Thread: drill presses

What sorts of things
Materials
Thickness
Hole sizes (diameter and lengths)
etc
do you drill?

Hi David:

As you know from previous posts, I have the top of the line Parken. A couple of things to keep in mind:

- I can't remember all the exact features, but I know that there is a big difference between the top of the line press, and the next one down. Mine may or may not be out of your price range (about $7k), but I recall the next one down was in the $4-5k range, although that was a couple of years ago.

- I think I paid a lot for things like an integrated light, VFD control, and their largest quill travel. They advertise a travel of 140mm but I can get 160mm out of mine, so they're being conservative.

- Those guys make just about everything on that drill press and I got the impression from Michael (one of the brothers who owns Parken Engineering) that they tweak the design from press to press. So their website is usually out of date. Best to talk to Michael directly.

- In terms of woodworking, I wish the table on the press were square. They could do it easily. If I were ordering a new Parken drill press over again, I would definitely explore the possibility of having the press made with a square table. It's not the end of the world, although here I am a couple of years on, and I haven't made a sub-table for my press yet.

- I can't believe the quality of the Albrecht chucks. Yes, they cost as much as most drill presses cost in total. However, they work so beautifully that I actually smile every time I chuck a bit.

- None of the current presses by Parken have a tilting table. I wasn't worried about this, and I am not worried about it. I love the fact that my table is perfectly square to the bit, always. It came that way, and every time I check for squareness, it is still square -- OK, I stopped checking for square probably six months ago as I saw no point...

- Brobo Waldown make a comparable press which should be considered when in this price range. What got me excited about Parken was the history behind it, and the personality and enthusiasm of the owners/makers. Those guys are cool. By the way, no association whatsoever, just happy with my press!

- Finally, and it probably goes without saying for many, there are ways to get very good quality presses for a fraction of the price. It just requires time, and know how. The guys on this forum can provide the know how, so you just need time. I didn't have the time to wait for an oldy-but-a-goody, nor the time to do it up, so I bought the Parken. I haven't looked back. I just love it.

Cheers.

Originally Posted by BobL

What sorts of things
Materials
Thickness
Hole sizes (diameter and lengths)
etc
do you drill?

wood mainly ... i would probably keep the old one (and put it under the house rather than in the shed) to drill any metal stuff ... drill sizes from 3/32 bradpoints to saw tooth bits of up to 3 inches ... small holes probably about an inch in depth ... medium size holes up to 4 inches or so ... large holes about 3/4 to an inch deep ...

as i said though accuracy is important to me and many are not through holes (which i didn't think about before) so that also includes a good depth stop

range of speeds is also less important as i generally leave the current one on a very slow speed and that works fine ... that said if speed was easier to change i might actually set speeds more to suit the drilling

regards david

Originally Posted by LuckyDuck

Hi David:

As you know from previous posts, I have the top of the line Parken. A couple of things to keep in mind:

- I can't remember all the exact features, but I know that there is a big difference between the top of the line press, and the next one down. Mine may or may not be out of your price range (about $7k), but I recall the next one down was in the $4-5k range, although that was a couple of years ago.

- I think I paid a lot for things like an integrated light, VFD control, and their largest quill travel. They advertise a travel of 140mm but I can get 160mm out of mine, so they're being conservative.

- Those guys make just about everything on that drill press and I got the impression from Michael (one of the brothers who owns Parken Engineering) that they tweak the design from press to press. So their website is usually out of date. Best to talk to Michael directly.

- In terms of woodworking, I wish the table on the press were square. They could do it easily. If I were ordering a new Parken drill press over again, I would definitely explore the possibility of having the press made with a square table. It's not the end of the world, although here I am a couple of years on, and I haven't made a sub-table for my press yet.

- I can't believe the quality of the Albrecht chucks. Yes, they cost as much as most drill presses cost in total. However, they work so beautifully that I actually smile every time I chuck a bit.

- None of the current presses by Parken have a tilting table. I wasn't worried about this, and I am not worried about it. I love the fact that my table is perfectly square to the bit, always. It came that way, and every time I check for squareness, it is still square -- OK, I stopped checking for square probably six months ago as I saw no point...

- Brobo Waldown make a comparable press which should be considered when in this price range. What got me excited about Parken was the history behind it, and the personality and enthusiasm of the owners/makers. Those guys are cool. By the way, no association whatsoever, just happy with my press!

- Finally, and it probably goes without saying for many, there are ways to get very good quality presses for a fraction of the price. It just requires time, and know how. The guys on this forum can provide the know how, so you just need time. I didn't have the time to wait for an oldy-but-a-goody, nor the time to do it up, so I bought the Parken. I haven't looked back. I just love it.

