Drill Press Laser Targeting, gimmick or godsend?

[John Sanford]

I've never, ever liked the drill press targeting dance, and am wondering whether or not the laser targeting crosshair doohickeys are worthwhile. If you've had one, what's your take on them?

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,
My DP came with one.
I use it every once in a while if I remember it's there - mostly I don't though.
IMHO - it's one of the least useless lasers.

Since most of the bits I use for WW'ing - where precision is required - have a brad point, I usually use that to reference on & forget about the laser.

[Gene Howe]

John,

My DP doesn't dance to the Laser tune, either. But, I can certainly see how a date would be more fun if it did.:rolleyes:

I get really tired of dimpling the work, adjusting the fence/stop block and dimpling again.....and again....:mad:

I just finished 23 cab. doors with 35mm Euro hinges. only 3 sets were the same size. And those were the only double doors in the job. A laser would have been really sweet for the other 17. :)

[Jim Becker]

This would not be a feature that would push me to a particular tool over another. Sometimes it would be icing on the cake, but for me, speed range (including very low) as well as a long quill throw would take precedence on a DP.

[pat warner]

Gimmick for precision drilling, satisfactory for lag & stove bolt holes.
Took me to this (http://patwarner.com/images/drilling1.jpg)to find centers accurately, (precision fence, clamps, stops, gages and a flat top).

[Peter Gregory]

I got the unit that Woodcraft was blowing out for $20 recently. I like it. It works well when the table is high or low. I don't have to push the point in, again and again. It is accurate, had to set it up twice to get it that way, but each setup took 5 minutes.

Works better for me when I put a little dent where I want the hole to go, the laser goes into the dent and I can see it better than a pencil mark.

My favorite new measuring tool of the year.

[Thomas Bank]

A member in our club reported on buying the Woodcraft one and his use of it. The one issue is that it has to be "calibrated" every time you move the table or use a different thickness of wood - definitely not a "set and done" arrangement. But he builds harps and other instruments where he is drilling many holes along a piece - so for him it was a definite timesaver.

[Dewey Torres]

Mine broke soon after I installed it. I have not missed it enough to fix it.

[Peter Gregory]

A member in our club reported on buying the Woodcraft one and his use of it. The one issue is that it has to be "calibrated" every time you move the table or use a different thickness of wood - definitely not a "set and done" arrangement.

I have drilled less than 100 holes with it, but if he isn't getting it to work on different sizes of wood or at different table heights, I think it is a setup error. I'm a technology professional and I admire the simple X-Y-Z tracking system they have on this item (it is dead on simple). As I said before, I had to set it up twice to get mine right. Maybe if you don't get the way that machines target in 3-D it is difficult to use?

Wish I could go to the person who has one's shop and see what is going on. I bet it can be made to work right.

[Bill White]

would lead me to vote toward "gimmick".
Bill

[Tom Esh]

I find the one on my Delta extremely useful (much more so than the one on my miter saw). Once you get it calibrated properly, including (importantly) the parallelism, it's dead-on regardless of table height or workpiece thickness.

One thing to keep in mind when calibrating is to make all settings / adjustments with the table clamp tightened. as it does cause a very small tilt / movement of the table. I mention this because the manual did not, and I struggled with it quite a few times before I had a DUH moment.:D

They don't work in every situation however. Some setups can block the lasers, such as large forstners or a tall fence close to the target. Post-mounted (like most aftermarket lasers) is better for large bits. Head-mounted (more forward) would be better with a tall fence.

[Jim McDonald]

I've never, ever liked the drill press targeting dance, and am wondering whether or not the laser targeting crosshair doohickeys are worthwhile. If you've had one, what's your take on them?
Installed one on the steel city dp...took a few tries to get it set accurately,but once I did, it sure makes drilling multiple holes simple! I'd buy another if this one quits.

[James Adinaro]

Have one on my Delta DP. As others have mentioned, sometimes the fence gets in the way, and it was a bit fussy to get set up. But overall, I like it, and find it useful - especially when trying to set the fence and stops up for repeat drilling.

