Drill Press Advice Needed

Stark Knives

Stark Knives

Joined
Mar 19, 2010
Messages
1,154
Hey all!

My Skil drill press is not working very well for getting through metal so I'm looking to upgrade it. Does anyone have any input as to whether this WEN press would work well? I believe it is supposed to be more powerful than my old one, but I would like to hear what you guys think. I'm hoping to get a mill for folders at some point in the future but need something to bridge the gap now.

Old one I had: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003LSSS0W/ref=s9_simh_gw_g469_i3_r?ie=UTF8&fpl=fresh&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=&pf_rd_r=17J2PGCHPFPMRYVGBH8W&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=a6aaf593-1ba4-4f4e-bdcc-0febe090b8ed&pf_rd_i=desktop

One I was looking at: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HQONFY6/ref=s9_simh_gw_g469_i2_r?ie=UTF8&fpl=fresh&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=&pf_rd_r=J08G92P9M42J1G1Y3565&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=a6aaf593-1ba4-4f4e-bdcc-0febe090b8ed&pf_rd_i=desktop

Thanks in advance!
 
They're likely the same machine head on different height stands.

Are you sure your belt just doesn't need to be replaced? Mine drills fine as long as the belt is tight.
 
before i woudl spend the extra $ on the rikon i wouddl add a bit more and get a mini mill use it as a drill as i added tooling for milling to it
i say this and in fulll disclosure i have no drill press in my shop jsut a mini mill and a bridgeport
 
I have your skill drill press and recently bought a porter cable floor model from lowes and am really happy with it. The PC presses are $300, but for 99 cents on the auction site you can get a 50 off 250 coupon, thus the all in cost for a floor model press is about the same as that WEN.
 
If the specs are true for each, the WEN appears to have roughly twice the power.

That said, for $230, I'd scope out the local Craigslist and even eBay ads and see about buying an older floor model (or large benchtop model).
 
butcher_block said:
before i woudl spend the extra $ on the rikon i wouddl add a bit more and get a mini mill use it as a drill as i added tooling for milling to it
i say this and in fulll disclosure i have no drill press in my shop jsut a mini mill and a bridgeport
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Mr. Harner, I have been making knives for over eight years and have made several hundred knives but I am embarrassed to say that I do not know how to operate a milling machine. I have been thinking about buying a mini mill and using it to do all my drilling and hopefully learn to slot guards for hidden tang knives. I have been doing the slow way with a drill and files or asking a machinist friend to mill an undersized slot for me. Is this something I can learn by reading information on the internet or watching videos? I would appreciate your opinion. Larry PS I am sorry for going off topic here. LL
 
LARRYZ10 said:
Mr. Harner, I have been making knives for over eight years and have made several hundred knives but I am embarrassed to say that I do not know how to operate a milling machine. I have been thinking about buying a mini mill and using it to do all my drilling and hopefully learn to slot guards for hidden tang knives. I have been doing the slow way with a drill and files or asking a machinist friend to mill an undersized slot for me. Is this something I can learn by reading information on the internet or watching videos? I would appreciate your opinion. Larry PS I am sorry for going off topic here. LL
Click to expand...

There are a lot of good resources out there for teaching yourself some basic machining. YouTube has a lot of good vids. AGI puts out some vids by Darrel Holland on running a bridgeport knee mill. That video set is VERY good. Although he specifically shows a full sized bridgeport knee mill, a lot of the basic theory and practice is essentially the same.
 
knife to a gunfight said:
There are a lot of good resources out there for teaching yourself some basic machining. YouTube has a lot of good vids. AGI puts out some vids by Darrel Holland on running a bridgeport knee mill. That video set is VERY good. Although he specifically shows a full sized bridgeport knee mill, a lot of the basic theory and practice is essentially the same.
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Agreed

compared to the time it takes to file slots, learning to mill would be faster and funner.
 
I think for most people, at least for myself and the makers I know, the mill is used to mill a rough undersized slot in a guard. The guard is still hand filed and fit carefully. The mill just eliminates having to drill 4 or 5 holes in a line and file out all the webbing. A huge time saver, no doubt but a mill isn't the perfect answer to perfectly fit guards.

Just wanted to put this out there in case there was any misconception.
 
As a retired machinist I will agree with Butch on adding the mini mill for a few dollars more. It is an advanced drilling machine with the ability to take side forces due to the rigidity of the spindle. They are quite easy to learn the basics with the help of tutorials however they are a bit more precise in setup when you first start out. The Mill itself is the inexpensive part, and tooling adds additional expense but once you have it set up your drill press will just gather dust. The only time I use my drill press anymore is for hidden tang handle blocks.
 
I would second or third the mini mill buying. I got lucky and picked one up on CL for 120 bucks. Best 120 I've spent to date. Drill or mill.
I use mine for milling out wood slots mostly, and then drilling holes as needed. I picked up two super nice machinist chucks for drilling at the swap for 50 bucks. Sold one for 50 on ebay. ;)
 
The mini mill is the route I am heading when I can afford to upgrade my drill press. The small tabletop one I have is not capable of doing some stuff I'd like to be able to do. I'm going for the buy once cry once when I do the upgrade as the mill will do everything the drill press will do and so much more. And for the price of a decent new press I can spend just a few more bucks and get a mini mill.
 
are you using the lowest speed for drilling metal ? that usually works best. the cheap presses have very short travel, most are around 3 1/2". this is no good for hidden tangs, a mini mill has plenty of travel.
 
I'll also add: IMO, a mini mill is certainly more useful than a drill press, generally speaking, and for MOST tasks a knife maker would need or use one for, they're perfectly suitable if properly set up.

That said, if you can work out the additional cost and space of a full sized knee mill, you won't regret it in the least. You can do small work on a large mill, but not large on a small. Not to mention, when you start building other tools and fixtures for knife making and other odd jobs you come up with, a large mill typically helps a lot more than it hurt. Food for thought.
 
john april said:
are you using the lowest speed for drilling metal ? that usually works best. the cheap presses have very short travel, most are around 3 1/2". this is no good for hidden tangs, a mini mill has plenty of travel.
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I'm not sure if that was directed at me, but I'll answer. Yes I only use my drill press at the slowest speed. I don't do any hidden tang knives yet, but will run into that issue if I were to try and use my press for one, but I also want to do some knives with finger holes like karambits, and mine will only handle up to 1/2". Anything larger than that and serious work to the hole has to be done with dremel tools. I haven't tried a carbide hole cutter, that may work, but a mini mill should be in my shop sometime by mid summer. My Bother inlaw works at the Dillon, SC harbor freight plant kinda high up in the chain somehow and when I'm ready to buy he's going to help me get it with his discount.
 
Thanks for the advice everyone! I think I'll probably wait and just get a Grizzly mill sometime in the future so I can make folders too.

In regards to the speed I'm running, I've tried going to the lowest pulley, but there is no power when I do. The bit just stalls right away.
 
since at this point im spending your money ;) look at the LMS mini i upgraded my HF mini mill with belt drive anyhow and am so happy i did. other side to that i for sure know how slow buildingn up toolig can be so get the mill and use it as you upspec parts and tooling its one of 4 tools i cant live without (KMG kiln and some sort of duel use saw are the other 3 )
 
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