Drill press

[tsingle999]

Bought a cheap ebay ($80) drill press. Wow what a difference. Drills holes like a knife thru warm butter! What would take me a minute with a hand drill comes out in seconds with much better accuracy and no scratches. Check the 2nd photo to see the nice scrape the hand drill made. Highly recommended if you plan on drilling a few holes. Using a cobalt stepped drill bit too. Its pretty small and portable...

[4krow]

 The press is an obvious improvement, but don't overlook the fact that the cobalt coated drill bit is good and sharp. Depending on the metal I'm drilling, I sometimes will use a cutting fluid, and not get too crazy with the pressure. I stop shortly after I see a little smoke from the drilling fluid getting too hot. If I am drilling an even harder metal, I switch to a cutting wax.

[royewest]

I've been tempted by the << $150 Ryobi and similar drill presses Home Depot and the like carry. I also have a Harbor Freight in .5 hour driving distance I keep meaning to visit. After reading a number of reviews here and there on the web, I have come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as a modestly priced drill press that is well manufactured and reliable -- they are all fairly cheaply made and may need to be disassembled and tuned up before using them, and then they can't be expected to do much precision work, or not for long.

I'm mostly interested in case work on wooden enclosures for audio gear.

I'd love to hear from someone that my conclusions about sub-$1K drill presses are wrong...

[tsingle999]

Greg. Yes the cobalt bit is nice. But even in a hand drill it was sliding.
Roye. This is truly a chrap drill press but i know im only using it for a few chassis plates. All it has to do is drop straight  and spin. It is loud and if i were doing a high volume of work i think it wouldn't last for long i am sure.

[4krow]

   Concerning drill presses that are best for drilling wood,  there are two things I look for. First is the lowest speed of the press. Many are up around 500 RPM, and that is too fast for a forstener sp? bit. Try to find one with a low speed of 300 or under. Secondly, I want a sizable table to set the board on. Sure there are a few ways around that by clamping a larger table to the small one or using outrigger arms. The Jet brand of presses are exceptional in this regard. For what it's worth, don't bother with the models that are 'radial'. They might be useful for other types of work, but I have not found anything with mine, except the ability to telescope the arm for drilling beyond the table. 

[RPMac]

Royewest, you are correct...more precision means closer tolerances which means more $$$$$$s. But most any drill press is superior to hand drilling. A lot can be improved with technique. I mark my drill point with a spring punch, then enlarge the point with a hammer and center punch(an awl works well for wood), then drill a pilot hole with 1/8" or smaller bit(depending on thickness of work piece) at high speed and light pressure. To start, I lay the piece on the table unclamped; start the drill and bring the bit to the mark and touch it lightly. With a light piece, the bit will bring the piece to the center of the mark. With a heavy piece the bit will flex slightly. Cut the drill off and adjust the piece to the drill bit by bringing the turned off bit to the mark, then clamp the piece. Start the drill and bring the bit back to the mark. Watch for bit flex again and readjust if necessary. This is a little overkill for most work unless you doing machine work or gunsmithing.

For thick work pieces, I use the same start technique and drill about a 3/4 to 1" deep pilot with the 1/8" bit, then switch to at least 1/4" bit(bigger bit will drill straighter.

For bigger holes, I step drill, going up about a quarter inch in diameter each step.

Light pressure(slow feed speed) helps with precision, as does slightly higher rpm.

Dark cutting oil for steel, light cutting fluid for soft metals.

Something that is very important for precision with a drill press is the point of the drill bit. Needs to be sharp, equal height and angle on each side, and equal back rake.

Sorry I got carried away, but I hope this helps.

[royewest]

Thanks a lot for the advice. I'm mostly working with wood and have recently discovered the joy of forstener bits, so the advice to watch for a too-high minimum speed was particularly helpful.

[Mike B]

I have had a small (1/3 HP) cheap ($90) Chinese bench top drill press for years now.

I love it.  Much better than hand drilling.  Nice to have perpendicular holes.

Important to bolt it to the bench though, dangerous if not secured.

[Armaegis]

Anyone here have experience with those dremel attachments/setups that convert them into a drill press?

[4krow]

  I cannot speak for the drill press attachment, but I purchase the router attachment. If they are similar, then it is made of plastic, and is fair but not great.

[royewest]

I've been tempted by the Dremel drill press kit, too, but I don't think it's going to take a 5/8" forstner bit...

[2wo]

The Dremel might be OK for very fine work as a second press. You would be better served with a real press. They are very cheep and unbelievably useful. Here is a new one for $70, and there is always a 20% coupon around.

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=drill+press     

[Armaegis]

Guess I'll have to keep an eye out on the local used classifieds for a drill press. All of the cheap stuff in the shops up here in Canada are of questionable quality/reliability.

[4krow]

  There were only two that made me pee my pants. One is made way before my time. An old guy owned it. He is probably 90, and nearly blind. I offered to buy it, but he said, "I'm not done with it yet." I totally understood, but you might imagine what I was thinking. Then there is the one made by , well CRAP, I can't think of the company. It is over $1,000! Digital this an that. gold color, of course very heavy. Anyway, I'll never own one.