Cheers.

thanks for the response ... likewise i have neither the time nor interest in restoring an old one (thanks for thinking of that though .... i might edit my intital post top reflect that so that the thread doesn't get hijacked) ... i am chary of the three phase with converter approach and don't think i need variable speed anyway ... moneywise i think i will probably pay what it takes but am currently thinking $5K would be about as far as i wanted to go ... did you find a reason for the rotating table? ... would you be prepared to post or pm me a couple of photos of that ... if the drill centres over the table, i am not sure what use you could make of it ... maybe i am just not understanding that ... if it were off centre you could do clocks and also holes to make toy wheels realistic (i have a jig that screws to a wooden false table for that at present)

regards david

ps i am going to melbourne in the next couple of months and will probably aim to see these guys and any others then

Originally Posted by robbygard

as i said though accuracy is important to me and many are not through holes (which i didn't think about before) so that also includes a good depth stop

Parken has one depth stop and one depth "indicator" which I love very much. The depth stop is the standard threaded rod with two nuts. The advantage of this type of stop is it is rock solid and exacting. Disadvantage is that you have to stand there and wind the two nuts up and down.

The depth indicator is the machined aluminium dial on the left hand side. Set insert bit, set table height and lower the bit onto the timber surface to be drilled (while the press is off). Then set the indicator to 0. It is beautifully made so that as you drill you can watch the depth go by in mms. I use this almost exclusively as it usually doesn't matter for my drilling needs whether the hole is 9mm or 9.5mm, or whatever. I can then drill a lot of holes to fairly consistent but different depths, very quickly.

Originally Posted by robbygard

range of speeds is also less important as i generally leave the current one on a very slow speed and that works fine ... that said if speed was easier to change i might actually set speeds more to suit the drilling

I never change the belt on the Parken. The VFD gives enough range for me to turn it up for small bits or turn it way down for large bits.

Originally Posted by LuckyDuck

The depth indicator is the machined aluminium dial on the left hand side. Set insert bit, set table height and lower the bit onto the timber surface to be drilled (while the press is off). Then set the indicator to 0. It is beautifully made so that as you drill you can watch the depth go by in mms. I use this almost exclusively as it usually doesn't matter for my drilling needs whether the hole is 9mm or 9.5mm, or whatever. I can then drill a lot of holes to fairly consistent but different depths, very quickly.

i saw that in the photos of your other thread ... that would probably be good enough for most of my requirements as well ... only very occasionally would i need it more exact

thanks

david

Originally Posted by robbygard

thanks for the response ... likewise i have neither the time nor interest in restoring an old one (thanks for thinking of that though .... i might edit my intital post top reflect that so that the thread doesn't get hijacked) ... i am chary of the three phase with converter approach and don't think i need variable speed anyway ... moneywise i think i will probably pay what it takes but am currently thinking $5K would be about as far as i wanted to go ... did you find a reason for the rotating table? ... would you be prepared to post or pm me a couple of photos of that ... if the drill centres over the table, i am not sure what use you could make of it ... maybe i am just not understanding that

regards david

No worries. Just have a look through the "eye candy" post I did on the Parken, it has at least one shot of the rotating table pin mechanism, and also pics of the thrust bearing. If need be, I can dig out the photos and upload them again here.

I didn't order the rotating table pin mechanism. It just came with the machine. Normally these machines are made to order but Michael had just finished one with all the bells and whistles and we dickered around for a deal. So I got it relatively quickly.

The table rotates on the solid chromed and polished column. Yes, its solid and weighs a lot. This means the rack and pinion mechanism which cranks the table up and down also rotates on that column. There is a thrust bearing at the bottom of the column so rotating is very easy. The locking lever which locks down the table is robust and works well. When you unlock the table and wind it up and down, it is easy for it to move right or left as it swings around on that column. Since I don't have a fixed sub-table yet, I just make sure that the centre hole is positioned centrally under the bit before locking the table. Takes only a moment.

Happy to help.

I'm not sure what you mean by "accuracy particularly related to the drill table position".

Standard drill presses are not made to place the table (and I assume the work is clamped somehow to the table?) accurately under a bit.
The tables are meant to be moved approximately into position and then the work is moved to suit the bit position.

I wonder if you mean the table on your current drill just moves about too much?

Accurate placement of work requires some sort of compound or X-Y table (maybe with some sort of digital readout) which if they are any good will weigh many kg so they will need a HD drill to do this but I wonder why you need this level of accuracy with wood?

