Drill Press

[JeffT]

I'm looking to buy a drill press. I'd like one that can handle both big jobs and little jobs. Any suggestions?

[CPDDET]

What do you mean by "Big Jobs"? 

[JeffT]

3 hours ago, CPDDET said:

What do you mean by "Big Jobs"? 

 

Bigger than ship model type drilling. So something that can handle up to a 1/2" bit but also bits less than 1/16. If there is such a thing.

[Roger Pellett]

This is an open ended question depending on where you live, how much you are looking to spend, and how much room you have.

 

So:  Assuming that you live in the US, are not intending to spend $1500 or more on a professional quality model, and are considering a bench mounted model, I would head to the closest big box home improvement store and check out their proprietary brand.  I would consider these factors:

 

Ball or roller bearing supported spindle with Morse taper.  The Morse taper is an industry standard so you can change chucks if needed.

 

Belt driven motor with stepped pulleys.  These can be changed if the motor dies. If  Integrated variable speed motors die that’s a problem.

 

Adequate distance between spindle centerline and column.  This determines the “size” of the machine.

 

The largest table possible.

 

The fewest plastic parts

 

The drill presses that I have seen at our local Menards are surprisingly cheap- $100- $150.

 

If you can find an older used one, it will probably be a better built machine that meets all of the above criteria.  Mine is a 50 year old Toolcraft, made in Springfield, MA it literally gets used every time that I’m in the shop and is still going strong. The same criteria would apply to a used machine, plus of course the spindle needs to rotate freely without play in the bearings.

 

You will have a hard time finding a bench top machine with a 1/2 in chuck and especially one with a chuck that will close to zero.  This doesn’t have to be a deal breaker.  If the spindle has a Morse taper, you can replace the chuck.  You can also buy Drill bits larger than 3/8in diameter  with reduced size shanks.  The chuck on my drill press will not close on a drill bit smaller than 3/32in.  I chuck bits smaller than this in a pin vice and mount it in my drill press chuck.

 

Roger

[JeffT]

Thanks Roger. I appreciate that information.

[Jaager]

For bench top all-in-one a mill can probably fill the bill,  However I predict that that a model that fit your requirements would have a significant foot print, be heavy, and be expensive. 

The advantage is that being a mill, the bearings would be meant to stand up to significant lateral forces - that is allow you to mill metal if that is something that you wish to do.

 

The other choice is to have a smaller bench top drill press for bits in the #50-80 range for your in door work room and a free standing economy drill press for your unconditioned shop.

I have gotten good use from my version of ah EuroTool DRL-300 -  I probably lucked out by buying it on sale from Otto Frei -  because they probably get the upper end of QA -  while a discount supplier may not be as selective. 

Sometimes, trying to do it using a compromise one does it all winds up costing you more in the end.

[JeffT]

That makes sense jaager. I don't think I want big, heavy and expensive so I probably should rethink this. Thanks

[toms10]

1 hour ago, Roger Pellett said:

 

If you can find an older used one, it will probably be a better built machine that meets all of the above criteria.  Mine is a 50 year old Toolcraft, made in Springfield, MA it literally gets used every time that I’m in the shop and is still going strong.

 

Roger

Hi Roger

You are absolutely right about old tool quality. 

I thought I was the only one on the planet to still own a worrying Toolkraft machine!  I have a 10” table saw that I use all the time to make furniture and the like. It was my father’s and like your drill press is 50+ years old. I can’t kill it ( not that I want to). Cast iron table and sturdy as heck. Probably last another 50 years!😁

 

Tom

[Bob Cleek]

What Roger and Toms said... You will find that "old 'arn" is by far the best bang for your buck if you can find one in good shape. I have my father's 1950 Craftsman bench top full-size drill press made by King-Seeley. It does all I've ever asked for it, keeping in mind that side-loading a drill press with a Morse taper chuck runs the risk of loosening the taper and having the chuck fall out at speed! (Light work on wood can be done, if you are careful. I use sanding drums on mine without a problem.)

 

 

The same model was also offered in a floor standing model with a longer post.

 

 

When buying a used (or, these days, new...) drill press, be sure to check the quill runout with a dial indicator. The lack of runout is critical if you plan to use the press for accurate work with small bits. Even a small amount of runout will break the small bits. With any sort of stationary machine tool, the heavier the better. Weight equals accuracy, as well as durability. (Note that on the pictured machines, the only bit of plastic on them are the phenolic knobs on the quill lever arms.) 

 

If you want to buy new, I'd take a hard look at the quality offerings from Grizzly. They have decent quality control and warranties. A good drill press should last longer than your grandson. They don't sell those at Home Depot or Harbor Freight.

[JeffT]

Thanks Bob.

[Charles Green]

Since we are talking of old drill presses: 

I've got one, bought new that's 45 years old now.  It was starting to rattle and I began looking for a new one.  The only one similar to it is made by Enco, sold by MSC and sells for $820.00. 

About that time I came across drill press rebuild videos on U-tube and decided to go that route.  Motion Industry is the only source I came across that sold all the various types of bearings necessary for the rebuild. 

