Advice, please: drill press!

[Greg Pavlov]

After spending a very "interesting" hour or so trying to bore 1 1/4" holes
through 4 inches of maple with a hand drill and a drill guide (which disintegrated),
I've become convinced I should buy a drill press, and would very much appreciate
(so will my wrist, if it should recover...) recommendations & advice. Thanks!

[Gary Keedwell]

Yea, I guess it is time. :eek: I only use mine sparingly so I only got a Jet 17". If I was doing the kind of woodworking where I use it alot..I would go for one of the fancy ones with a table made for woodworking. Most of the drill presses have tables designed for machinists. alot would depend on how much you are really going to use it and how much money you want to spend. A variable speed would be nice instead of wresling with pulleys to change the speeds. Good Luck.
Gary

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Greg.....one of the most important things to consider in a drill press is the distance that the quill will travel. The first bench top model I got didn't have quite 2". I would recommend getting one that has at least a 4" quill travel. Then the speed range and h/p become important.

Good luck!

[Jules Dominguez]

Fine Woodworking recently did a review of "medium to large" benchtop drill presses, which is worth taking a look at. I plan to replace my 40-year-old Craftsman, which has a lot of cast iron but no mechanism to raise or lower the table, with a Jet JDP-15M. I plan to build a cabinet-type stand with drawers and/or shelves, and casters. I'll also build a table, which is a practical necessity, for it.
I initially considered a floor-type model, but decided I might as well use the space under it for storage and at the same time take care of the potential overturning and mobility problems by bolting the benchtop base down to the cabinet/stand.

[Greg Pavlov]

Greg.....one of the most important things to consider in a drill press is the distance that the quill will travel. The first bench top model I got didn't have quite 2". I would recommend getting one that has at least a 4" quill travel. Then the speed range and h/p become important.
Good luck!
Thanks, that's a good point, actually I do have a beat-up old Craftsman that I "inherited" from my son - he builds/rebuilds motorcycles for a hobby, and he bequeathed it to me when he got a decent one - but I couldn't use it because it has pretty bad runout AND it has an extremely short throw.

[Greg Pavlov]

Fine Woodworking recently did a review of "medium to large" benchtop drill presses, which is worth taking a look at. I plan to replace my 40-year-old Craftsman, which has a lot of cast iron but no mechanism to raise or lower the table, with a Jet JDP-15M. I plan to build a cabinet-type stand with drawers and/or shelves, and casters. I'll also build a table, which is a practical necessity, for it.

I'll check out the review. I would rather get a benchtop too, if I can get a decent one, to save space.

[Greg Pavlov]

... A variable speed would be nice instead of wresling with pulleys to change the speeds. Good Luck.
Gary
Yeah, variable speed sounds good, keep the burn down to an occasional wiff or two.

[Brian Clevenger]

I'm not up on all of the new drill presses, but a used Powermatic 1150 seems like it would be ideal.

[Eddie Darby]

I guess it's up to how much you are willing to spend.

If I wanted to buy a nice 17" drill press these days, I would consider the Steel City model. I really like the split cast head that helps to maintain the accuracy through the years of wear n' tear. This feature alone makes it stand out.

http://www.steelcitytoolworks.com/products_tools.cfm?section=2&category=4&tool=20520


The top end of the market has coming out in November now, Delta's new 20" drill press with variable speed, digital readout, and lasers. A table that is designed with woodworkers in mind. They have out some other models right now that don't have all the bell n' whistles. I like the 6" stroke capacity.

http://www.deltaportercable.com/Products/NewProducts.aspx

There is also the Powermatic drill press that is designed for woodworking.

http://www.powermatic.com/Products.aspx?nav=ByPart&ClassID=332168&Part=1792800

Hope this helps.

[Greg Pavlov]

I guess it's up to how much you are willing to spend. .....

These look great, but I'm in rebuild mode now and - until yesterday - a drill press was way down the list. I'm going to have to go with something a wee bit cheaper.....

