Looking for drill press - light fab duties

[jproaster]

Hey all.

While the weather has made it harder to finish outfitting my small workshop, I'm enjoying having a place to work indoors.

So, I don't exactly know how the spatial issues will work, I know that I'd like a drill press (that's not junk) that'll do at least light fab work; though I don't really know what interests may come which might require a more robust unit. Never had a DP for metal work; so don't know much.

I've noticed a Rockwell in Cleveland Tennessee (30 minutes from me) for $475; craigslist.

Looking for options.

Thanks
John

FYI, I'm traveling between SE Tenn and Pittsburgh, Pa this weekend to visit my father. I'll have straps in my truck.

 

[American Locomotive]

Rockwell/Delta made some nice drill presses.

Drill presses are one of the few power tools where it is truly almost always better to buy old and used. Modern drill presses are very cheaply made, and will just frustrate you.

 

[ken w.]

I agree with used and old. The older Craftsman drill presses were made by quality manufactures such as Atlas , King Sealy , and others.

 

[matt_i]

I'm a fan of Powermatic and Clausing's 15" and 20" offerings. They are very close in design.

If you ever had aspirations to own a Bridgeport-y milling machine I wouldn't even bother looking at drill presses. The mill is all of that plus more.

 

[exmaxima1]

The DP you are looking at in Cleveland is not a Rockwell. It's a ROCKWOOD, a cheap Asian-made press, and not worth $100.

Keep looking.

 

[jproaster]

The DP you are looking at in Cleveland is not a Rockwell. It's a ROCKWOOD, a cheap Asian-made press, and not worth $100.

Keep looking.

Dude! I didn't even notice. Thank you!


Thanks for helping guys.

 

[Bretny]

If your doing metal work and drilling more than a 1/2in hole tou really want a 3 pulley DP..or a super slow one and those arnt cheap.

Look for a old one with a really large spindle pulley.

 

[jproaster]

Is the Craigslist vintage craftsman in Franklin, Tenn priced right?
I don't really want to spend that much...do I?

John

 

[larry_g]

If your doing metal work and drilling more than a 1/2in hole tou really want a 3 pulley DP..or a super slow one and those arnt cheap.

Look for a old one with a really large spindle pulley.

You really need to define what light fab is.. What materials are you working with, dimensions and the hole size you need to put in said materials. A lot of difference putting a 1/4" hole in 1/8" materials than a 3/4" hole in 1/2" material.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[lilredex]

Look for a Harbor Freight early model #38142......got mine for $40 and am really happy with it. It has the low speed I want for metal drilling.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=7350514

 

[Voi]

Is the Craigslist vintage craftsman in Franklin, Tenn priced right?
I don't really want to spend that much...do I?

John

If you mean the restored one, it doesn't have the center pulley much less the Vari-slo attachment.

Did you say you'd be in Pittsburgh?

https://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/tls/d/drill-press/6769129866.html

 

[tombell572]

jproadster-the Delta machine shown by Voi (above) is actually a fair deal for that machine. Yes, if you plan to derive income from your machines, it wont be cheap but in the end, you will appreciate the quality and reliability. Its a sad but true comment to to say all of the above but even if you are just doing work for yourself, you need machines that wont let you down. In the case of manual machine tools, old (USA made) is indeed better.

Tom B.

 

[jproaster]

To be honest Larry, I'm not sure. I've built a small shop (due to limited space) and I want to create a place to rebuild motorcycles, bladesmithing, and other such hobbies. I'm learning to weld as well; just something about working with metal that I'm discovering at 56 years.

John

 

[jproaster]

If you mean the restored one, it doesn't have the center pulley much less the Vari-slo attachment.

Did you say you'd be in Pittsburgh?

https://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/tls/d/drill-press/6769129866.html

Too big for my shop. Don't have the 3 phase either.

 

[OccupantRJ]

Look for a Harbor Freight early model #38142......got mine for $40 and am really happy with it. It has the low speed I want for metal drilling.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=7350514

I had one of this nature for years before I went larger, and it did fine for me for general woodworking and metal fab. It was a Buffalo brand, but the same unit. I made a decent amount of money cross drilling motorcycle brake rotors with it in the mid 70’s, at 96 holes per disc at 3/8” diameter.

 

[Voi]

Too big for my shop. Don't have the 3 phase either.

