Drill press

[rebel]

what drill press do you have,

[Tattooo]

what drill press do you have,

A damn old worn the hell out one... But it does everything that I need it to do, Why do you ask???

[JBinNC]

If you are shopping for a drill press, try to find an older MADE IN USA one. The Taiwanese and Chinese drill presses that I have been unfortunate enough to have to use are just worthless junk. The spindles and chucks are very bad.
Try to find a Craftsman (most common for home shops ), a Delta, used in wood and metal shops, or if you are lucky and have money, an old Powermatic is the Cadillac of shop drill presses.

Jim

[DoomBuggy]

The old Delta's are very good machines as well

[Luky]

The old Delta's are very good machines as well

Luky here, I am page 6 of your 56 pinhead build. Great story so far!

[DoomBuggy]

Luky here, I am page 6 of your 56 pinhead build. Great story so far!

Ah it is getting good then

[farmall]

My drill press is a milling machine. They pay for themselves very quickly and don't depreciate.

Otherwise, what JBinNC said is the classic correct answer. BTW the best drill press vise is a milling machine vise. Kurt and clones are easy to rebuild if needed.

[DustyDave]

Welp I'm gonna have to disagree, Iv'e had pretty gooder luck with cheap chinesey drill presses as long as you throw the chuck and morse adapter over your left shoulder. Then Install a Jacobs chuck and adapter. There are some quality chinesey chucks out there but they never come on a drill press.
Dusty

[Peterson13]

I've got a few Deltas in my shop. Well made. I picked up a really nice variable speed at an auction for a few hundred bucks. Like Farmall, I usually will use a Bridgeport mill for drilling. My favorite drill press though is an old geared head English made Victoria. Large taper, power feed, big tee slotted table that will crank down low to allow some big work pieces and swings out of the way with a lever lock. The base is also tee slotted. Not a radial arm but it's a fucking monster that makes the Deltas look like toys.

[shovel625]

what drill press do you have,

Had a JET for 13 years, still runs strong and true

[Pliers]

Im on the Delta band wagon. Got a used one for $50. Though I would like a small milling machine, not sure where to start with those though...

[rockman96]

Im on the Delta band wagon. Got a used one for $50. Though I would like a small milling machine, not sure where to start with those though...

Might want to check out Grizzley’s offerings. Over the years I’ve ended up with one of their large bench top mills which has been sufficient (but I’d recommend going with a knee mill if doing it over), and a 14x40 lathe. Both are good quality and put out good work.

If you go benchtop, don’t get the round column... get the dovetailed square column.

[10scDust]

I picked up a J head Bridgeport milling machine head mounted on a Cincinnati base.
Sometimes I wish I had a lathe too.
For the small tasks, I have mounted a lathe bit in the vise, and the part in the spindle collet, rare occasion.

[rebel]

farmall what is a kurt and clone ,is it drill press or drill press vise

[rebel]

Tattoo i am looking to buy a drill press

[Tattooo]

Tattoo i am looking to buy a drill press

Cool, Buy the best one that you can afford and it will be with you for life..... The one I have I've had for 40+ years.... It's a floor model.... One heavy WFer.....

[farmall]

farmall what is a kurt and clone ,is it drill press or drill press vise

Kurt make milling machine vises which are expensive new but can be found used. They are often cloned by offshore makers. They have many options for work holding including the ability to use modified replaceable jaws. Image search will show more than words can tell.

Re: mill vs drill press, besides gaining milling capability (an enormous advantage) the mill permits precisely controlled positioning of the work because the mill table can be adjusted with the work clamped to it and precise drilling of holes in a desired pattern. It's more rigid than a drill press.

Drill press advantages are cost, size and weight.

If you are just messing with one or two bikes and don't plan on a serious shop, a drill press will do. If you want much, much greater capability to make and modify parts for damn near anything, a mill is the way to go.

BTW an inexpensive set of "machinist center drill bits" works with everything from hand driils to machine tools. They don't walk like twist drills which can walk even controlled by a rigid milling machine.

[MOTher]

I have both a Craftsman and a Delta drill press in my shop (and no milling machine) The Delta has a solid table which I drilled and tapped so I could bolt a 2 axis vise to it in a few different positions, and have used it for some lightweight milling. Don't get carried away doing this in a drill press, the bearings aren't designed for a lot of side load. The Craftsman has X slotted tables, one is smaller and can be tilted. What the Craftsman doesn't have is a rack and pinion with a crank to raise and lower the table on the column. Makes it a pain to do that, especially if you've got something substantial clamped to the table. Don't buy a drill press without that feature. Also, make sure whatever drill press you do buy, if you go that way, will go slow enough for metal work. Some tools designed primarily for woodworking turn or move too fast for some of the metalworking you might want to do (this is especially true of bandsaws) My Craftsman drill press also has a bent spindle at this point in time, but I don't want to talk about it. And no, it wasn't from milling.

[rebel]

all of you are giving me good information thanks,Tattoo a floor model is the kind i want,Farmall right now i will be happy with a drillpress, Mother i am looking for one with the adjustable table,

[thecarfarmer]

all of you are giving me good information thanks,Tattoo a floor model is the kind i want,Farmall right now i will be happy with a drillpress, Mother i am looking for one with the adjustable table,

If a milling machine isn't able to happen for ya', if recommend looking for the biggest frigging floor-standing old drill press you can get.

The key is how slow you can get it to turn.

For most uses, any drill press will be able to spin fast enough to do what you want to do, the trick is to find one that will turn slow enough. Drop the RPM, and you're cutting tools will last much, much longer when you're drilling holes bigger then 3/8 of an inch

One of the better drill presses I ever used at a place of work was an ancient old bastard, that used flat leather belts to drive the spindle. Big and ugly, but did really nice work. Sounds like somebody I know...

But, you could chuck up a hole saw and it, and cut a 3 or 4 inch hole in something, without burning the teeth off of the saw