Results 1 to 13 of 13

Thread: Small Drill Press Help Needed...

  1. #1

    Small Drill Press Help Needed...

    I'm looking for a small, 8" to 10" drill press. I do clock restorations, so I'd like it to be very smooth running, have decent quill travel and minimal runout. I'm currently using a H 10", however I find it has more vibration than I'd like, even with the addition of link belts. If this machine were smoother running, it might be acceptable. By the way, I already have an awesome 20" VS DP/Milling machine, however it's not in the work area and is too large to be moved easily.
    Also, just added a question on the 3-pulley system, so please read on...
    Last edited by Derek Arita; 11-11-2019 at 7:13 PM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Waterford, PA
    Posts
    1,225
    We have a "micro" drill press at work for making tiny holes. It is similar to the Cameron 214 Series. Would something like that be too small for you?

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Lisa Starr View Post
    We have a "micro" drill press at work for making tiny holes. It is similar to the Cameron 214 Series. Would something like that be too small for you?
    Lisa, ya, that's too small. After some experimenting with smaller DPs, I found the 8" to 10" the perfect size, for function and mobility.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    SoCal
    Posts
    22,494
    Blog Entries
    1
    This can be frustrating. Makers don't seem to be able to make a decent large drill press for a reasonable price. Finding a small one that is precision will probably drive you toward machinist versions. When you step into that arena and look for a 10" swing the sticker shock can be an eye opener. If you are just looking for a step up from a fairly low end machine, your success will be much greater and cost much less. Obviously the machine has to perform at a level that won't do more damage than good. Can you discuss some of the operations you require? Is it just precision hole placement or are there other functions like circle cutting?
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  5. #5
    Here's my 10" HF DP, with three pulley assemblies. The center assembly rotates off center, but also is loose enough to wobble side-to-side quite a bit. You don't see it wobbling while running, but you see it during belt changes. Is that floppy looseness normal or is that causing vibration?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    Tucson, Arizona
    Posts
    1,204
    Unless one of your other belts was defective or grossly out of balance, I doubt that was your problem. Does the motor have rubber mounts or is it rigidly mounted to the mounting plate? I'm guessing that it is a rigid mount. Around 35 years ago I purchased a new Dayton (Wilton) drill press from Grainger. This was/is a large 15" floor model with a rigid mount 3/4 HP motor. It had an annoying vibration that I did not like. I replaced the 3/4 HP motor with a Dayton 1/3 HP split phase motor with Nema 48 mounting cradle that I took out of one of my old evaporative coolers. This motor has rubber isolation bushings at each end where it sets into the cradle. This motor swap totally eliminated the vibration. I still have this same drill press with the same 1/3 HP motor and it is so smooth you can hardly hear it running. I have 4 or 5 other drill presses, but this one is by far the smoothest/quietest one. I'm guessing that your vibration may be coming from your motor as well. Here is a motor very similar to the one I have. You might want to consider giving it a try.
    David

    https://www.zoro.com/dayton-motor-13...78/i/G3354863/

    Nema 48 motor.jpg
    Last edited by David Buchhauser; 11-11-2019 at 10:18 PM.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Modesto, CA, USA
    Posts
    9,889
    "sensitive drill press" is the search term to find what you are looking for. Does it need to be lever feed or is hand feed pressure enough?
    Or use a sensitive drill chuck in a regular drill press.
    Bill D.
    Last edited by Bill Dufour; 11-11-2019 at 11:55 PM.

  8. #8
    David, I did take off the belts and run the motor just to see if the motor itself was causing the vibration and found that it ran very smoothly.
    Bill, I never heard of sensitive drill presses or chucks. They would probably work great for what I do, however I can't see spending that much. Same with the chuck, although they sure are cool and I'll be keeping my eyes open for a used one.
    What I'm specifically using the DP for, requires a chuck that can handle a larger bit. Actually, it's not a bit, but a bit holder. It holds various sized reamers. Sensitivity is not essential, but slower RPMs is. If I can eliminate the vibration in the HF DP, I'd be fine.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Modesto, CA, USA
    Posts
    9,889
    How is the spindle runout? I bent mine into straight from 0.008. down to 0.002 and said close enough. Simple to do with a pipe clamp just takes several attempts to allow for springback. I could of got better but this is a 20" dp and I realized it will bend if the bit gets snagged.
    Bil lD

  10. #10
    Spindle runout is close enough for my purposes. That floppy center pulley assembly is a concern. Is it supposed to be ridged enough to remain parallel with the other 2 pulley assemblies or should there be play in it?

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    Michigan
    Posts
    2,758
    A couple of things,

    Those pulleys seem to be shallow so that the belts may be hitting bottom. Those link belts would make noise if that's the case. Normal belts may be better.

    Can you live with a little higher speed? If so you might eliminate the middle pulley and invert the motor pulley and run just the one belt. If that's too fast, you could swap out for an 1800 rpm motor or add a VFD.

  12. #12
    +1 on eliminating the middle pulley.

    Invert the motor pulley like Tom suggests or get a pair of step pulleys that suit your speed needs.

  13. #13
    Well, I bypassed the center idler pulley and flipped the pulley on the motor. In fact, when I ran the 2 pulley setup, there was more vibration and spindle speed was faster than I'd like. I wish I knew more about mechanical stuff, I might try replacing the existing pulleys with better quality ones, however that may just expose other issues and drive the cost up. I was hoping for a simple fix, but the doesn't seem to be, so I may have to just with with what I have.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •