Drill Press

[dennis kranz]

I want to get a differant Drill Press. I have a small bench model now but the strok is not long enough for pens or anything else. The question I have with the things you drill now would it be better to have a bench or floor model drill press? Is there anything worth the money under 250.00 in a floor model? What do you use thats not a small fortune.
Dennis

[Bill Stevener]

I have a machinist bench drill press. It's base is mounted 90 deg. to the front of the bench, or parallel with the bench. I rotate the machinist table to suite the work, when a very long piece is to be drilled, I turn the head over the edge of the bench so the work can be placed on the floor and or with cribbing. Works just great for me.

[michael gallagher]

I usually try not to buy anything Ryobi, but I bought a bench top Ryobi from HD for $165 last month as a replacement for my existing "baby" drill press. Believe it or not, it's fairly heavy and stable - it's also more than adequate for pen drilling depth. I can't find any fault with it - it also has a laser that will provide an "X Marks the Spot" for where your drill bit will pierce the wood.

However, if you're trying to bore a hole that is fairly long, you'll need something different.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I bought the Craftsman bench top with the digital readout and laser. It has did everything I have asked of it. I bought it mainly because I needed something that would give me more depth when drilling pen blanks.

[Bill Wyko]

Hi Dennis. Rikon makes some very nice DPs for a great price. Let me know if you're going to woodcraft and I'll try to meet you there. I have a lot of nice cut offs that would make great pens. I still owe you one for the Mesquite and the Euciliptus.:)

[Dean Thomas]

So much of the answer really depends on what you plan on doing with said drill press. Yeah, yeah, pen blanks. That usually means that you need something that will allow you to put a vise of some kind under the head and chuck with a drill bit in place, yes?

So, you need something that will allow for about 6-7" or so between bit & base.

How many blanks you planning on drilling? Hundreds in a year? One or four a week?

If you're talking about only a couple now and then, buy the right stuff and drill 'em on your lathe! MUCH cheaper and the lathe's bearings are generally better than a cheapie DP.

If you're going into production, you can get any number of DPs that will do nicely. General makes a 14" floor model with a 3-7/32" stroke. That will drill most pen blanks in one pop. Big enough, but not overkill. $300 regular price at Woodcraft, plus shipping if you're not near a store.

If you're willing to hear it, you can often get an older Shopsmith for $200 and put $40 worth of bearings in it and have a 4-1/4" stoke DP with a nice sized table. You can get any of the 4 main models that will work just fine for drill press work, so long as you keep it clean and dirt free. I know a number of folks who use a Shopsmith as their only DP and are quite satisfied with it. I'm one, actually. ;)

[John Fricke]

I have a Delta Shopmaster benchtop that I inherited from my dad. It works great has plenty of power for what I need. Has plenty of strokefor pen blanks. It is talller than most benchtops I have seen.

[Tim Brooks]

I, too, have the Craftsman Bench Top Dirll Press because of Bernie's post back when he purchased his. Here is his original post http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=62194 It has the 3 1/4 inch stroke that is needed for most pen kits. I will say this press has performed beautifully for me.

The type (floor or bench top) you need will depends on what type of work you intend on doing with it.

I hope this helps with your decision process.

Tim

[dennis kranz]

Bill I was at the Woodcraft store today and they have a Bench Drill Press for 249.00 that seemed hugh. Can't remember the model number but it is all I would ever need. They have there 10% sale coming up and I hope to have the needed funds by then.

[robert hainstock]

Ic havean old twelve speed (25 years), bench top. AT Menards today I looked at a jet twelve speed floor model for less bucks than I paid for mine back then. Looked like a solid machine. :)
Bob

[Donald Wilkins]

Bill, I purchased a Delta DP350 (bench top model) almost 2 years ago now and has been a good one. I burned up a cheapo one and decided to go bigger...what really turned me on was the variable speed control. No more changing belt pull configuration...just turn the knob to the speed. A couple of times the roll pin from the pully system has worked itself loose and I have had to fix that, but overall it has been a good one. - Donald -

[Harry Goodwin]

Years ago when I bought my AMT I was told the floor model will handle the mortising attatchment much better than the benchtop. By the way I never used the mortising attatchment. Harry