Hobby/micro drill press suggestions

[bigcreekdad]

Thinking of buying one before I take another plunge into a scratch build (Halifax). Harbor Freight has one for less than $60 that has pretty good reviews. Any other suggestions?

[Richmond]

dremel

[druxey]

What quality are you looking for? If you want a tool that performs well, you have the budget for it and one that will last, consider a Proxxon. Note that you will need their 12V transformer as well.

[Jim Rogers]

Dremel

[No Idea]

I have the Dremel drill stand / press and I must be honest the the slop and play in the mechanism isn't good.  It moves in most directions and I have found that you need a really big centre punch mark to get it to drill where you want.  Would I buy another one - NO.  Unfortunately I do not have experience of the Proxxon version so I cannot comment on that.  I am currently looking for a far more accurate replacement.

[Roger Pellett]

The first power tool that I bought was a full sized bench mounted drill press.  Almost 50 years later I still use it and find it useful on almost a daily basis and have never regretted buying it.  Like the Harbor Freight one that you are considering it was a “no name” brand.  As long as your’s has ball/roller bearings and a minimum of plastic parts I don’t see how you can go wrong.  You may also want to buy a quality set of pin vices as the Jacobs chuck may not handle very small drill bits.

 

Roger

[Jaager]

If you are needing the vertical drilling action and any milling is light cuts in model scale wood:

Eurotools DRL 300   - an Asian machine sold under many brand names.  It should not cost more than $80 US if you shop.

I bought mine from Otto Frei .   I added an X/Y table - it cost about what the drill did - I doubt that it has ball bearings for the spindle, so much lateral force is not a good idea,  blocks and careful cutting of notches in beams for carlings should be OK.

[ChadB]

The Harbor freight bench drill press is one of the best bang-for-the-buck tools I've ever bought. The keyless chuck is surprisingly good for a HF tool and it's still kicking 8 (or so) years later. Matter of fact, when I bought my Taig lathe and needed a motor I found it was cheaper to buy another HF drill press when it was on sale and take off the motor than buy one online. I had the dremel drill press stand beforehand and it was so sloppy. I guess you could get away with it but for the price difference it's better to an actual drill press.

 

Chad  

Edited November 24, 2018 by ChadB

[Chuck Seiler]

I have a Dremel.  Not bad for general drilling but too sloppy for precision.  Whatever you gt, make sure to also get an X-Y table.

[Bob Cleek]

The Dremel drill press has always gotten poor reviews. A good alternative, and a much more versatile model using the Dremel mototool is the Vanda-Lay drill press or, if you want even more versatility, their Acra-mill drill-mill option. http://vanda-layindustries.com/

 

Drill press without Dremel tool mounted. (They also make holders for 1" diameter Foredom handpieces.)

 

 

Acra-mill in various configurations. (It's essentially the drill press with an x-y table.) Not a bad deal for $160, all things considered. (Compared to the Asian $79 specials, remember, they don't include an x-y tablel!) It's limitation is, of course, the Dremel mototool's limited power, but, all things considered, it should be excellent for wood and light metal work. I don't  have the mill, but I have the drill press and am quite satisfied with it. I have other drill presses, as well, but for small bits held in collets, the Vanda-Lay drill press does the trick and doubles as a holding stand for the Dremel tool, which can be rotated to horizontal for small buffing and polishing applications.

 

Vanda-Lay also sells a $50 11" lathe attachment for their Acra-mill.

 

Like Jim Byrnes' "Model Machines," Vanda-Lay is a small "mom and pop" operation in Southern California. They responded quickly to my email inquiries. Seemed like good people.

Edited November 24, 2018 by Bob Cleek

[Jaager]

Bob suggested this for a Byrnes tool add on.  My drill press would be a lot more tedious to use without the momentary power foot switch. HF, I think.

An X Y table can run the cost up there.  Micro-Mark wants $120 for one.  AliExpress has one for $40.

[geoffs]

I have a good range of the Dremel add-ons but like the look of the Vanda Lay products.

Budget will just cover an Acra Mill providing the requested freight quote isn't too high, one of the problems with living in Australia 🙂

 

 

Edited November 27, 2018 by geoffs

[Landlubber Mike]

I have the Dremel workstand and as others have said, it's a bit wobbly and imprecise.  You can make it work unless you are looking for absolute precision.

 

In addition to the other suggestions here, have you considered looking at mills?  If you are thinking of eventually purchasing a mill, then it might be worth thinking about pulling the trigger on a mill instead which can also function as a drill press.  I have one of the Sherline mills and have used it more than a few times to drill holes.  They aren't inexpensive, but they will last a lifetime as they are built like tanks.

[wefalck]

One thing to consider is that many milling machines do not have a lever-actuated quill. If you need to drill many holes, cranking the mill had up and down could be pain. On the other hand, a mill is likely to be more accurate than a drill press, which could be important for using flimsy drills below 0.5 mm diameter.

Of course, it is a question of space and budget, but these drill-press stands sold for Proxxon or Dremel etc. hand-held drills all seem to be quite flimsy things without much options for adjusting bearing surfaces to take out wobble. I think there are adapter rings for some of these machines to bring them up to the standard 43 mm throat diameter of DIY power-drills. You then can use them in DIY drill-presses that are much more solid and can be fiddled with to be more accurate.

If your budget allows for a mill, there are also so-called 'sensitive drilling attachments', which are essentially a sleeve on an arbor that holds a small drill chuck and can be moved up and down like a quill. These allows to rapidly drill small holes. However, I do not have any personal experience with these.

[geoffs]

Well Larry from Vanda Lay just got back to me with a shipping quote that was less than expected.

Looks like I'll be placing an order soon for an early Christmas present 🙂

 

[Bob Cleek]

I'm sure you'll be happy with your purchase. If you want a quality piece of workmanship at the best price, albeit within the limitations of the Dremel mototool power source, there's nothing better than the Vanda-Lay tool system. There's nothing to complain about with their fit, finish, and accuracy. Just remember it's a Dremel tool system, not a dedicated drill press or milling machine with the power to hog off large amounts of material at one pass.

[grsjax]

I find the Dremel drill press stand adequate for 90% of the drilling I need.  Bolting it down to a solid surface helps.  For the more precise work a small bench top drill press is the way to go.

 

[Bob Cleek]

If anybody is in the market for a small dedicated drill press, the 8" Harbor Freight model that has gotten good review just went on sale in the latest HF catalog at $55. At that price, it's worth taking a chance.

[geoffs]

Just placed an order for:

ACRA mill with fine Z adjust and drill press option, lathe and a vice (hope I included that last item)

I might fo go for the router table for my birthday next year...

I was looking at Taig/Sherline mills but more that I really need (or can afford!) right now.

 

Merry Christmas to me!

[grsjax]

Another thing you can do to make the Dremel drill stand better is to fill the column with something to stiffen it.  A wood dowel of the right size or poring in epoxy thickened with sawdust will do the trick.

[paulsutcliffe]

Proxxon drill stand with enhancements "terminator Proxxon" no wobble in this setup and extra heavy, I don't even screw it down so I can use anywhere needed

Regards

Paul

[tkay11]

That looks pretty effective.

 

On mine I had to put a wedge between the drill holder and the support on which it revolves because it was very slightly out of the vertical. Is yours ok in that regard? 

 

I've enjoyed modifying mine as well. You can see all my mods to make it a mill in my build logs if you're interested.I

 

Tony