Portable drill press for hand drills

[Rege Sullivan]

I've often wondered why there is no "smaller, woodworking" version of a mag-drill using vacuume as the steadying mechanism with a option for smaller clampinh base. I could think of hundreds of times that would have been useful and time saving over the years.

[johnny means]

I've often wondered why there is no "smaller, woodworking" version of a mag-drill using vacuume as the steadying mechanism with a option for smaller clampinh base. I could think of hundreds of times that would have been useful and time saving over the years.

Because you haven't filed for the patent and started production. Sounds like a great Kickstarter.

[Tom Bender]

Ok, that's a fine tool, but I can't help myself from improving it, at least in my head.

Instead of angling from -45 to +45 it could go -5 to +50. Then the north side of the base could be cut off to allow it to get closer to a wall. Then the base would be too small so it could be extended 8" to the south and a knee pad added. The color is just fine.

[Aaron Inami]

I'm adding some new information to this very old thread for reference to others if they need. I had a requirement to make very precise holes in some projects. I have tried two different drill guides. First attempt was with the Milescraft drill guide. My recent experience with Milescraft products have been very good:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014A1Z92I/

However, this guide guide is pretty much a piece of junk. Large amount of slop in the slider and my "precise" holes were way off. The four little bump pads under the guide made it nice against flat wood, but it was impossible to use this guide close to the edge of wood where one of the bump pads would be off the material - the guide tended to tilt at this point.

Next attempt was using a copy of the Woodpeck Auto-Line drill guide. I did not feel like dropping $430 for the real Woodpeck version and this item seemed like a good enough copy. The reviews on the Woodpeck version were mixed and some were pretty bad. This drill guide has a completely flat bottom which would not have the tilting effect when placed over the edge of material:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BLHB8GRC

This one worked somewhat better, but it still was not what I wanted. The chuck/bearing run-out was actually very good (at about .002"). However, the slider had a massive amount of play and would allow the chuck to wiggle back and forth. I measured this and it would be equivalent to a .03" run-out at the chuck itself. When you get to the bottom of a 5" drill bit, the runout would be more like .05". This is a massive problem and your hole would not be a perfect 90 degree (it could be off by as much as 3-4 degrees measured using a Bridge City Universal Gauge, which creates a huge problem if you are trying for accurate holes). I would say these drill guides are not "perfect" solutions. However, they are a lot better than trying to drill "free hand" where your angle could be radically off to the point of 5-10 degrees. It's more of a "drilling helper" then a precision instrument. These are also impossible to keep perfectly vertical unless the unit is clamped down. This makes it more difficult to operate in the middle of large sheets.

The only other product I found seemed like a great solution:

https://www.diamondtoolstore.com/pro...lling-guide-m3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FivfdmbTuh8

However, I talked to the folks at Abaco and they did say their drill guide also has some play in the mechanism. I totally give them a "thumbs up" for being honest about their product. It looks like a very heavy duty guide where you can mount a standard corded drill and also has those suction cups to help with mounting. I found the $224 Makita HP2070F would fit the requirement perfect because it's high power 8.2A and also has a speed adjustment dial on top of the drill (making it a true variable speed motor). The $128 Makita HP2050 would also do and it's much cheaper, but the speed control is a little bit more cumbersome to use, since it's built into the trigger itself as a small dial. The Abaco is about 17lbs.

https://www.amazon.com/Makita-HP2070...dp/B000140B4U/

Ultimately, none of these will work out for my requirements. I am currently looking at magnetic drills, possibly the Milwaukee although they are extremely costly. The lower cost knockoff magnetic drills all have some sort of compromise. Even the new Vevor which is "supposed to be a huge improvement over previous versions" has significant run-out that you can see in the video below (the guy says run-out is significantly improved, but you can still see the chuck moving around at slow speed at 7:08 minutes into the video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1FfAxZQBsE&t=s400

I think this is still much better than the slop of the drill guide, but still not 100% perfect. It depends on how accurate your requirements are. I am considering the high power Milwaukee magnetic drills for two reasons. They are much heavier (72 lbs) then the smaller 30lb magnetic drills. This give you a more solid platform with weight when you are drilling in the middle of large sheets without anything to clamp down. Also, they have motors which can be mounted with the chuck further away from the slide and can allow up to a 4" hole saw. But, they are insanely expensive.

[Tom M King]

Aaron, I found one of the big Milwaukee's on ebay for half the cost of a new one, and it wasn't hurt. Someone had bought it for one job. I was thinking I would use it for my need on one job working on a tractor, but I liked it so much that I kept it. It's a great tool.

Even though it's heavy, I don't think it would work well not clamped down with the magnet. I have used it for drilling holes for timber framing mortises by clamping a 3/4" steel plate to the beam first.

It's not only heavy, but also a bit awkward for moving around much. Once it's clamped down though, it's easily possible to do precision work with it.

I originally bought it to drill out some mounting holes for a front end loader in a tractor motor block. The other picture is drilling a 3/4" hole through three layers of 1/4" steel to put a lifting ring on the front of a mower to make changing blades easier. There is fairly fragile steering linkage under that hole in the mower, but it was no worry with that tool.

[Aaron Inami]

Hi Tom,

I'm already kind of looking into a 3/8" steel support plate. Possible something like these:

8" x 12"
https://www.ebay.com/itm/224473392854

6" x 24"
https://www.ebay.com/itm/374361402645

I'm not even close to making a decision. A lot depends on if I think I'll need reverse to "back out" jammed bits.

