Thread: Drill press

Sounds good! let us know how you go with it.

Also any chance someone has any experience with the Peerless drill press?

After a few hours of research all around the internet I made up my mind and will go for a H&M DP.

Now I am tossing between the SPD-25A and the SP22.

It seems to me like the differences are not massive but if I can save a few $ on a lower model that will be enough why not

is the 3MT spindle taper a good thing ? also the SP22 seems to go down to 160rpm and I will need to drill though metal so I guess it is a good thing ? but only 3000rpm for top speed.

So should I spend a bit more on the the SP22 or will the SPD-25A be enough ?

Originally Posted by jhovel

Any drilling job which needs to be accurately square and parallel is only really possible on a decent drill press. They are worth every penny.
Using it as a bobbinsander which stays square, sa a makeshift overhead router for the odd otherwise impossible job etc etc

Cheers,
Joe

using my drill press to drill, router and sand I did this



yes they are worth having ... oh I turned it to a cylinder on the lathe


Dave the turning cowboy

turning wood into art

Is this to make a point or say get the SP-22 ?
beautiful job btw

This is to say how useful a drill press is ... and thank you.

I would not be without one ... good or bad quality they are very useful.

Simply put id say get whatever you can afford


Dave the turning cowboy

turning wood into art

I totally understand and will prop never buy cheap crsap again.

In the mean time I have never really use ( regularly ) a drill press and don t really know what to look for.

Wise advices on which machine to look for would be appreciated

https://www.woodworkforums.com/f155/hare-forbes-hafco-pd-22-review-80150

you may find this interesting to read

I have a hafco lathe ... for someone who wants to do just a bit of turning yeah it might be ok ... to me I use it in desperation if my other two lathes are in service or not available

I would personally be more inclined to look at a second hand unit that is older and well built ... I had a universal which was a baby of the pedalstool drills but it was real good ... lost it in a trailer roll over.

this one I am using is better than my ryobi .. not sure if you can make a brand on it or not



I dont think you can ... I'll be back home in a week. If you have not already made a purchase I will try and let you know what brand it is.

What I dont like about a drill press with the ones I have used ... the table does not run fixed in an up and down direction, it can pivot on the post.

Definitely get one with a crank handle to wind up and down for height adjustment.

The one above is made in Taiwan or something ... I will be keeping an eye out for a better one but it will do me for now. I could stick with it and it would likely do all I ever need but I would like a better one. I also like a quill that has a travel of 125mm, not sure how many do?


Dave the turning cowboy

turning wood into art

Thx for that link it did help me a lot to understand lots and thx for your help

always a pleasure to help another woodworker


Dave the turning cowboy

turning wood into art

From my observations, the biggest issue with cheap or cheaply made drill presses is the fit of the quill in the head casting.
There seems to be a huge tolerance in manufacturing low cost ones and tight tolerances in expensive ones.
Some of the older ones like Waldowns were not only made (= had their head castings bored) accurately, but also have a mechaism for tightening that to compensate for wear. I've not seen that on modern ones - even expensive ones.
What ever drill press anyone buys, a quick check is to move the quill down off the stop a little and then check for any play in the quill to head casting by moving it radially (back and forth and side to side). Do that in a few positions all the way down to the bottom stop.
When you decided which model you like, see if the shop allows you to check this on a few samples they have in stock and pick the best.
I do this out of habit every time I go into a tool shop and walk past a drill press on display. I'm often horrified by the play and can't imagine it being useful for anything but drilling holes in fruit boxes or something....

Originally Posted by DaveTTC

This is to say how useful a drill press is ... and thank you.

I would not be without one ... good or bad quality they are very useful.

Simply put id say get whatever you can afford

Dave I totally agree with you. My drill press has had a thorough workout over the last week, and with not too many holes being drilled into timber.

I have been building some Yagi antennas in an effort to see if I can get internet where we are camping over Easter. I have got three antennas ready to test.

To make the biggest of the antennas, I had to drill 20 x 10mm holes through a 1800mm length of 40mm PVC pipe all at irregular intervals along its length, with all holes having to be coplanar and exactly through the centre of the pipe. That was not as easy as I thought it would be. Then I needed to drill two 13mm holes in the pipe at perfect right angles to the other holes.

Then I had to drill holes through each of the 20 aluminium elements; 2 x 5mm holes exactly 41.4mm apart but exactly centered on each element and coplanar. Then on one element I had to drill two x 2mm holes straight through the centre also exactly coplanar with the previous holes.

Thanks to a good drill press, definitely not the best on the market but good enough, a lot of planning and patience and an Incra drill press table, the whole thing is together with no more than 0.1mm error on the whole thing.

I could not have gotten those results with a drill press that was not up to scratch.

Cheers

Doug

Just for the record my larger drill press is a Sherline ... it is reaonable and leaves my cheap one for dead.

Definitely do as Joe mentioned ... move the quill travel up and down and check for slop.

Also if you can test it but a longish drill bit in it and run it (make sure the drill bit is straight) You can this way check that the spindle is truly straight etc.

I'd go for a second hand ine if possible as you stand a better chance of getting more bang for your bucks


Dave the turning cowboy

turning wood into art

I don't want to hijack the thread but I have a pedestal drill press and wondering if there is any way of setting it up so its fully vertical/plum. I want to use it to drill dowel holes. Any tips on how to do so?

Originally Posted by BaileyBoy

I don't want to hijack the thread but I have a pedestal drill press and wondering if there is any way of setting it up so its fully vertical/plum. I want to use it to drill dowel holes. Any tips on how to do so?

the quill travel 'should' be parallel to the main post.

The table 'should' be square to the post.

Some tables can tilt side to side as you stand in front of the drill press. There should be a mark for square. If not get it close and and stand a square on your table, stock on the table and blade pointing up in the air.

With a drill bit in your chuck you can raise and lower the quill to check this side to side adjustment and move till it is square.

Other than that there is no real adjustment. Next thing would be secondary table that can be shimmed to get square in both directions.


Dave the turning cowboy

turning wood into art