Drill press or mill/drill - which to buy?

[chet jamio]

I sold my small mill/drill a couple months ago when I decided to get into woodworking and needed the space. It was a round column style which I will never buy again. Also, I figured a drill press would be cheaper, smaller, and perform better for woodworking. Now that I've been looking for a couple months, I finally decided that the Powermatic is the right drill press for me. However, the price puts it near some of the better mill/drill units. One that caught my eye was the Grizzly G0649. It's dovetail column provides easy height adjustment to make up for the small quill travel (2.75", but the cheaper G0463 has 3.375"). It has variable speed and digitial display of both depth and rpm. The big bonus is that it's also a mill. That's pretty significant.

As a new woodworker, am I missing anything? How would this function as a ww drill press? I'm guessing dovetails would be possible, but a lot of work. What useful functions would a mill provide to a woodworker?

http://grizzly.com/products/6-x-21-Mill-Drill/G0619

http://grizzly.com/products/Mill-Drill/G0463

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Chet, unless I am mistaken, both of the Grizzly items you selected have universal (wound rotor) AC motors.

These motors have brushes, and are the sort of motors you find in portable tools such as drills etc.

I certainly wouldn't consider them for a stationary tool.

If you really want a drill/mill machine, go for one with an induction motor.

Regards, Rod.

[Wilbur Pan]

Grizzly does make a woodworker's mill/drill machine (http://grizzly.com/products/Wood-Mill-Wood-Metalworking/G9959), which I find interesting. I think that the main issues you would have with the mill/drill machines that you mentioned would be:

1. Annoyance as to how to get a standard woodworking drill chuck into the R-8 taper, although this should be able to be done with some effort.

2. Limited ability to drill a hole into the end of a long object, like a lamp or table leg.

3. Top speed limited to about 2000, when higher speeds may be more useful for thinner bits in wood.

4. Spindle travel, as you mentioned.

[Bruce Page]

I sold my DP when I got my full size knee type turret mill and don’t miss it a bit. However, the two Grizzly’s that you linked to are nice for small work, but you can’t swing the head for larger/longer work which is a big disadvantage. IMO, if I had one of those grizzly’s, I’d also want a drill press.

[chet jamio]

I didn't pay close attention to the motor type as that's not a area of expertise for me. After some quick research, I see your point. I'll make sure to get an induction motor.

I had a standard chuck for my last mill which is R-8 and it's each to install. Most mills come with one. I would probably upgrade to a keyless chuck anyway, so it doesn't matter if one's included.

Drilling into the end of a long object would be nice, but isn't something I see myself doing too often. I'm just getting started, so I may be wrong. A jig and a hand drill are acceptable alternatives for me. Not as nice, but it will work.

The 2000 rpm limit is definately an issue. For drilling, it should be fine, but it wouldn't work well with a dovetail bit, if it works at all.

Based on the feedback and my personal requirements (no belt changing, dovetail or square column), the cheapest acceptable mill from Grizzly is the G0484. It doesn't fix the table leg or 2000 rpm issues, but it has a better motor. The main issue is it's size. 4 feet wide will be a problem in my 2 car garage. The second issue is the $2000 price. It's considerably more than the $1000 Powermatic drill press. It does a lot more, but maybe not for me. I'm still wondering how/if people are utilizing a mill in their woodoworking.

http://grizzly.com/products/9-x-32-Gear-Head-Mill-Drill-with-Stand/G0484

A cheaper version here. It's the same machine excluding: power head, power table, and base. Not as good of a value to me, but it may be interesting to others.

http://www.wttool.com/product-exec/product_id/14840/nm/Geared_Head_Mill_Drill_Machine_with_Dovetail_Colum n

[Bruce Page]

I'm still wondering how/if people are utilizing a mill in their woodoworking.


Chet, I use mine on just about every project, and yes, it will cut perfect dovetails, or just about anything else at 1000 RPM.

[Keith Outten]

I own the Grizzly Mill/Drill, round column model so I understand the reasons you prefer a different model. I haven't found any problems that have been insurmountable with my machine and in spite of a couple of issues I wouldn't trade it for a drill press. The versatility of owning a mill as opposed to a drilling machine is well worth the added expense IMO. Even a woodworking shop will often require machining materials other than wood sometimes, drilling large holes in steel and in my case a lot of Corian work. Building and using drill jigs is much easier when you know that you can move the table in both X and Y directions and the ability to machine slots and odd shapes is always a plus.

I recently purchased a power feed for my table and I'm loving it :)
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