[Harry Niemann]

Some 20 yrs ago, I bot a Rockwell radial drill press. It has a sliding pipe at the top which allows me to slide it in and out to drill up to the center of a 32" circle. It also swings from side to side and pivots to drill at an angle to the table. I have found this to be extremely useful for woodworking. I think someone, maybe Delta has resurrected this type. This is a benchtop model, but by swinging to the side to clear the table, I can place material on the floor and drill into the end.

[Philip DiPaolo]

harry, sounds like you are talking about a radial drill press. grizzly has a benchtop radial DP model that got a pretty good review a couple of years back, the only real complaint being that the motor was a little underpowered at 1/2 hp.

worth checking it out though...i think it was around $250 shipped. here's the link:
http://www.grizzly.com/products/G7945

[Greg Pavlov]

Then there is this one:

http://www.grizzly.com/products/G9969

[Tim Marks]

You say that now, but obviously you have never laid eyes on the PM2800 18" DP. I never thought I would find myself lusting after a DP... The fit and finish are definitely historical PM, and it is beautiful. It has built-in extentions that slide out to make thae table wider, and varaible speed.

I would buy it, but then I would have to get my 300#++ Grizz 20" out of the basement, and I think that was a one way trip down the stairs.:D

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Used industrial machines are great

[Bill Wyko]

Powermatic variable speed drill press is one bad boy!. I've got one and it will handle anything you dish out to it. The variable speed is a great feature too. No changing belts.:D

[Ryan Lipski]

I guess it's up to how much you are willing to spend.

If I wanted to buy a nice 17" drill press these days, I would consider the Steel City model. I really like the split cast head that helps to maintain the accuracy through the years of wear n' tear. This feature alone makes it stand out.

http://www.steelcitytoolworks.com/products_tools.cfm?section=2&category=4&tool=20520


The top end of the market has coming out in November now, Delta's new 20" drill press with variable speed, digital readout, and lasers. A table that is designed with woodworkers in mind. They have out some other models right now that don't have all the bell n' whistles. I like the 6" stroke capacity.

http://www.deltaportercable.com/Products/NewProducts.aspx

There is also the Powermatic drill press that is designed for woodworking.

http://www.powermatic.com/Products.aspx?nav=ByPart&ClassID=332168&Part=1792800

Hope this helps.


I second the Steel City DP. It's 6" quill stroke is very nice. Finding one with a stroke that long is tough... Just my $0.02 ....:)

[Dean Thomas]

I don't own the Steel City, but have a buddy or two that do. They LOVE the machine, so you'd have their endorsement.

I have to ask another question though. Was the drill bit sharp? You should be able to drill 4" into maple with a speed bit. If you tried that with a Forstner, that might be right on the edge of nasty for a handheld. I've seen several "guidelines" for when to NOT use a Forstner in a handheld drill, but I can't find any of them right now. Saw one that said, "Larger Forstner bits should only be used in a drill press." Whatever "larger" means to them, I guess.

And if it was a traditional twist bit, that could also give your wrist pause. Paws pause???

If it was a speed bit, a few licks with a file could make your life easier.

[Don Stanley]

A lot of good recommendations here, but I did not see any mention of a Quill Lock. Unfortunately, many of the lower end drill presses do not have this feature. In some cases, the quill can be "held" down, but not locked, with the depth stop nut, or ring-style lock. The Delta 965-17 has one, and the Steel City drill press appears to have one. I would not buy a drill press without one!

-Don

[Gary Keedwell]

I know I'm going to get spanked by saying this but I think the need for excessive quill travel is exaggerated. In all the years I have had my drill press, I never needed more or wished I had more quill travel.
I DO wish I had a better table and variable speed, though.:)
Gary

[Bill Fleming]

I have a very old Jet (back when they called some of their equipment "Orbit"). It has served me well but is rough around the edges. I have put a Woodpecker drill press table on it and that has been a great improvement. If I were to buy new now I would go for the Delta that is forever being delayed primarily because I build chairs and it has a table that tilts both side to side and front to back. Not sure what the delivery of date if ever for the new Delta but if it weren't that I would go for either the Steel City or Powermatic. Or some of the radial ones tested by Fine Woodworking would be great for a wood working drill press.