A cheap version of an X-Y table can be obtained by attaching a wooden table to a cheap X-Y vice.
Like this https://www.woodworkforums.com/showth...79#post1800079
These cheap X-Y vices have a lot of back lash which makes them difficult to use for metal but they are OK for wood.

Originally Posted by LuckyDuck

No worries. Just have a look through the "eye candy" post I did on the Parken, it has at least one shot of the rotating table pin mechanism, and also pics of the thrust bearing. If need be, I can dig out the photos and upload them again here.

I didn't order the rotating table pin mechanism. It just came with the machine. Normally these machines are made to order but Michael had just finished one with all the bells and whistles and we dickered around for a deal. So I got it relatively quickly.

The table rotates on the solid chromed and polished column. Yes, its solid and weighs a lot. This means the rack and pinion mechanism which cranks the table up and down also rotates on that column. There is a thrust bearing at the bottom of the column so rotating is very easy. The locking lever which locks down the table is robust and works well. When you unlock the table and wind it up and down, it is easy for it to move right or left as it swings around on that column. Since I don't have a fixed sub-table yet, I just make sure that the centre hole is positioned centrally under the bit before locking the table. Takes only a moment.

Happy to help.

i have seen the photos you posted before but what i don't follow is if the drill bit centres on the table, rotating the table won't make any difference where the drill hits the workpiece ....

regards david

Originally Posted by robbygard

i have seen the photos you posted before but what i don't follow is if the drill bit centres on the table, rotating the table won't make any difference where the drill hits the workpiece ....

regards david

To use the pin mechanism you would move the table off centre to the left or the right to give the best support. And yes, the material to be drilled would need to be clamped down. You would then drill one hole, say at 12 o'clock, rotate the table with the pin mechanism, drill another hole at 1 o'clock, and so forth.

David

Maybe your confusion is coming from the fact that the whole table can rotate on the press column, to the left or to the right, or swing all the way out of the way so you can drill from the base of the press. Then once locked in place, the table no longer swings, nor can it be adjusted up and down.

The second rotation, is the table itself. It can rotate like a wheel, or the dial of a clock. This is because the large machined support that holds the table has a central axle on which the table is mounted (pictures in the other "eye candy" post). You pull out the spring-loaded pin, rotate the table, and let the pin lock into the next hole.

Originally Posted by BobL

I'm not sure what you mean by "accuracy particularly related to the drill table position".



I wonder if you mean the table on your current drill just moves about too much?

Accurate placement of work requires some sort of compound or X-Y table (maybe with some sort of digital readout) which if they are any good will weigh many kg so they will need a HD drill to do this but I wonder why you need this level of accuracy with wood?

A cheap version of an X-Y table can be obtained by attaching a wooden table to a cheap X-Y vice.
Like this https://www.woodworkforums.com/showth...79#post1800079
These cheap X-Y vices have a lot of back lash which makes them difficult to use for metal but they are OK for wood.

yes i do mean that the table moves a bit too much ... the drill will not hit the same place on the table on two passes ... more particularly if i change the table height ... a real life example of something i do is to drill a 17/64 hole through a blank and then drill a 2 3/4 inch hole half way through the same blank ... it requires to have drilled and tapped into the column as i described (as well as a jig screwed to the false table ...

i got a cheap x-y vice early on but haven't used it for ages .. didn't think of putting my false table onto it ... will have to think about that

Originally Posted by BobL

Standard drill presses are not made to place the table (and I assume the work is clamped somehow to the table?) accurately under a bit.
The tables are meant to be moved approximately into position and then the work is moved to suit the bit position.

so maybe what i am wanting is someone who builds with that accuracy and why i also wondered whether a mill may have that accuracy

regards david

Originally Posted by LuckyDuck

David

Maybe your confusion is coming from the fact that the whole table can rotate on the press column, to the left or to the right, or swing all the way out of the way so you can drill from the base of the press. Then once locked in place, the table no longer swings, nor can it be adjusted up and down.

The second rotation, is the table itself. It can rotate like a wheel, or the dial of a clock. This is because the large machined support that holds the table has a central axle on which the table is mounted (pictures in the other "eye candy" post). You pull out the spring-loaded pin, rotate the table, and let the pin lock into the next hole.

thanks ... that exp[lains it .... don't need photos now


regards d avid

I want to say a few things too

- Drill press is a very simple tool, so don’t need a posh one. I bought a cheap benchtop drill press ($250) from Hare & Forbes 10 years ago. It does a good job so I have nothing to complain.

- A drill press table that is perfectly square to the drill bit is very easy to make. If you make one then you will not have issues with accuracy.

- Like all drill presses mine has 32,000 speeds. The only 2 speeds I use are fast and slow.

There is no need to think too hard. Just keep it simple.