All bearings have a universal ID number on them.  I ordered new, high quality, ones as per those numbers and I was in business.  There is plenty of metal in those old drill presses.  Replace the moving parts and you've got, essentially, a new drill press.  I also replaced the solid V belt with a segmented type to minimize vibration. 

All this was done with much less expense than a new Enco and it's more massive/ridgid than any of the other new ones selling for less than the Enco.

I will add that the drill press's original price was $175.00.  The rebuild cost under $200.00.  I could have gotten by much cheaper with less expensive bearings.  It would have been counterproductive but they can be had for as little as $5.00 a piece.  The segmented belt was the most expensive component.

Edited November 18, 2021 by Charles Green
Additional information.

[vaddoc]

The small Proxxon drill press TBM220 is fantastic. Very accurate, powerful enough, very small footprint. A lovely thing to have, along with a variety of carbide drills.

 

[Roger Pellett]

If you look closely at the pictures that Bob posted, there is a round collar just above the chuck.  This collar is threaded onto the spindle.  Unscrewing the collar pushes the chuck off of the Morse tapered spindle.  They used to sell collet chucks that would fit the Morse taper.  These collet chucks had their own threaded collar that screwed onto the threads on the spindle to lock the chuck in Place.  This allowed the drill press to be used for routing.  I have one for my drill press and it works well.

 

The higher end Rockwell Delta drill presses had interchangeable spindles.  One for drilling, another for routing.

 

Actually, I almost never use the drill press for routing.  I much prefer another vintage method:  Sears Craftsman moulding heads mounted on my table saw.  

 

Roger

[JeffT]

Thanks vaddoc. I was considering that for the smaller model stuff.

 

Thanks for pointing that out Roger. I do see that now.

[Charles Green]

Roger:

FYI on the Sears molding heads - Carob Cutter makes 38 different shapes of knives for the Sears tool and Woodmaster Tools of Canada will custom make any shape within the size limits of the Sears tool.

 

Ten years ago, and depending on the particular knife, Carob charged me between $18 to $27 for a three knife set.

 

Three years ago, Woodmaster charged me $90 for a custom three knife set. 

 

Carob Cutters: 1 800 745 9895.  Carobcutters.com.  They are in NH.

 

Woodmaster Tools:  1 902 893 1915.  Woodmaster is in Nova Scotia.   

[Cleat]

I have a benchtop drill press in my garage but I wanted something smaller for my hobby room.  I looked into the Vanda-Lay drill press because it makes use of my Dremel tool, I also got side tracked with the various configurations.  I ended up getting the Vanda-Lay Acra Mill with the drill press and X-axis configuration. 

The quality is good although I replaced the drill press springs with stronger springs from a hardware store.  Once I assembled it, I realized I probably wouldn’t want to remove the Dremel tool so I had an excuse to get another one.

I customized mine with a couple wooden tables & sacrificial piece to cover the metal plate and I replaced a couple set screws with thumb screws. 

As shown, I'm using it with a burnishing bit for leather working.

[Jaager]

There is another option in the bench size drill press:  There is a drill press mount for the Foredom flex shaft machines.

The accessory is far from flimsy. 

The motor options are for: high speed/low torque,   low speed/high torque,   medium speed/high power/high torque.

The hand piece options allow for either chuck or collet models to fit the drill press unit.

The bearings are probably up to doing any wood milling and there seems to be slots to mount an XY table - but the excursion does not seem to be heroic.

This is far from an economical option, but it is sort of a one machine does a lot sort of choice for someone who has not already made serious investment in a power tool collection.  As well as the drill and cutting tool function, and the fixed the drill press, there is a right angle grinder,  plus router table, clamp in a vise and small belt sanding functions .

[Bob Cleek]

I have a Vanda-Lay drill press, acquired used for the same reason Cleat got his. It works fine. I wish I had the Acra-mill set up, which includes a drill press function, but with so much more, particularly the X-Y table. Being powered by a Dremel Mototool, it's capacity is limited, but working with wood, it's more than adequate and much better than the similar drill press made by Dremel.

 

Note that Vanda-Lay can provide on special order 1" ID clamps for holding a 1" Foredom handpiece instead of the Dremel Mototool. (A crafty machinist would have no problem turning out a shop-made set from aluminum sheet stock.) I don't have the clamps for the Foredom handpiece, but will probably get around to it one of these days. That would give me the added power of the Foredom tool and the foot pedal speed control with good low speed torque, which, of course, is the major weakness of the Dremel Mototool. (I've been meaning to make a similar clamp holder so I can mount my Foredom handpieces on the cross-slide of my 12"X42" Atlas/Craftsman lathe.)

Edited December 10, 2021 by Bob Cleek

[JeffT]

Thanks Bob. I haven't seen that one before. That mill does look very interesting. I'll taker a closer look at that.

