New Drill Press

[5030]

I have two of those Sears drill presses, and I'd sell one of them too, as I'm drill press poor!!

SR

He's closer to me than you....

A decade ago or longer I was looking at mag drills for work really wish I would have bought one then.

I have a Haugen with annular cutters. Nice mag drill and very expensive too. I bought mine about 20 years ago and they were expensive then. They are extremely expensive now. The annular cutters are also expensive. I don't think you can touch one today under 2 grand though I haven't looked lately.

 

[5030]

The Baleigh I posted a photo of has the infinite variable speed. That is nice! Never will use its cooling system.

Aren't they built offshore somewhere? Isn't everything today?

 

[5030]

Here's my BIG drill press, I have $600.00 in trade into it,

I only use it when I really need it, as I have other drill presses for smaller stuff.

To the OP, have you considered a magnetic drill for bigger holes?? Then keep your PC press for the smaller stuff. A good mag drill works fantastic!

SR

Mag drills are big bucks today for a good one and like I said above, the annular cutters are also expensive.

I just use one of the Bridgeports I own for large hole drilling and if it's a really big hole in an odd shaped piece, I use a boring head.

I see you DO have one of the old quailty built Craftsman drill presses as well. Good machines.

You need to 'get after' those columns' with some 000 steel wool and and an oily rag. you have a surface rust issue. I keep my shop heated and air conditioned in the summer so the RH stays low and no surface rust.

 

[ArlyA]

Aren't they built offshore somewhere? Isn't everything today?

I think it came from Taiwan????? But I'm not sure. I would say its a good product.

 

[5030]

I think it came for Taiwan????? But I'm not sure. I would say its a good product.

Th quality of any product built offshore is entirely dependent on the oversight of the domestic buyer. IOW, if they can slide on something, they do. Good example is Makita. The Japanese built stuff is good but so is the Chinese stuff because they have constant oversight at the factory. Makita markets their China built tools as 'Tanaka'. I have one of the chainsaws and other then the body color (orange and black) versus the deep blue, it's an identical copy at a much reduced price.

Oversight is everything. That is what Grizzly does too. They spend a lot of time in the Asian factories making sure their stuff is built right.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Depends on the brand of mag drill, I know someone who has a much lower priced mag drill than 2K, and it works REALLY good. He's got Chinese cutters too, and they also are of good quality...

There are youtubes of guys buying cheaper ones and they worked pretty good.

SR

 

[rScotty]

IF your Porter Cable already is working for you, and will handle the drilling chores you have, I think I'd look hard at gearing it down to go slower and build a much better tensioning system. Buy pulleys and slow it down, then make a screw system to tension the belt.

That will cost you less too...

SR

That's maybe what I'd do, too. First thing I'd do is look at the Porter Cable and see if you like the rest of the drill press - except for the tensioning system. If so, then improve the tensioning system. PCs do have a good rep.
I'd bypass the HF or Grizzley in favor of a real nice older drill press every time.

I do have some thoughts on using a mill as a drill, because I lucked into a nice little 220 Volt mill from WWII vintage that is about half the size of a Bridgeport. Found it on Ebay and had it shipped from Chicago.
Originally three phase, but I bought a 3 to 2 phase converter and a variable frequency drive. That combo with a multiple pulley gives the three phase motor monster torque right down to almost zero RPM. For big drills I often run it at around 50 rpm... or less.

An old mill is nice for drilling - they typically have wonderful vises, hold-downs, and will do angles. But there are downsides. On most mills, the quill doesn't throw as far a drill press. So you are forever moving the table up and down. Of course it will mill as well. I'm no machinist, but it only takes a day to figure out basic milling. Plus you can crank up the speed and it makes a dandy router in metal, plastic, or wood.
rScotty

 

[5030]

My Bridgeports have 7" of spindle travel and what I really like is the 3 speed power downfeed.

 

[5030]

Depends on the brand of mag drill, I know someone who has a much lower priced mag drill than 2K, and it works REALLY good. He's got Chinese cutters too, and they also are of good quality...

There are youtubes of guys buying cheaper ones and they worked pretty good.

SR

Been down the Chinese cutter road before but then I mostly use carbide insert tooling anyway. I use Ken Metal or Iscar.

I don't much care for Chinese cutters in general but then again, you get what you pay for as with anything. The Chinese haven't really perfected hardening high speed steel in my experience.

As a rule, I only watch YT vids for entertainment. Most of them are worthless blatherings by people who don't really have a clue.