[Gary Chester]

I like mine... except when I forget to turn it off... and the battery is dead...

[glenn bradley]

I like mine OK (Delta DP). It is not a precision device by the very nature of the "line" width. The beam is almost 1/16" and fatter where they cross. Your accuracy level is somewhere in there. I do like it for general targeting but would not try to line up the tip of a bradpoint bit using it; the target is just too large. Peter Gregory's tip about using an awl or something to dent where you want your hole is valid. This does increase your ability to nudge things into approximate position.

[Kirk Poore]

I put one on my rebuilt PM 1200. I do a lot of work with forstner bits and rosette cutters, and with the big bits it's hard to see exactly where you are. In particular, my main rosette cutter doesn't have a center point so it's very hard to tell where it will actually hit. Also, since the motor is so large (1-1/2 hp) I like to clamp my stuff down most of the time, and it's alot easier to clamp to the cross hairs than to hold the drill down and clamp without moving the wood.

Kirk

[Dan Lee]

Mine DP came with laser crosshairs and they are dead on.... After a year I havent learned to completely trust it :confused:
I still wanna see the bit center point make a dent in my marks before commiting. Guess old habits die hard.

[Thomas Bank]

Wish I could go to the person who has one's shop and see what is going on. I bet it can be made to work right.

Actually, after posting I did a search and found a discussion on another forum of the exact problem - that changing the table height or workpiece thickness messed up the settings. Someone else posted information from the manual about how to set things up properly. I've never actually used the item, but what was discussed made sense. I'll have to check with the guy in my club to see if he's figured it out on his own by now. It has been awhile since he reported his experiences to the club.

[Alan Schaffter]

I added a SC laser unit to my Delta DP. It is on whenever the DP is on, but I don't use it all the time. It is nice when I need it. Since I often rotate the headstock to drill in a new spot on the table insert, I did not mount the laser unit to the column as it is designed to be. Instead, I bolted it to underside of the headstock so it always stays aligned. I drilled a hole for the power adapter cord in the bottom of the headstock so the laser unit does not rely on batteries.

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/data/500/DP-12.JPG

[Peter Quinn]

No good for most of the things I use my DP for. Most holes I'm looking either for eyeball (and I don't need a red light in mine for that), or far closer than the thickness of that red line, ie closer than 1/16". Gimmick at best, eyesore at least. I have run a gang rip saw that used lasers for straight line operations and that made a lot of sense, let you see what you were taking off so you could often cut off sap and knots or wane to maximize lumber quickly.

I use a fairly accurate fence system on the DP to reference my holes and either brad points or forschner bits with a spur i can set to a point. If I need more accuracy than that I'm looking to use a bridgeport with a digital XYZ readout and an edge finder.

[Don Bullock]

This would not be a feature that would push me to a particular tool over another. Sometimes it would be icing on the cake, but for me, speed range (including very low) as well as a long quill throw would take precedence on a DP.

I fully agree with Jim. I have a laser on my DP and I never use it. I do wish it had more quill travel though.:(

[Jules Dominguez]

What works for me is to lay out the hole on the workpiece, punch it with an awl, place it on the DP table, lower the bit and lift the workpiece slightly, moving it around to get the bit into the dimple, then lower the bit more to force the workpiece down onto the table with the bit in the dimple. If I'm drilling a single hole, then I just drill it.

Continuing, if I plan to drill multiple holes on a line, I lock the quill to hold the workpiece in place with the bit, move the fence up against the workpiece and clamp the fence. Then I drill the first hole and move the workpiece along the fence to drill the rest of the holes at the desired spacing. I will have marked lines for the lateral spacing of the holes before going to the DP, and with the fence establishing either the "x" or "y" spacing, I move the workppiece to establish the other by the marked line and eyeball. That's generally as accurate as is necessary.

[Bill Huber]

I put one on the old Craftsman and it did take a little bit to get it set up just right, but once I got it right it has been doing very well. I do check it now and then and so far it is still spot on.

I do use it a lot and it is quick and easy to get the whole right were I want it. What is really nice is when you are setting stops on the DP fence for a bunch of holes at the same place.