[sticker]

Hi jeffft     personally i dont think there is one drill press  out there that will do everything      ,i have  a large bench pillar drill which is great from 13 mm down to about 4mm   but the chuck wont close to any smaller than that  but you could use a small chuck in the big chuck if you get my drift  but the accuracy suffers   so for small modeling jobs  ie  4mm and under to around 1mm then i use a dremmel type in a  purpose built drillpress and for 1mm and under i use a hand held rechargeable drill just because of the feel you get ,  and i dont break to many small bits     so in my opinion   its horses  for courses   ,      by the way have you heard the saying?  ......you need a big hammer to knock in a big nail...... its very true

[Roger Pellett]

I was killing time last week at our local Menards store while my wife was spending quality time 😠 at the nearby Target Store, so I did some browsing in their power tool department.  Menards sells a 10in belt driven multispeed bench top drill press for less than $100; motor included.  The unit is equipped with a 1/2 in capacity Jacobs chuck.  The unit is compact enough to fit into a small workshop but large enough for serious work. To use it with small wire size drill bits a set of pin vices could be added; easily chucked into the Jacobs Chuck.

 

I am not promoting Menards, and have no connection with the company.  I assume that similar machines are available elsewhere if you look for them.

 

 

Roger

[JeffT]

Thanks sticker and roger. I do appreciate your input.

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

On 11/17/2021 at 4:47 PM, JeffT said:

I'm looking to buy a drill press. I'd like one that can handle both big jobs and little jobs.

You can find a chuck that close to 0 for a big drill press but trying to do a #65 hole with a big drill press, there will not be enough sensitivity in the handles and you will break many drill bits. For this you will need  a sensitive chuck.

 

But this is not the best way to go. For a small job, a small drill press and for a big job, a $100 drill press will be able to do few big holes but will not last many years.  A small drill press is rated very few material at the time and a big drill press can remove a lot of material.

 

For big jobs, in turning, milling or drilling holes, you need rigidity. At home, I have a Bridgeport milling but I do not have a drill press. The milling machine can drill holes

but the drill press cannot do milling. So it depends of what you intend to today and in the future.

 

[Roger Pellett]

Gaetan:

 

I would love to have a Bridgeport too but for me, and I suspect many other modelers too it’s beyond reach;  too expensive, a major project to get moved into my shop,  the cost of building building a foundation, and adequate electrical service.  I also find the sheer size and complexity of one of these industrial grade machines to be intimidating.

 

I use my  Toolkraft drill press bought new 50 years ago, almost daily; I use it to drill any hole where I can get the piece under the drill.  I have even resorted to a step ladder as an extra support for long pieces!  The chuck will not close on drills smaller than 3/32in so I chuck them in a pin vice.  I have used this technique to drill holes down to 1/32in dia.   The point that I made in a previous post above is that these new bench top drill presses sold by big box stores offer a lot of “big bang for the buck”.  Will they still be going strong 50 years from now?  Maybe not, but we live on a world where a 5 year old cell phone is considered to be obsolete by many other than me.

 

I agree that it is difficult to use a conventional drill press to drill very small holes.  The mechanical advantage of the drill press lever makes it easy to buckle and break tiny drills.  I would think that the same problem would exist with the Van Da Lay Dremel Tool combination posted above. 

 

Rather than purchase full sized machine tools,  I bought A Sherline lathe and milling column.  To this I added a sensitive drilling attachment.  This avoids the mechanical advantage problem and attendant drill breakage.

 

Roger

 

 

 

Edited December 9, 2021 by Roger Pellett

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

4 hours ago, Roger Pellett said:

Rather than purchase full sized machine tools,  I bought A Sherline lathe and milling column.

 

Roger, you are right about this, big tools are heavy and are not really suited for model making. I had a Unimat SL-100 in combination with the milling post.

What I hate the most was to turn the handles and also that .001" is about the maximum capacity to remove in a pass. Now I have 2 lathes and my favorite one is a tool lathe suited to make tools... and I did a lot of tools with it. The point is that there are a lot of different size of Lathe and this is  the same with other tools. The size of the tool is determined by the size of what you want to turn.

[Jaager]

I came across this on Ali Express.  I am reasonably certain that this would be a source of endless frustration and trouble, but it is low cost:

 

 

 

 

Although this is a bit of drift from the topic at hand,  months before, while scouting  an XY table to possibly fix to my Foredom drill press attachment, I came across this device  ( for a grinder tool)  on Ali Express.   Even if it is possible to mount a Foredom hand piece in way that is secure and reproducible in precision:   as superficially cool as it looks,  I cannot come up with a job that it would do that is relevant to ship model building.  Am I missing something?   Doing an inferior job at replicating a HF chop saw is about it.

 

 

[JeffT]

Thats pretty cool. I guess you just use a hand drill to operate it?

[Jaager]

57 minutes ago, JeffT said:

I guess you just use a hand drill to operate it?

A hand drill or most any motor that connects to a standard hex shaft,

I wonder how the chuck that comes with it is attached?  Perhaps a different chuck could replace it?

[JeffT]

Looks easy to remove.

[Roger Pellett]

The photo below shows my drill press with the Jacobs Chuck removed and the collet chuck attached.  The collet chuck allows the drill press to withstand moderate side loads; sanding drum and router bit.  The round knurled nut above the collet chuck is actually attached to it via a collar.  The but pulls the collet chuck up snugly on the taper and locks it in place.

 

This old drill press is easily the most useful power tool in my shop.