Okay. I just checked Nashville & Pittsburgh Craigslists while waiting for my boys & saw it. Pittsburgh looks much better, which isn't surprising.

Don't let other three phase machines scare you away. Lots of VFD threads on here. It's actually a benefit if you need to go slow.

 

[jproaster]

There's a smaller vintage unit in Washington, Pa that's inexpensive on CL.
That's the exact city I'm visiting this weekend.

 

[jproaster]

Hey guys.
Still wondering about the craftsman/atlas DP located Washington Pa. Found on Pittsburgh CL.
Thanks
John

 

[tool_scrounge]

Too big for my shop. Don't have the 3 phase either.

Don't discount 3 phase as the tend to sell for cheap. You can get a variable frequency drive (VFD), plug it into standard wall power, and get a variable speed motor in the process.

Details - easiest to do with 1 Hp or less 3 phase motors if you have standard 15A circuits. Make sure the motor is 220VAC and not 440VAC.

 

[American Locomotive]

Hey guys.
Still wondering about the craftsman/atlas DP located Washington Pa. Found on Pittsburgh CL.
Thanks
John

You really should provide links instead of having us dig through pages of CL adds to find what you're talking about.

 

[exmaxima1]

Hey guys.
Still wondering about the craftsman/atlas DP located Washington Pa. Found on Pittsburgh CL.
Thanks
John

I had one like that recently that I bought for $50, and it was perfect w/no missing parts. Not bad for wood or small holes in most metals. Runs too fast for bigger holes >3/8" in steel or any hole saws. The one listed is missing the spindle cover (worth $50 by itself), the depth stop looks non-original, and the single handle is the low end version--3 knob is better. The motor looks very small as well. It's a $50-60 DP in my book.

 

[Gotcha640]

Hey guys.
Still wondering about the craftsman/atlas DP located Washington Pa. Found on Pittsburgh CL.
Thanks
John

Several come up, share a link for feedback.

I've been happy enough with a 12 inch bench top Ryobi, DP121, for the last 8 years. It was $180 new from a big box. It was one of the only ones with a full size motor on a bench top drill.

I've used a 3 inch forstner bit in oak to hog out large mortises, run a sanding drum, 2 inch hole saw to fishmouth tube for a roll cage, made several brush guard bumpers including 5/8 holes in 1/4 inch steel, etc etc etc.

Runout wasn't great when I got it, and it's worse now, but I'm not doing precision work. The lever to control speed is convenient, but probably not great for longevity.

If you've never had your own drill press, and you have a project coming up that you can use it for, and it's not a problem to pay for it, it's a great thing to have.

 

[crewchief888]

Look for a Harbor Freight early model #38142......got mine for $40 and am really happy with it. It has the low speed I want for metal drilling.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=7350514

looks just like the one i picked up from a local tool/industrial supplier a few years ago.

for the OP try to find a DP that has slow spindle speeds, mine goes down to 240 RPM.

mine has done everything ive asked of it.

 

[jproaster]

You really should provide links instead of having us dig through pages of CL adds to find what you're talking about.

Agreed. My bad.

 

[jproaster]

I had one like that recently that I bought for $50, and it was perfect w/no missing parts. Not bad for wood or small holes in most metals. Runs too fast for bigger holes >3/8" in steel or any hole saws. The one listed is missing the spindle cover (worth $50 by itself), the depth stop looks non-original, and the single handle is the low end version--3 knob is better. The motor looks very small as well. It's a $50-60 DP in my book.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Definitely not a good choice for me.

 

[bpjr]

The first thing I'd look for is a slow spindle speed.

 

[matt_i]

And of course the Bridgeport recommendation was hopefully a joke.
Limited space, drilling knife scales, a hole in a motorcycle frame part,no real path set for your plans, no experience in the subtleties of how bad a used mill can be...just don't.
I'm not thinking skipping the 40 to 100 purchase and go straight to a $3,000+ Bridgeport mill plus toooing is the best path.

It wasn't a joke the OP mentioned a DP @ $475....but if you're ready to drop that on anything less than a serious machine like a Clausing 20" (etc) and see yourself eventually wanting a milling machine, I'd keep saving.

What tooling do you need to drill a hole other than an R8 adapter to whatever chuck you're using plus a vise? The DP is just assumed to come with a chuck and probably needs a vise anyway. A mill w back gear is going to save a lot of edge tooling over a DP which probably can't go below 300rpms.

