Drill press

[10scDust]

4cs/d
4 x cutting speed divided by diameter
Cutting speed on most cold rolled steels 90 fps.
Answer is rpm of cutter, or work piece if on a lathe, to save tooling life.

[Revelator]

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

the old Buffalo floor standers were/are real work horses, They were real common back in
the 70's at many machine shops across America. They had a heavy duty morse taper
spindle, for large diameter drilling, & you can also stick a Jacobs chuck/MT adapter on
them for small drilling, below 1/2". And They can be found cheap. The large MT drill bits
are not cheap if you buy new, But there is a big supply of good used ones for sale out
there, As well as machinery, After the Traitors sold Us out to NAFTA & CHINA, Practically
gutting the manufacturing sector of USA.
ALso, Much of the older Machinery (pre 1980) is superior to what is produced currently,
Especially 60's & '70's vintage, That were made with pride. The only real issue is
replacement parts may be difficult or impossible to find, in some cases, especially with
pre '60's machines. But most of the high wear parts are basic standard bearings, seals,
bushings, etc. that can be obtained from a bearing house.

[Revelator]

The Burgmaster turret drill presses that predated the CNC era were
fantastic for production work. My Father was the west coast exclusive
parts distributor( & sales & service) for Burgmaster throughout the '70's & '80's up until the
factory shut down. Beware of japan clones that popped up in the '80's, They are inferior, &
replacement parts are not interchangeable with the U.S. made machines.
My Father currently has the only remaining stock of (NOS) parts for these "obsolete" machines
in existence, & some of the items are no longer available.
The bench models, such as the model 1D are great for drilling (&tapping) up to 1/2"
just beware that the parts are getting scarce for these machines, So You wouldn't want
to thrash or abuse the machine, And you would want to keep the gear box filled with a
good 90w gear lube at all time, and keep the ways greased through the zirk fittings.

Here is a model 1D (with the optional bench cabinet) that is on Ebay, with chucks &
a tappping head......
https://www.ebay.com/itm/382715759839


The smaller, Model OB machine was not in the same league as the 1D, And I would avoid
that model, no matter how cheap the price is, They are only good for small diameter drilling,
and the round feed quills are usually all worn out, And non repairable.

[rebel]

Revelator thanks for the info ,i checked out the one you shared from ebay ,thats more than i need and more than i want to spend on a drill press ,again thanks all info is appreciated

[rockman96]

Have you been watching Craig's List? I've seen good buys pop up on drill presses from time to time.

[49WR]

The bottom line on drill presses is even a cheap one that runs too fast beats using a hand drill. I've had a bench top Harbor Freight drill press for years that my wife picked up at a yard sale. I get decent accuracy by using a center punch and a small pilot drill bit. If I ever run across a good deal on a Craftsman or Delta I'll grab it. Farmall mentioned a milling machine which I would also love to have. Years ago I worked for a company that had a couple of Clausing-Colchester vertical mill that were about 2/3 the size of a standard Bridgeport. I would have loved to get my hands on one of those, it was the perfect size for sticking in the corner of a guys garage or small shop.

Hank

[seaking]

Buy CENTER BITS and use them after the punch for small layout work, or any work for that matter. It keeps bits from walking outside their mark.

[seaking]

Revelator thanks for the info ,i checked out the one you shared from ebay ,thats more than i need and more than i want to spend on a drill press ,again thanks all info is appreciated

BUY CENTER BITS. It keeps the work/the bit from walking. Then bore your hole and change back to a large center/chamfer bit to chamfer the hole.

Did you see what is in the chucks on that tool rev linked? a center bit, a regular bit and what appears to be another center used for the chamfer. That's three different tool changes you'll have to do without removing the work, that is unless you want your work to look like shit. This harbor-freight table clamp looks nice, you want to be able to center the work quickly and secure:

https://www.harborfreight.com/9-inch...amp-36221.html

If you're going to get the benchtop I'd say that's fine. I'd look up how to slow down the press with different pulleys on youtube first.

[rebel]

rockman96 i check craigslist and facebook marketplace ,daily for tools i found a drillpress at a pawn shop i am getting friday when i get paid,its a off brand made in taiwan it was only $109 i paid $20 down , 49WR i use a center punch and a small drillbit when i drill with the hand held drill, seaking my drill bit sharpener has the centerbit function

[rebel]

here is the drill press i bought at the local pawnshop,i had to order the center pulley,the old one was wore out,motor seems good ,i just used one speed it only has one belt until i get the other pulley ,so i can measure for the correct belts

[Stonedjesus91]

I got a cheap clarke i think it is. Flea market bargain but does what i need it to.