Drill press

T

thegeek574

Joined
Sep 3, 2010
Messages
2,460
Everyone,
Ok, I'm actually serious this time :D
I need a drill press. I don't need a top of the line machine. I have ways of drilling very accurate holes if I need to, but it is a step beyond inconvenient. I would like holes that are more or less up and down for fixed blades and non-pivot holes on folders. Price is an issue, I am willing to pay for quality, but I really don't need a floor model or a burgmaster turret. Though if you have one for cheap... :D

Price range- say, up to 250, possibly up for the right machine.

As far as an old, quality one goes, I would love to get one. However, it seems like they are either really expensive or a project in themselves, especially in this neck of the woods.

Appreciate the help,
Steven

BTW, a mill is out of the question. I just don't have the room or the voltage.
 
Craigs list.

Lots of woodworkers out there that sell off stuff.

Drill presses are the same wood or steel.
 
Garage sales or estate sales. The Craftsman benchtop models work just fine. Some say get as slow a turning press as you can find, but for me I dont drill anything over ~ 3/8" in steel anyways, so if I only goes down to 600RPM that's just fine.

If buying used, extend the chuck down and grab it, rock it back and forth, if there is a lot of play then pass. If it holds close to .001" your fine.


-Xander
 
We have the "Craftsman 12'' Drill Press with Laser and LED Light" and it works great. I'd advise it greatly, especially in your price range.
 
I have a Ryobi DP121L. It's a 12" benchtop drill press with quite a few nice features. The one I like most is the ability to change speeds on the fly without fiddling with belts. Simply pull or push the lever on the left side. Speeds range from 500 to 3000. I also like the table design. It makes it easy to clamp items near the edge. It's one of my most used tools in the shop. Sadly, they're discontinued so you need to search CL or Ebay to find one.
 
Also if you wanted to buy a new one, Harbor freight makes very good quality stuff for the price. This one is $130:
http://www.harborfreight.com/speed-bench-drill-press-60237.html

They're not top of the line by a long shot, but they're quite rugged and you can't beat it for the price. I have one from HF and I didn't have to pay more than 5 bucks for shipping either. I have no idea how they can ship things so cheaply but you can't complain :-)
 
I went to sears and bought one of theres. I belive I paid $175.00 for it. it has done me very well. I has more that one speed. you might want to go there and see theres.
 
Old USA made, or Jet for best import.

I do have a Shop Fox from Grizzly that's pretty good too.

Some of the cheap imports I wouldn't take for free.
 
I'll throw out a suggestion, although it is a bit higher than your stated price range. I picked up a Grizzly bench top a couple of months ago. Model G7943. It's $374 shipped to your door. I remembered reading that Andy Roy (Fiddleback Forge) had the same one and that he liked it quite a bit. After comparing specs/price between various other presses, I decided to give it a shot. It has plenty of power (3/4 HP) and 12 speeds (140-3050 RPM). After putting it to some use, I'm very pleased with my purchase. Should be a drill press I can use for a very long time.

Adam Buttry
 
I was considering the grizzlies and the HFs. I was a bit put off by the fact that I could put the pictures of the craftsman/ryobi/ect. next to the ones from HF and see the same things. the knobes were different, but other than that they were the same.

Any more suggestions?
 
Any drill press which goes down to about 250 rpm should work. When drilling M390 I have to go that low.

Tim
 
I'm sorry, ut unless you can see something I can't then the jets are more than double my price range. They look nice, but a bit expensive.
 
If Jet is too high, my next choice would be Grizzly.

Just remember, the cheapest choice is probably not the best choice.
 
I have the 12 speed bench top model from HF. I have had it almost a year and a half and am very pleased to this point. I have prematurely wore the spindle bearings cause I used it as a spindle sander a lot before I got a small wheel attachment. Runout on them is only a couple thousandths so no big deal. I figure I run the DP nearly more than my grinder on each knife. I lighten up the tang with as many 3/8" holes as I can fit, and that is about as big a drill I want to push through tool steel. For the money I think it has been a great machine. The table tilts away from the spindle about .005" which is fixable with some shims, but this is a drill press not a milling machine. I would buy another when this one gives out.
 
I had one of the larger HF Bench Drills. It sucked hard. Chatter, alignment, etc, even with tweaking, it was crap IMHO, but I use a drill for a lot more than poking craters in knife tangs, so YMMV. I also had a Powermatic 1200 until recently, which is the king of the shop sized floor drills. It was great, but I put a bridgeport clone in it's place, which with a good chuck I find much more convenient to use, and has other advantages as a supplement to my large mill, even though it has a lower drilling capacity.

If all you need a bench drill for is drilling holes for pins and such for fixed blades, I don't think it matters which crappy import you buy likely. If you're expecting any precision out of them, good luck. As Don mentioned, Jet is one of the best non-Japan imports, but I personally feel that only extends to the Taiwain made products. I haven't found any difference other than "luck of the draw" when it comes to their, or any other brands exact copies of Chinese made machines. They do sort of have a special reputation in the drill press arena, when it comes to higher end models, they make some really nice stuff.
 
I know you said some of the 'old well built' ones in your area are projects in and of themselves but don't discount them. Learning to fix one up can help you learn exactly what all it is capable of. Many of them out there are simple fixes... the owners just don't know that. As previously stated check the play in the chuck, etc... I have a 50+ year old floor model that I got for free... just needed a new cord. It is now one of my most used and prized tools..
 
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