Radial Drill Press: The Cat's Meow or a Gimmick?

[Marshall Harrison]

This Craftsman Radial Drill PRes - 'https://jacksonville.craigslist.org/tls/d/craftsman-34-radial-drill/6586338559.html

Is close to me. Is that a good price? Are radial drill presses just a gimmick. Any pros and cons would be appreciated.

Thanks for sharing your wisdom.

[Robert Pugmire]

on the smaller ones they rack fairly bad.. kinda hit or miss with each drill/manufactuer

[Steve Demuth]

I would be disinclined to have one as my first or only drill press. You don't really need the extra two degrees of freedom you get for 99% of hobbiest woodworking, and to get them, you give up quite a bit of solidity and repeatability in set up, particularly with the lower end models. Now, if you're looking at one of these, that's a horse of a different color:

[Marshall Harrison]

Thanks guys. I'll pass on it then.

Added bonus of passing on it is that I don't have to justify the purchase with SWMBO.

[Charles Lent]

Not a gimmick at all, but they have their purpose. Radial drill presses are helpful if you are making chairs or similar, where many holes need to be drilled at different angles, like those in the seat for the backs and legs, but the leg bracing is all at odd angles too. But even the guys who use them usually have one or two standard type drill presses too. I owned a radial drill press back many years ago when I was making chairs and stools. It collected a lot of dust after I got into other projects, and I sold it a few years later. They have a purpose, but tend to be a pain to keep straight when you want to use them for general purpose drilling.

Until I got a floor standing drill press, I mounted the base of a standard bench mount drill press backwards so the post was above the edge of the bench and then I rotated the head and table so they hung out off of the bench. Using blocks for height adjustment above the floor, I was able to us it like a floor standing model, but I could still use it for smaller needs as it still worked much like a standard drill press with the adjustable height table.

I now have a floor standing model, a variable speed bench model, and a multi speed bench model, all made by Delta. The last is set up for drilling very small diameter holes at near maximum speed for jewelry making, and the other two take care of the rest of my drill press needs. I don't make chairs any more, so I have no need for a radial drill press.

Charley

[glenn bradley]

Smart move. I tend to think solid radial drill presses start about this size.

radial drill press.JPG

[Bruce Page]

And they take up a lot of room for as much as you'll use the radial feature.

[Bill Dufour]

Machinists call them radial arm drills. They have to be bolted to the floor or they will fall over. overkill in a wood shop.
Bil lD.

[Jeff Heath]

Walker Turner made a radial drill press for woodworking. I have one. They are pretty nice, with a big, heavy cast iron base and t-track table.

[Bill Dufour]

The big ones have to have a separate motor to raise and lower the arm and another motor to move the drill head in and out. many have power downfeed.
Bill D.

[Don Jarvie]

I have the same one. It’s a nice drill press but a bit under powered. If you can get to Boston I’ll give you a great deal. I replaced mine with a 50s a man floor model. The older motors are stronger than the newer ones. Mine has a 1/2 hp but it’s a true 1/2. The newer motors may say 1/2 but it’s not quite there.

[Bruce Page]

We had a very large Giddings & Lewis radial drill in the main shop at Sandia Labs. I never got a chance to run it but walked by it everyday. The column must have been at least 20”.

[Keith Outten]

I was unhappy with the performance of the Radial Drill that I had years ago and ultimately purchased a Mag Drill so I can drill holes just about anywhere. If I can clamp a piece of plate or flat bar on a large sheet of plywood I can drill it anywhere. Oh, its also pretty sweet for drilling metal

[Curt Harms]

Thanks guys. I'll pass on it then.

Added bonus of passing on it is that I don't have to justify the purchase with SWMBO.

You were likely wise. I have probably have the same machine only painted gray and with a Delta label. It works okay for wood as long as the arm isn't extended too far, mine is maybe 1/3 extended. I replaced the 1/3 h.p. motor with a 1/2 h.p. 3 phase Century motor and VFD, the lowest speed was something like 580 RPM, too fast for larger forstner bits and such. It works okay for what I need. I bought it when I was starting out and knew even less than I do now. I've read that chairmakers and others who need to drill holes at compound angles or the center of a larger workpiece like them. If I needed a light duty radial drill press, I'd at least get racks on the arm and table to be able to adjust them easily.

[Van Huskey]

Radial arm drill presses are great IF you need the swing they provide. That said small ones have lots of play, the quality ones will weigh over a ton, usually significantly more. The cheap ones are a poor alternative to a drill press with a more "normal" swing for the vast majority of woodworking. For most woodworking even the Harbor Freight 13" bench top DP would be a better choice than the cheap light weight RADPs.