drill press selection?

what I find essential

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

I lived with an inexpensive old Delta machine for years, then bought a new one, not for the reasons I eventually found to be the reasons I should have bought a new one much earlier. So what were these features I found so valuable that I didn't know I was missing on the old machine?

1.A flat underneath table that is easy to clamp stuff too with F-style and C-style clamps.

2. A depth stop that is rapid and reliable to adjust.

3. A crank to adjust table height.

4. A 1/2" chuck that is quick to adjust and accommodates 1/16" bits.

My machine has a multitude of speed adjustments enabled by inconvenient changing of belts on 3 step pulleys. I rarely change speeds both because it is inconvenient and I rarely see any need to . The machine stays at a modest speed and that works well for about everything I drill from small fraction drills to large fostner bits. I suppose for production drilling there is an optimum speed. But I rarely drill more than one or a few holes at a time so optimum is irrelevant. So I just set it slow enough to accommodate all but my largest bits and be happy.

Re: drill press selection?

E Phillip Smith

The other option is to look for a vintage floor model (delta, Powermatic) with three phase motor with step pulley and add a VFD. I have a 20" delta setup like this and it works great. I haven't had to move the belt in 10 years.

Re: drill press selection?

JL

I've used the Powermatic VS over at the JCC Folk School. I really like it.

Would I buy one? If I were in the market for one, I would.

I have a Jet 17" belt and pulley drill press that will last and last - so one isn't in my future.

Re: what I find essential

Steve Elliott

Bill's list of important features matches mine. I work in a shop with a floor model but I use a little benchtop drill press 95% of the time. I've filled in the underside of the table with plywood so I can clamp anywhere. I leave the belts on the lowest speed so large diameter bits will work and small bits work OK too.

The main advantage of the benchtop model is that I can set up a large door or case part on my assembly bench using 12" high supports and adjust the drill press table to 12" too. It's way easier than trying to set up supports on the floor.

For large diameter holes I can drill a template in 1/4" MDF and use the template to rout the hole I need using a pattern bit. The result is cleaner and it's easier to get the hole in just the right place.

Quick set-up is more important to me than the power or size of the machine so I keep a couple of fences and a larger auxiliary table top handy so I can increase the size of the table by putting in a couple of screws.

The depth stop is important and the little Delta I have has a good one--easy to set and reliable. The floor model has two nuts that are supposed to lock but they can't be tightened enough by hand to keep them in place when the machine vibrates.

The benchtop press can't handle deep holes so there are times it isn't adequate, but for most things I prefer the little one.

Re: drill press selection?

Jesse Cloud

I have a 15 year old Delta floor model. Wish I had VS, but like JL mine does ok and I'm not in the market for a new one.

I agree that an easily adjustable depth stop is important, also a way to lock the plunge at a random point, so I can have the bit just barely above the workpiece while try to locate the target point under the bit.

Think about what speeds you need. I would like a lower speed that mine offers for a few applications.

Think also about the maximum and minimum table heights you will need - very important if you ever clamp things up vertically for the drill press.

I also vote vintage

Dick Coers

But when looking at vintage. When I see the arc of shame in the cast iron table, I keep looking. If the person can't take the effort to put a piece of scrap wood under the stock, they didn't take care of the rest of the machine either.

New drill presses are just way too overpriced. I'd look for a 50s, early 60s Delta, earlier Buffalo, or the best one to buy is a Clausing.

Re: what I find essential

AZ in Colorado Springs

I have a floor model general and it has the same two knurled jam nuts for the depth stop. The ones that loosen.

A simple wrap with blue masking tape keeps them in place.

Re: what I find essential

Barry Irby

Most of the things Bill mentions are on my wish list. I have a almost fifty year old 16" floor model Delta/Rockwell I bought new.

I don't have the crank to raise the table, but I recently added a counterweight and pulley and the table is very easy to adjust now. I also dedicated a crappy wrench to the bolt on the table so I don't have to hunt for one anymore.

I also have a couple of dedicated clamps that are bolted to the table. I took them off a drill press I bought and sold recently. A nice improvement. Never occurred to me to have the bottom of the table flat. I would add a big oversized table with T tracks and whatever, but I my tiny shop that would require moving the DP to a different location.

Mine has about four speeds, but I never adjust it like others have mentioned.

I would like to have a quick adjust depth stop and have thought about buying one from a newer model but have not been bothered enough to do it. I have several sets of slip joint pliers and they make quick work of locking the two nuts together to stop them from moving due to vibration.

Two other things, mine has a six inch stroke and I like it. And mine has a single double ended handle though the shaft. At first I was put off by the lack of the three pronged handle some have, but came to realize I can slide mine to one end, making a long single handle for excellent leverage. That sometimes pays off with the hollow chisel mortising attachment.

Somewhere along the way I added an excellent half inch chuck that will close to 0. I have a set of drills that go to less than a 1/32" and I have used them. I use a No. 60 bit fairly often.

I use the full height of the floor model occasionally.

Re: drill press selection?

Don Stephan

Wish I had more clearance between the chuck and the post. I think the furthest in I can drill in from the perimeter of say a 10" diameter circle is 7".

thanks for great suggestions!

Michael van pelt

I have neither the patience or the time to look for a used or “vintage” machine so I just ordered a new Powermatic. thanks !

Hope that works out for you

Dick Coers

My studio furniture maker friend detests his Powermatic. He's had it for quite a while, so maybe the table is perpendicular to the arbor now.

Re: Hope that works out for you

John in NM

Usually the tables on woodworking models can be adjusted. I've seen plenty of single piece castings as tables for machine shop drill presses, but usually the woodworking models can be shimmed if needed. Even my old Rockwell needs a bit of beer can under the locking screw to get it square, so its not just Chinese manufacturing.

Re: Hope that works out for you

Michael van pelt

I have sold woodworking equipment all my working career. The belief that old vintage equipment is better is like comparing a Model T ford to a new Ford Mustang. If I was driving to 3000 miles to California I would want the new Mustang. I do not have the patience or the desire to work on old tools. I am a furniture builder, not a mechanic. Talked with my friend at Powermatic and I am confident that the new Powermatic drill press will more than serve my needs.

Re: Don't forget Walker Turner

Hank Knight

I rebuilt a late 40s/early 50s Walker Turner. I couldn't ask for a better drill press. It doesn't have some of the features Bill listed (no fast depth adjustment, for example), but the thing is a tank and hums like a sewing machine. It will last forever.

Re: drill press selection?

DocJim

I am curious about using a VFD on my drill press. Do you set the drill to the maximum speed then slow with the VFD of is the speed set by the drill belts irrelevant? It sounds like a better way to control speed than changing belts.

Re: drill press selection?

William Duffield

I have the JET 17 too, and in over 20 years have never had any problems with changing belts. It has always been quick and easy, a lot quicker than changing bits or adjusting or changing the tables. There is a speed chart inside the belt cover with clear pictures of all the belt configurations and resulting speeds, and there is a Wood Magazine drill press speed chart on the wall behind the press.

OTOH, I would have concerns with the PM, which changes speeds via a Reeves drive. The speed range is much more limited that with three stacks of pulleys, and the long term reliability of a Reeves drive is not great.