Thread: Drill press

Originally Posted by silentC

To check the table, bend a stiff bit of wire or rod into a crank-handle shape, and chuck one end in the drill. Lower the quill until the other end of the rod touches the table, then rotate the chuck by hand. The rod should touch the table all the way around. If not, then the table is not perpendicular to the quill.

That is a very good method ... forgot about that. Heads up ... first check that your chuck does not have a wobble. My cheaper drill press has a wobble in the chuck so drill bits do not spin true. It they spin true this method will help you make nice accurate adjustments


Dave the turning cowboy

turning wood into art

A good drill press is imperitave in any workshop.

Hafo seem to have the market in drill presses for value and quality.

If I was buying agin that is where I would go.

I have a bench top press, I am torn to weather a pedistal drillis better or not.

If you want to drill very tall things or you don't want any where to accumulate crap..I supose thay are a good thing....but with a bench top model you can build a cabinet to store all your drilly stuff under...Mine is on wheels

A couple of things to point out.
After you get past the quality issue, the next two thing you pay for are power and quill extension.

In a half inch press, it is well worth getting a 1.5 Hp motor iff you can.....that 1 Hp motor can run out of puff earlier than you envisioned.

one of the frequently encountered limtations of drill presses is the limitation on the travel of the quill.....how far the chuck rises and falls......more travel realy does come in handy at times.....but to get that extra travel with accuracy...yep..it costs.

yep go get yourself a drill press......buy well and you will bless the day other tools may come and go...but the drill press will always be there.

cheers

Perhaps a little late but FYI the drill press is primarily a metal working tool. IMHO To make it really worthwhile as a woodworking tool as well add a table.

Most of the time, my table stays attached, but, if I need to remove it for drilling steel it takes about 3-4 minutes.

https://www.woodworkforums.com/f20/knobs-fence-38731

the link shows the table in some of the pix I'm not sure how to reuse pix from previous threads hence the link.

I have also also found it really worthwhile to spend the $60 odd and get one of those sliding X/Y axis vices which allow you to fine tune the location under the drill bit. I have bolted mine to a piece of 10mm aluminium plate which I lock down into the tracks in the table.

Hope it helps you out.

i recon a drill press care little about what it is drilling.....but regardless of the material involved....it is those extra bits like vices and jigs that turn a drill press into a realy productive machine.

A friend of mine mostly uses his drill press with a fence rather than a vice....and that is sitable for low stress light drilling.

The vast majority of people have no idea what can be done with a drill press outside of fairly mundane drilling.

I have one of those XY vices...I don't use it much ...but when I do it can turn the drill press into a precision machining centre......you can do low stress milling with an ordinary drill press and one of those devices.

another gadget that makes a drill press very powerfull is an angle vice.......while the table on most drill presses tilts..and that to is an under used feature...an angle vice alows very accurate drilling on other than flat and square situations.

cheers

Agreed, the angle or tilt is very handy.

I have a table that goes over top of the metal table with a fence etc.

the xy vices are a great idea too though I do not have one myself


Dave the turning cowboy

turning wood into art

Originally Posted by Tim_N

I can let you know how the little one I am looking at works out in a couple of weeks !!

Hi Tim ~ any update on your purchase?

Originally Posted by MrFez

Hi Tim ~ any update on your purchase?

Yep, it is a great little unit. It does everything I need, drilling pen blanks, drilling larger holes with forstner bits, general drilling for accuracy. The speed change is easy to adjust with the 2 belts. Its heavy enough to be very stable but not so heavy that I cant adjust its position if I need to (I have a VERY small work space). Good spindle travel as well which is good for the pen blanks. I am very happy with it for the price I paid.

Nice looking machine Tim. Very similar specs to mine except mine is about 30 years old.
Making a wooden table for it will be the next step, and adding a fence just increases the ease with which you can use it for drilling vertical, or repetative drilling without having to measure and mark each piece. The 80mm quill travel is good as some of the smaller cheaper ones only have 60mm or less. Just make sure you check that it is drilling square to the table in both directions otherwise on deep holes they will not come out where you expected.
Now that you have one you might be suprised how often you use it.

Originally Posted by Treecycle

Now that you have one you might be suprised how often you use it.

I have had it a little while now. I use it almost every time I go into the shed. Its much better for drilling out pen blanks and things than using the lathe.

Tim ~ Which model did you end up going for?

Originally Posted by MrFez

Tim ~ Which model did you end up going for?

Its the pedestal drill, 16mm chuck. It says its only a medium duty drill press but as I suggested above it fully suits my needs. At least I havent found anything I wanted to drill that I havent been able to. I got it from Machinery House in Brissy, I signed up for their "mates" thing and it was on special and I used the $70 off voucher so it was very reasonable. The link if you are interested - HERE -.

Originally Posted by soundman

i recon a drill press care little about what it is drilling.....but regardless of the material involved....it is those extra bits like vices and jigs that turn a drill press into a realy productive machine.

A friend of mine mostly uses his drill press with a fence rather than a vice....and that is sitable for low stress light drilling.

The vast majority of people have no idea what can be done with a drill press outside of fairly mundane drilling.

I have one of those XY vices...I don't use it much ...but when I do it can turn the drill press into a precision machining centre......you can do low stress milling with an ordinary drill press and one of those devices.

another gadget that makes a drill press very powerfull is an angle vice.......while the table on most drill presses tilts..and that to is an under used feature...an angle vice alows very accurate drilling on other than flat and square situations.

cheers

Agreed, an xy vice and a mill bit is super handy. You have to work slow but you can do all sorts is stuff. This was made on a drill press.

Dale, I had a quick look at your photobucket site that this picture links to and the little metal bender that attaches to a vice looks very handy. Are they available commercially?

Super handy mate

Vice Pressbrake Bender | machineryhouse.com.au