead simple to mark a point, create a shape, like a circle, and cut to exact depth.

[Michael Schuch]

Read through the posts, so sorry if I missed it, but OP if you just want to drill holes, that you can’t with a drill press, in wood and other types of material, why not look into a Shaper Origin? It’s brain-dead simple to mark a point, create a shape, like a circle, and cut to exact depth.

I think angled holes for chair legs and similar is where a Shaper Origin would fall short. Otherwise it is a good idea I had not thought of.