Thread: Drill Press

Originally Posted by Hadamona

I'm trying to decide which floorstanding drill press to buy for around $400. It will be used mainly for general use with wood, metal and aluminum. It will be bolted to the ground so stability isn't an issue.

I have attached a comparison table between the Trade Tools Direct K1720F, Hare & Forbes SPD-25A, Gary Pye Woodturning 16" and Carbatec DP-4119F.

I'm kinda leaning towards the HAFCO SPD-25A (D147) but I don't know which tables are better, the slotted round ones or square ones with T-Slots?

Attachment 135514

G.day don't know if this would be of any use to you but ,I bought a pedestal drill 4 or 5 years ago from Glenford's tools and have never had any problems with it. It has always had hard use both on metal and wood. I got a mortising jig with it with three chisels. these are the details for the drill press. Cost, just under $500 including vice and mortise jig.Made by Rexon, 15" drill press,round table,3/4 HP motor,16mm chuck, 12 speed...180-2740 RPM,model Number, RDP1516F . My only bitch with it, was the plastic handle for raising and lowering the table had the grub screw threaded into the plastic and it stripped after about 2 years or so. I made a new metal one.

Hadamona, I hope I am not sticking my neck out here but, generally, our sons and I have been H&f people since the early 1970s.

Times have changed now but H&F usually stand behind their machinery.

I have never used a square table so cannot help you with that.

I'm A H&F person too.

As for the table, I have a round one but in some ways I'd prefer a square one. Anyway if I want a square table I can build one from thick ply- say formply - and bolt it to the round one!

I like the H&F too. Great service from them. Not taking away from the others you mention but H&F are my nearest dealer so guess that makes a difference to me.

I have one of the trade tools and it is an exellent unit. Make shaw it not there cheaper Chinese model

Originally Posted by artme

I'm A H&F person too.

As for the table, I have a round one but in some ways I'd prefer a square one. Anyway if I want a square table I can build one from thick ply- say formply - and bolt it to the round one!

Thats what I did for mine! When I am working with wood, I have a square plate of ply. I'd have to say my drill press is the most versatile tool in my shop. I'd have to agree with comments on H&F, never had a problem with them,always prompt and courtious.

I recently bought the SBD-25A after quite a bit of research & am very happy with it. I was very surprised that the spindle run-out was about 0.03mm - I expected far less accuracy given the price.

Build quality is excellent & the table was square to the spindle.

I liked the cast iron drilling lever & the worklight is very handy.

All in all it seemed better built than many other I looked at, and as other people have said, H&F are great to deal with & stand behind their products.

I intend to add the Woodpeckers drill press table from Grahame at WPA

Originally Posted by RossM

I was very surprised that the spindle run-out was about 0.03mm - I expected far less accuracy given the price.

This is a very good point. No matter what drill press you decide on, first thing to do after set up is to check the spindle, arbor and chuck for run-out.

My drill press (not one of those you are looking at) had 0.02mm run-out on the spindle, 0.04mm run-out on the arbor and an incredible 0.4mm run-out at the chuck. Yes, that's not a typo, close to half a mill' of run-out in the chuck. I found myself drilling a 5mm hole with a 4mm drill bit, i could feel the run-out using the edge of a scribe rubbing the side of a bit in the chuck.

I replaced the chuck with a better quality one (it came as a kit with a new arbor) and the runout reduced to about 0.05 measured on a 10mm drill bit in the chuck.

I bought the press at a closing down sale at a price that was too good to leave and had no recourse. It was easier to just go elsewhere and buy a better chuck. No problem.

Good luck with your choice of press.

Steven.

For the sake of accuarte terminology, I should correct that entry - it ws 0.03mm runout on the supplied MT2 arbour. Pretty good for a $330 tool.

The run-out on the shank of a new, medium quality chucked 10mm drimm bit was 0.09mm This was using the supplied chuck

Can someone explain to me what run-out is, and how to check for it?

Run-out is the amount of "wobble" in the object that is spinning. Instead of a shaft turning in an exact circle, it fmay follow an eliptical path. A saw plade in a table saw may not spin in a flat plane, but move from side to side a little as it completes one revolution. This variation is the runout. A measure of around 0.005" (0.15mm) is considered to be acceptable.

The other issue to be aware of is spindle side play - how loose the spindle is in its bearings. This will also cause wobble, and so vibration & inaccuracy.

You can measure play & runout using a dial indicator - a measuring instrument used by machinists. These are very useful in setting up woodworking tools as well. I bought an accurate digital indicator and a hydraulic magnetic mounting arm from eBay - a HongKong seller, for about $AU70 including shipping to Australia.

The traditional dial indicators use an analgue guage - looks a bit like an old fashioned stop-watch. Accuracy is often about +- 0.0005" or +- 0.005mm You will pay a lot for more accuracy and for name brand indicators such as Starrett, Moore Wright, Mitutoyo etc. IMHO the new digital indicators are more than adequate for us woodworkers & I would rather sepnd the extra on another plane or chisel . Another advantage of digital indicators is that the range of travel (total plunger movement) is quite large. Many traditional indicators only have a very small range of travel for the arm or plunger.

There is alos another type of indicator (called a dial test indicator) that has a small lever rather than a plunger - this is not so useful to us woodworkers - it measures displacement at an angle of a lever perpendicular to the axis of the indicator.

The dial indicator has a plunger that rests lightly on the surface to be measured & the indicator is held firmly in place by some sort of mounting fixture (a magnetic base with adjustable arms is good, but you can also make up your own mounting system from wood.) The indicator is set to zero. As the surface moves past the indicator the plunger moves in or out & the guage registers the amount of movement, the maximum movement is the measure of runout.

To measure play, attach the dial indicator to it is resting on the arbour, zero it & you can simply try to push & pull the chuck (without rotating it) while observing any movement

You can also use a dial indicator to help align tools, such as ensuring a saw blade is absolutely parallel to the mitre guage slot on a table saw, or if planer blades are parallel to the infeed table etc. See these articles for some ideas:

Jointer setup - Popular Woodworking

Table Saw Tune-up - Popular Woodworking

Here are some photos that might help to illustrate:

Traditional Dial Indicator & Base
Attachment 135813

My Digital Indicator & Base
Attachment 135816

Measuring drill press runout
Attachment 135815

Aligning Table Saw
Attachment 135814

Like spokeshave, I bought a DP at a clear out sale for a price that I couldn't pass up. Unfortunately it has quite a bit of play in the spindle bearing as described by Ross.

Is replacing the spindle bearing a possibility? Would it be expensive?

BTW. I bought mine at Supercheap for $125, it was already on scratch and dent discount and then they had one of their 20 or 30% off everything in store sales. For what I have used it for so far it is OK and beats using a hand held for the same purposes, at about the price of a hand held tailed one! I think the prices have also dropped substantially over the last 2 years. I think the last time I looked their ticket price was only $199.

Hi Fuzzie

I'm no expert in this, but if it were me, I think I would look at selling the dodgy DP & putting the cash into a better machine. 2nd hand pedestal DPs seem to go from about $100 & up on eBay, edpending on condition. Some even for more than a new one of similar quality - go figure!

If you have the capability to press out the existing bearings & replace them, then you may (no guarantees) reduce the problem However this will entail a fair bit of work, purchase of new bearings & possibility that you stuff up the machine. Also depends if you put a dollar value on your time. If you have a machinist or toolmaker friend I would feel more confident. If you have to pay to have this done (given current hrly rates), no brainer. Sell it & buy another.

Thanks Ross for that excellent explanation of run out. Now I have another measuring device I want.