does anyone make a small bench top drill press with long travel?

[BTL-A4]

Are there any manufacturers that make a smaller, bench-top drill press (9-12" or so) that has more than 2" of spindle travel? I would like 3-1/2" or 4". I've been looking at new and used and they all seem to be the same travel. Thanks!

 

[RTM]

I think this Shop Fox is 3-1/4", larger may have more. Not a super precise machine, but remember (speed quality price, choose any two.)

Grizzly T33901 - 14" Benchtop Drill Press with LED Light & Laser Guide - Grizzly Industrial, Inc.

<h1>T33901 14" 3/4 HP Benchtop Drill Press with LED and Laser</h1> <h2>An affordable drill press with unique features and precision capabilities to maximize productivity.</h2> <p>This 14" benchtop option is a perfect choice for a beginner or an experienced hobbyist looking for a functional and...

www.grizzly.com

 

[KwikFab]

I can check tomorrow how much travel my Wen drill press has but I know it was at least 3" since that was one of my requirements when I first got it.

Runs about $230-240, and it uses a "CVT" style method for adjusting speed on the fly.

Here's an old picture of when I first got it -



Had gone with a keyless chuck days after I got it -

 

[paulsomlo]

Generally, you need a large drill press to get long spindle travel - my Buffalo 18 has about 6" of travel.

 

[johnre]

Grizzly T33959 has a 4 11/16" spindle travel, 1 HP motor, two belt drive system, and 15" swing. It's essentially got the same power head that they use on their T33960 floor model, they just sell it with a shorter vertical column so they can call it a benchtop.

But then, you're going to pay almost the price of the floor model, of course.

 

[whateg01]

You can buy a floor model and cut the column down

 

[tool_scrounge]

Delta / Rockwell did make the “6+6” 15” series of drill press in the 1960-1980 era. 6 pulley speeds and 6” of quill travel. Most commonly it is seen as model number 15-665. Available in benchtop also I believe.

Photo Index - Delta Specialty/Delta Mfg. Co./Delta-Rockwell/Rockwell Intl. - 15-665 | VintageMachinery.org

 

[BTL-A4]

This Wen has 3-1/8" of spindle travel. I was hoping to find something smaller overall.

 

[whateg01]

Remember whatever travel the quilt has, that much of the quilt has to go somewhere. So more travel means the drill press head is going to be bigger. There's no free lunch.

 

[BTL-A4]

BTW, I have a 15-1/2" Craftsman Commercial DP that was my grandfather's. It's currently set up for drilling mortises, so I thought I would see if there was a small, used DP that I could use in the meantime to drill holes. It seems that what I want (long spindle travel, small footprint/size) may not exist. I thought I'd ask and see if anyone knew.

I found a really small one, but it is a high-RPM "sensitive drill press", not suitable for anything larger than 1/8" diameter.

 

[BTL-A4]

Remember whatever travel the quilt has, that much of the quilt has to go somewhere. So more travel means the drill press head is going to be bigger. There's no free lunch.

True, but I thought maybe there was a drill press that had extra travel, with the quill sticking up higher.

 

[darkzero]

I got an older gen (yellow) Wen 4214A (12") to replace my 8" Craftsman. It's got just a tad over 3" quill travel. I'm pretty sure the current orange one is the same.

Was a covid lockdown rebuild project. It worked fine when I picked it up, just dirty & a bit of surface rust. I tore the entire thing down, repainted, resurfaced the table, all new Japanese bearings. Also a few minor mods but I did something that is unheard of, I actually shortened the column. But I made an adapter to convert back to original height if ever needed.

I wanted a benchtop DP & still portable. It was taller than I liked & I didn't need the height. I still prefer a good ol keyed chuck for drill presses.

 

[dscheidt]

Was a covid lockdown rebuild project. It worked fine when I picked it up, just dirty & a bit of surface rust. I tore the entire thing down, repainted, resurfaced the table, all new Japanese bearings. Also a few minor mods but I did something that is unheard of, I actually shortened the column. But I made an adapter to convert back to original height if ever needed.

Looks good.

Industrial auctions used to be full of drill presses that had columns modified -- shortened, shortened and mounted to a special table, made into a gang set up, and so on. Even a decent drill press is pretty cheap, it can make sense to modify one to suit a production need, if building it into a fixture saves time, or reduces the skill required to run the machine.

 

[KwikFab]

This Wen has 3-1/8" of spindle travel. I was hoping to find something smaller overall.

Was busy today sorry, but yes that is the same one I pictured above.

Owned it for a bit and I've used it to drill a ton of ****.

Bought mine at HD as it was cheaper with my MIL discount (even with taxes included) versus Amazon.

 

[darkzero]

Looks good.

Industrial auctions used to be full of drill presses that had columns modified -- shortened, shortened and mounted to a special table, made into a gang set up, and so on. Even a decent drill press is pretty cheap, it can make sense to modify one to suit a production need, if building it into a fixture saves time, or reduces the skill required to run the machine.

Thanks

True that, I have seen some of those gang setups, pretty cool. Some of them that were made that way came on very nice "tables" that I would love to have as a workbench.

Still those didn't really come to mind (for me anyway) when I decided to make the modification. Also not even close to what you mentioned but it just reminded me of my Burgmaster. Brought this home one day years ago & it has been buried in the corner of the garage ever since. I really don't have a use for it nor do I have the space to use it but I can't bare to sell it. I should though someday as I know I will never use it.

 

[tool_scrounge]

Thanks

True that, I have seen some of those gang setups, pretty cool. Some of them that were made that way came on very nice "tables" that I would love to have as a workbench.

Still those didn't really come to mind (for me anyway) when I decided to make the modification. Also not even close to what you mentioned but it just reminded me of my Burgmaster. Brought this home one day years ago & it has been buried in the corner of the garage ever since. I really don't have a use for it nor do I have the space to use it but I can't bare to sell it. I should though someday as I know I will never use it.

I had a burgmaster for a few years. I cleaned it up and it ran great. Unfortunately it is really best for high quantity repetitive work. I finally sold mine due to not using it as much as expected.