Option #1: Large Milwaukee - allows up to 5" hole saw (based on documentation). Very heavy and expensive. Has reverse motor direction.

Option #2: Smaller magnetic drill - maximum hole saw or forstner bit is anywhere from 1-5/8" to 1-3/4" depending on make/model. Light weight. No reverse. Possible fixed speeds depending on make/model.

I don't foresee any need to have this mounted sideways or upside down. All my drilling would be on a flat horizontal sheet, so lifting the big 72lb drill onto a 20lb support plate may not be that bad.

What are your thoughts?

[Michael Burnside]

Aaron. I have the woodpeckers version. I know the red tool company is as polarizing, if not more, than Festool or Sawstop, but I make no apologies for buying a good tool. The WP version is no exception. It is built incredibly well and is a phenomenal tool which I have used many times. I have a very nice drill press but the guide is a pleasure to use anytime I need to bring the drill to the piece. I bought the basic item for 329 (think it was 300 on sale) and much later I bought the 75 accessory kit, which I've used only a few times. You get what you pay for and if you don't like it, they'll send you a return label and full refund so it's zero risk. I've only used that option once in the dozens of WP tools I've purchased.

[Jim Becker]

If I were to buy one of these today and didn't want to go with the UJ version from the UK, I'd likely opt for the Rockler. One thing I like about the "blue" product is that it's already Festool Centrotec compatible...which matches my shop...but also works with drill/drivers that do 1/4" hex, too. Note, it's not magnetic, but someone clever could likely make an adaptation if they needed to drill ferrous metals with it.

[Tom M King]

It's an awkward thing to manhandle. I expect if you can easily pump out barbell curls with a hundred pound bar, it might not be too bad. Also, I'm not sure how much force it will have on 3/8" plate. If it doesn't get enough downforce, it will lift the base up. Listed in the specs locking force is with a 1" plate. I bought the 3/4" plate as a compromise.

That plate bolted to the tractor block is a 12x12x3/4 that I ordered off ebay. I drilled the mounting holes in it with the machine locked to the plate. That's also the plate that I used on the timber framing drilling.

If you get one, absolutely get the model that lets you slide around the head after you lock the base. That model, the one I have, has a lever on the base that locks the head in place when you get it exactly where you want it.

It's easier to drill a hole in steel with it than with a regular sized drill press. Speed control is with a dial. Magnetic lock is with a big button. The "chuck" on the motor makes it really easy to change from an MT3 bit to the 3/4" drill chuck. It's a fine piece of equipment, but I'm still not sure it's exactly what you need.

[John Pendery]

I have a portable “drill press” Mafell makes that I use on timber frames. Fairly specialized for timber framing with good auger type bits, so possibly fitting outside the main discussion of this thread, but I figured someone might find it useful. They aren’t cheap, but when you need a very accurate hole drilled, especially for large timber frame purposes its very nice.



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[Randy Heinemann]

Rockler came out with one a year or two ago. It's much more sturdy than a tool I owned decades ago. However, it's also expensive. I'm not usually a fan of Rockler brand lower end tools and jigs, but this one seems to be a solid drilling accessory. This is it - https://www.rockler.com/rockler-portable-drill-guide. Woodecker has one also, but it is also expensive. Either one is probably better than the $40 - $60 versions which are also available online. They are very useful if you need to drill angles and even 90 degree holes in pieces that aren't suitable for work on a drill press.

[Jim Becker]

Rockler came out with one a year or two ago. It's much more sturdy than a tool I owned decades ago. However, it's also expensive. I'm not usually a fan of Rockler brand lower end tools and jigs, but this one seems to be a solid drilling accessory. This is it - https://www.rockler.com/rockler-portable-drill-guide. Woodecker has one also, but it is also expensive. Either one is probably better than the $40 - $60 versions which are also available online. They are very useful if you need to drill angles and even 90 degree holes in pieces that aren't suitable for work on a drill press.

If you play the sales well, the Rocker unit can be yours for between $150 and $170, not including the vice base if you don't need it. And as I noted, it's already directly compatible with Festool's Centrotec system as well as the common 1/4" hex format meaning you can pick your drill/driver and for those of us with Festool D/D, it's a click fit into the Centrotec chuck.

[Aaron Inami]

That Mafell BST drill guide looks really nice, but at $930 it's too expensive for what it is (especially since I'll have to buy a drill in addition).

Jim/all - I hesitate to look at trying the Rockler or the "real Woodpeck" drill guides since the one I got is priced pretty much the same as Rockler's.

Tom - I may actually look at renting one of the big Milwaukee's locally to see how it works out before pulling the trigger on the big expense. I have a pair of audio amplifiers that weigh 70lbs together and it's not too terrible to lift them up from the floor to the table. I also have no problem lifting a 5HP Baldor motor up (which is in the 70-80lb area). Though I'm not sure how this really translates into usability for the mag drill. It may turn out that a 30lbs device would be better - I would have to sacrifice the 5" hole saw capacity.

[Lee Schierer]

That UJK model is what I was referring to. I was going to post a link but didn’t think that was allowed.
Pete

Links are allowed if the pertain to the topic being discussed as long as they are not to another woodworking site and you have no commercial affiliation with the site or product. You can read all about it in the TOS

[Tom M King]

Aaron, a test trial would be worth it. If you weren't 3,000 miles away you would be welcome to try mine.