Thread: Advise on bench top drill press

I went and had a look at the Bunnings unit when my son was after a DP.

The speed range for the FB is considerably less that the CT or H&F models
Also the weight of the FB is much less - it really does help if they are heavier as it reduces vibration.
The FB we looked at also had no built in light.

I note the H&F has a 1HP motor.

We found a bear new full height pedestal drill for my son on Gum tree at half the new price.

Hi Andrew.
Have used a couple of them myself.
The main problem with most is that the motors on most seem woefully underpowered,it should ideally have at least 1/2-1 HP MOTOR.
A 16mm chuck is more than ok but for practical use 10-13mm is more than edequate.

I ditched mine a while back and got a floor standing machine secondhand for $250 with radial head,has similar footprint to a bench machine but much more versatile.The radial head gives huge extra versatility in my opinion.Well worth considering for larger drilling projects.
while not as rigid as fixed head machines allows drilling that is otherwise impossible.Have drilled holes up to 13mm diameter in Stainless 316.

I am also in the market for a drill press but probably leaning to a pedestal rather than bench.

Has anyone used the Bremen brand from Sydney Tools? https://sydneytools.com.au/bremen-br...FVSSvQodsEoIrg

Unfortunately, Canberra is too small for many 2nd hand DPs to come up.

Jane

The Bunnings one may be nice with the variable speed, but I'd say it's slowest speed is too fast. Depends what you want it for

The Bremen does,t have the top end speed required! Buy a decent one or maybe one without cheap electronics

Originally Posted by mark david

Hi Andrew.
Have used a couple of them myself.
The main problem with most is that the motors on most seem woefully underpowered,it should ideally have at least 1/2-1 HP MOTOR. .

While power is useful I disagree that this sort of power is needed for a small bench drill press, provided a suitable speed can be selected.
When my DP had a 1HP motor fitted I was able to drill 25mm holes in 1" thick steel plate because I could use a 200 RPM speed.
Now I have a 1.5HP variable speed motor and it can drill 38 mm holes in steel using around 120 rpm.
A 3/4HP is usually sufficient for a small drill press.

One problem with Radial Arm drills is that they can't use an intermediate pulley so they usually only have 5 speeds. The number of speeds is not the problem its that the lowest and highest speeds are too high and too low respectively..

I agree with BobL on the power comment for a woodworking drill. I have a 3/4 hp similar to the carbatec but came from Sydney Tools. I can use large forstner bits in hardwood and also hole saws with no problems. I dont often have to drill large holes in steel however.Also use a sanding drum quite a bit. Suitable speed for the bit size always helps.
The more solid the machine is the better and check the quill for sideways play before you buy.
Regards
John

So what speed range should we be looking for?

My radial arm machine has a limited range from 460 rpm to 2890 (5 speed) you are always limited with speeds on these types of machines but a lot of the standard fixed head machines have 16 speeds ranging from around 200rpm up to 3000rpm +

I have not had any major issues with my machine although sometimes wish the slower speed was more around the 200rpm mark but in most cases unless you are using very large drill bits/hole saws etc will not be an issue.Have rarely used the higher speed as I drill a fair bit of stainless steel.

Most drill rpm charts are compromises between what speeds drill presses can generate and the true surface speed per minute required for optimum cutting.

For example the optimum rpm for a 1/4" twist drill bit in softwood is around 4500 rpm but as few drill speeds get near that the charts typically show 3000 RPM
This is not a problem as 3000 rpm will still do the job

At the other end of the scale the optimum speed for a 1" bit in mild steel is around 190 rpm.

Forstner bits also work better and are safer to use at slower speeds especially in hardwoods.
A 2" Forstner in Jarrah will work at 200 rpm but I prefer to run mine at around 120 rpm simply because I can.

On various forums where speeds are discussed, few people seem to need higher speeds but many seem to wish for lower speeds than their DPs currently have.
200 to 3500 rpm seems to be a popular range that covers most things for wood workers.

FWIW my drill press has a 3P motor and a VFD on it so theoretically and combined with all the belt changes it can run from near zero to 8320 rpm.
In practice, power wise its more like ~100 rpm at the low end, and the most I like to take it at the high end is ~5000 rpm. Above that it shakes and rattles a bit too much for my liking and I doubt the bearings are anywhere near good enough to sustain a prolonged run at those higher speeds.

Thanks for all the advice.

I ended up going for the better of the two hafco 16mm bench top drills ($385). Best speed range, distance to chuck, 16 speeds and 1 HP and heavier so less vibration!

Cheers all

I'm looking for a drill press at the moment. How is the Hafco DP doing? I noticed the spec says that the minimum speed is 280rpm. Bunnings' full boar pedestal's minimum speed is 180rpm and it's also a 1HP motor. I'm about to jump the gun and get the bunnings one... the price difference is negligible.

I went for this one D596 | PD-360 Pedestal Drill | For Sale Sydney Brisbane Melbourne Perth | Buy Workshop Equipment & Machinery online at machineryhouse.com.au. It is RRP for $495 but was on special for $449 and I had a $50 voucher - so $399. I checked out the Full Boar but was not impressed with the quality of the finish. Very happy with my purchase

I almost pulled the trigger and got one of these too, but I noticed the lowest speed is 280 vs the Full boar one 180... not sure how important that is. The full boar one doesn't seem too bad.