Not trying to start a mudslinging match but i urge anyone to look farther down this path before proceeding.

 

[454ragtop]

"My 100 buck Ryobi bench top does everything I need" If you've never used anything nicer, then you don't know what you don't know.

 

[ez-duzit]

Avoid Harbor Freight, China-made, and all Craftsman. One of the heavy duty Taiwan-built, bench-top drill presses would probably serve you. I bought one decades ago for $99 and, though I have much better machines, still use it. Came with crank-up table.

 

[ScottsGT]

Keep watching C/L I guarantee if you grab the first one you find, a week later a much better deal will come up. I picked up a floor model Rockwell made in USA for $250 from a guy that bought it from a woodworker. He used in a short time in his garage and replaced it with a mill. It cleaned up really nice.

 

[fsae0607]

I'm happy with mine:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/PORTER-CABLE-8-Amp-12-Speed-Floor-Drill-Press/1000132463

I added the Rogue Fab 16:1 reduction kit and it rules.

 

[ScottsGT]

This is what I picked up for $250. The main selling point for me was the 6" of travel.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=404821&highlight=rockwell+drill+press

 

[mikegt4]

To be honest Larry, I'm not sure. I've built a small shop (due to limited space) and I want to create a place to rebuild motorcycles, bladesmithing, and other such hobbies. I'm learning to weld as well; just something about working with metal that I'm discovering at 56 years.

John

I get the impression that you may be expecting to use the DP for light duty milling. This would not be a good idea as the DP chuck is usually held in place with a taper which is for axial use only (drilling). Side loading can loosen the chuck and cause it to fall out at speed. Additionally the DP bearings are not robust enough for side loading. If you do envision some milling use I would at least step up to a "mill/drill" machine which won't take up a whole lot more room than a decent size DP.

That being said, I have a Jet 16.5" DP that I bought 20 years ago. It has been a good machine. They are often found used on CL.
http://www.jettools.com/us/en/p/16-1-2-drill-press/354169

 

[ez-duzit]

I get the impression that you may be expecting to use the DP for light duty milling...

Forgetaboutit.

 

[bpjr]

I have two bench top Taiwan DPs and like them...the small one (1/3hp) is used for hobby (model airplane/boat) stuff and small metal, plastic and wood pieces. Bought it in 1985 and its still going strong. Looks like the basic one HF sells. The larger is a Northern Tool 1/2 hp and has more space and power for larger parts. I paid $180 about 7-8 yrs ago. It looks similar to the Klutch brand they sell now. Neither of these are precision tools for building space shuttle parts but do everything I've needed.

 

[xman_charl]

My desktop drill presses.

Grizzly was about $300, 1 year old.

Central Machinery about $200, fifteen years old.

both have 1 1/2 hp DC motors

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Charl

 

[isb cornbinder]

I bought two ancient camel-back drill presses. It kind of happened and I did not resist. These 100 plus year old machines perform really well. They are my daily-go-to drilling machines. After a hundred year and possibly thousands of holes drilled, bot of thee machines are still up to the task. I have had an imported round tube back column 1/2" drill press. I bought it at a respected machine shop supply, 38 years ago.
For me, it is very satisfying to drill a hole with an old Hoefer or a WF and John Barnes camelback. The slapping and ticking of the flat belt drive is therapeutic.
These old machines are still out there and for sale every now and then.
I find that I have to explain these machines to persons who should know. I guess the old school tech has slipped into history and my shop.
I find that I am using my milling machine for drilling. This may be an option for the person looking for a better than average drillpress.

 

[lafester]

The delta dp 220 is a good bench top.
I have the 17" with vfd like was posted earlier and it really doesn't take up a lot of space, and wiring a vfd is very very simple. All you need it 2 ft of space and you can use the area below the table for some storage space to make up for it.

 

[garandman]

What about https://www.lowes.com/pd/PORTER-CABLE-8-Amp-12-Speed-Floor-Drill-Press/1000132463

I’m only drilling sheet metal and 1/8” aluminum most of the time.

 

[ez-duzit]

What about https://www.lowes.com/pd/PORTER-CABLE-8-Amp-12-Speed-Floor-Drill-Press/1000132463

I’m only drilling sheet metal and 1/8” aluminum most of the time.

Might as well get a used Taiwan DP for ~$100