I have the one from Woodcraft and it works with any board thickness or table height.

[Josh Rudolph]

So far so good with mine.

I got one from Woodcraft about a month ago.

Took a little longer to get aligned as I set it first time in 5 minutes then moved the table and saw it was off target. I then realized I didn't follow the directions completely.

Went back and aligned it using the directions step-by-step. Checked at various heights and it was dead on each time.

Honestly I was very surprised it would work when pulling it out of the box and seeing how it mounted. But after installing and setting up, it makes more sense.

Now the only problem will be learning to trust it over old habits.

Josh

[Bob Genovesi]

The one issue is that it has to be "calibrated" every time you move the table or use a different thickness of wood - definitely not a "set and done" arrangement.

BINGO! Give this man a CE-GAR!!

These laser systems use a method of triangulation, this means 3 points; a vertical axis, (your chuck and bit) and the 2 laser pointers. All 3 converge on 1 surface and when adjusted should give pretty consistent results. If the table is raised out lowered or you've changed the boards thickness you've altered part of the equation making recalibrating necessary.

Conclusion: More gimmick than solution

[Bob Aquino]

BINGO! Give this man a CE-GAR!!

These laser systems use a method of triangulation, this means 3 points; a vertical axis, (your chuck and bit) and the 2 laser pointers. All 3 converge on 1 surface and when adjusted should give pretty consistent results. If the table is raised out lowered or you've changed the boards thickness you've altered part of the equation making recalibrating necessary.

Conclusion: More gimmick than solution

Nope, when calibrated right, raising or lowering the table does not change the aim. You align each beam so that it rides down the center of a target "bit" so its parallel to the shaft of the bit in the center. The two lines converge at the tip.

I put one of the woodcraft 20 dollar versions on my Clausing, works pretty well. Don't know how long the battery will last but its good for what I paid for it.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_nh7rpc89jO0/SSXkXzVpnPI/AAAAAAAAEi8/RBSrUbVktNE/s800/P1030439.JPG

[james bell]

I put the one from woodcraft on an old craftsman years ago and love it. it stays accurate most of the time, but easy enough to check each time when you start lowering the drill.

Gimmick - yes, but a useful one.

Gimmicks - every time I see one that is inexpensive and may be somewhat useful, I add it to an excel spreadsheet with the price and where it can be purchased. Then at year end when the kids/inlaws/wife are looking for Christmas suggestions, I hand this over. Works great and haven't gotten many ties lately.

[Don Bullock]

..
Gimmicks - every time I see one that is inexpensive and may be somewhat useful, I add it to an excel spreadsheet with the price and where it can be purchased. Then at year end when the kids/inlaws/wife are looking for Christmas suggestions, I hand this over. Works great and haven't gotten many ties lately.

Great idea James, but I now just ask for money. That way I can put several "presents" together to go toward one big item.

[Peter Quadarella]

My laser is always dead on no matter how I swing the table around or up and down. However the fact that the lasers have thickness makes it not quite as precise as a brad point, so I will double check it a lot. It's a nice feature but not a big deal either way.

[Cary Falk]

My Steel City DP came with the Laser. I use it every once in a while. It is usefull enough to not try to sell it but not enough to buy it at $50. I see it on sale quite a bit for <$25.

[Peter Gregory]

It is interesting, does everyone who really owns one of these things like it? All the people who don't like it seem to be working off second hand knowledge. I wouldn't pay $200 for it, but at $20 (with free shipping), I like mine. It seems like the people who are saying they don't like it, don't have one?

I'm surprised by the idea that you can somehow miss the mark by 1/16" or the line to wider than 1/16". Doesn't seem that way to me, you can put your drill tip, into the little recession you made, everytime. The key is the intersection of the two lines, make for a pretty small target.

Maybe we are self selecting? People who have one, are people who like technology measuring systems, people who don't, don't?

Take my word for it, it does really work, table up or down, long bit or short, etc, etc. It is clear that it should work, in theory. It just isn't that hard to run a lazer this way. I would expect this technology to get even cheaper in the future.