 

[5030]

Porter Cable

FYI, Porter Cable is all offshore now. Having said that I have a PC 4 1/2" angle grinder I beat the heck out of and it still running but... First thing I did was pull the right angle gear drive apart, flushed out the goo junk grease that was inside and regreased it with a quality synthetic grease. The Chinese grease leaves a whole lot to be desired. Looks like dark yellow petroleum jelly, but it could be sweet and sour sauce as well.

The Bauer corded grinder and the PC grinder are one in the same.

 

[BravoXray]

I replaced the single phase motor on my 17" Craftsman drill press with a 3 phase motor and added a VFD. Now I have speeds from 0 to 3300 just by turning a knob. I love it and use it on nearly a daily basis.

 

[5030]

If I remember correctly, the one I own has about 12 spindle speeds via step pulley. Freq drive isn't a bad idea but in my case, because I use a vertical mill most of the time, I have no need to convert it.

 

[Ed Weber]

Powermatic has a new gear drive drill press, pricey though.

 

[1971K20]

I use a Milwaukee Magnetic drill, it will go as slow as you need, fantastic for Stainless, you need a stout Steel table to use it for a shop drill.

 

[LibraryMark]

If you can find an old milling machine it will make a drill press seem like a piece of garbage.

Thumbs up on this comment! And if you get one with power downfeed it really helps drilling large holes. And having a milling machine opens up a whole new world in metal working, especially if it has a DRO. If it's a three phase machine you can get a single phase variable speed drive for it and have all kinds of speed control.

However, I have not thrown away my bench drill press even though I have a vertical milling machine. Some jobs are just faster to set up on it.

 

[balrog006]

I have a real nice Craftsman floor drill press that I'd sell you. It's an early model with a cast iron table and base, not the current cheap stuff. It's capable of low speeds, I drill steel with it all the time. Comes with an angle capable drill press vise too and built in work light.

Good bearings, NO spindle runout at all. I tend to use one of my Bridgeport mills for drilling anyway and not the drill press. It's American made (Kalamazoo, Michigan) too.

I see you are local to me (Michigan). If interested, shoot me a PM.

I have two of those Sears drill presses, and I'd sell one of them too, as I'm drill press poor!!

SR

I might be in the market if either of you are close and still have one you’re looking to part with-thanks.

 

[sallyb]

I have used my HF Drill Press for just metal drilling for over 5 yrs. I have no complaints, and frankly thought it would only last for the one project I was doing at the time, their 14” metal chop saw didn’t last the project, have bought another HF and so far it does what it should.

 

[Al 2]

Not what the OP was asking for but as some may have mentioned an electric variable speed on the drill press is very nice. I have one with a rheostat and DC motor that I bought from someone . Very usefull when drilling 1/2" holes or larger holes. Also has reverse. Search around as there are many articles about how to install a variable speed treadmill motor on a drill press.

 

[Flad]

Hi' I am a retired Maintenance Fitter/turner, As far as I know you will not get a NEW decent drill press for 1K that will give you the power or low enough speed to drill 1" holes be it a drill bit or hole saw in steel over 1/8" thick, cheaper drill presses will do the job but you will either burn out the hole saw or over load and burn out the drive belts if the motor dose not burn out first. If the smallest size pulley sheath on the motor is less than 1"dia it is only suitable for wood or up to 1/2" in steel.

Best bet is to find a used industrial drill press either a geared head or 12 to 16 speed belt driven, No3 MT spindle that way you can get a chuck up to 3/4" but most common size is 1/2" to 5/8" with a spindle depth of 6" or more you can even get a collet chuck with a set of collets , 30RPM low speed with a reversing switch also lets you tap threaded holes squarely without the need for a tapping chuck you just have to be ready to reverse the motor, I do a lot of tapping on my machine up to 3/4" unf. A floor mounted with a wind up table and a decent table lock is desirable, square or round table is not much of an issue, mine is round and has a 12 position indexing table I have never found a use for. it's a Parker Australian made precision drill press built around 1990 and weighs around 100kg.

I got mine really cheap at auction because it had a three phase motor on it with a bent foot plate mount, it was hit with a fork lift, replaced it with a single phase 1200 rpm 1 hp motor $175 Total cost $575 AU.

Do yourself a favor and stay away from any of the cheap Chinese light weight crap even their mill drills are garbage.

 

[tree grower]

I would not recommend a Clarke. Bought one a few yrs ago from Tractor Supply and broke it when inserting the chuck per their instructions. They gave me the run-around for several months until the State's consumer protection office wrote them a letter. Besides, I wouldn't say mine is up to the performance stds required by jjeff.