In fact if you don't go for one of the higher end floor models then a bench top radial is a great solution.

Cheers - Bill

[Ken Pywell]

I'm not a big Harbor Freight guy, but I have one of there floor models and it's been a fine machine. Pretty cheap, in more ways than one, but unless you are a subcontractor to NASA, should be fine.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Looking at the advertisement, two things that I noticed about the Powermatic drill press:

1. The low speed is 400 rpm. That's a little too fast when using a fly cutter in my opinion.

2. The table is nice but doesn't seem to accomodate a sacraficial block to prevent blow out by the drill bit. If you make one yourself, then you defeat the purpose of the slotted groooves in the table and the side extension tables.

-Jeff :)

[richard poitras]

This month’s copy of wood magazine has a tool review of drill press… it many be one place to start for some tested reviews…good luck

[Greg Pavlov]

I have to ask another question though. Was the drill bit sharp? You should be able to drill 4" into maple with a speed bit. If you tried that with a Forstner, that might be right on the edge of nasty for a handheld. I've seen several "guidelines" for when to NOT use a Forstner in a handheld drill, but I can't find any of them right now. Saw one that said, "Larger Forstner bits should only be used in a drill press." Whatever "larger" means to them, I guess.
And if it was a traditional twist bit, that could also give your wrist pause. Paws pause???
If it was a speed bit, a few licks with a file could make your life easier.
The drill bit was new, which doesn't prove anything, but it seems sharp to me (won't claim to be an expert: I'm much better at gauging fish hooks). It was what Irwin calls a "Speedbor blue" or somesuch, kinda an auger with brad points. I think that a lot of my problem was the drill and my technique. The drill is a 25 yr old Craftsman that doesn't have much torque at low speed, held by someone who was having a difficult time keeping things reasonably aligned and steady. SO, I'd have to rev up the bit, which every 15-20 secs or so would grab and stop the drill cold, whiplashing my wrist, already in lousy shape from 7-8 hours' mousing per day. And they say that this hobbhy is fun and relaxing ( I *will* say , tho, it's always interesting)

[Randy Denby]

. And they say that this hobbhy is fun and relaxing

Relaxing? Only during multiple glue ups :D

[Roger Bell]

Finding a good used industrial grade drill press is one of the easiest finds out there to be had. Craigslist if you live near a Craigslist city. Millions of these machines were made and many, many thousands survive and are available for less than almost any of the cheapest asian junkola....to say nothing of the "better quality" asian offerings.

What you will get with an used industrial grade DP is an American made product by competent machinists and designed by the best engineers in the golden age of mechanical engineering. These were made to last....and many have. You will also find most at a very reasonable price. It will take $1000 or more to match one of these with something new that is even close to comparable in terms of the quality that really counts. Couple hundred or less should be typical for pricing. Most can be had for less than a similarly sized offering from Harbor Freight.

You must know how to measure run-out and generally how to size up used machines. Lots of info about how to learn that is easily available. These are used, and you need to be prepared to evaluate their condition intelligently.

You won't likely get variable speed or a fancy table or lasers or digital do-dads that, while nice, are no substitute for basic quality.

I don't like fussing with belts, either, so, since I have the room, I have two DP's one set for low speed and one for high speed, so belt fussing is minimal. A WW friendly table is with clamps and stops and t-tracks, etc. is something you can make, or if you prefer, buy for around $100 for a nice one.

Consider the Walker Turners, the Delta-Rockwells, and the Atlas brands, among others....and those within their industrial, rather than homeowner, line.