Magnetic base drill recommendation

[hosedragger622]

Looking for recommendations on magnetic base drills, size, brand, etc. I have i a couple jobs coming up that i have to get through 1" plate, 1" and 1.25 holes. If thats not enough info please feel free to ask

 

[matt_i]

I have a Milwaukee. the larger size with MT3 (morse taper #3) spindle and the adjustable base.

Those sized holes would do best with an annular cutter and essentially trepan the hole instead of turning it all to chips. Hougen I believe makes a mag drill with an integral spindle for their annular cutters.

A regular holesaw will also work but only if you pre-drill 4 chip clearing holes of about 1/4" diameter around the perimeter. The annular cutter will be much smoother if that matters.

 

[lis2323]

Any model Hougen would do the job for you.




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[Joebass]

I have two Jancys that I've been happy with. Both use annular cutters and are way lighter than a Milwaukee

 

[Chuck122]

I would recommend hougen. They seem to strike a good balance between performance, ruggedness and weight. For that kind of hole you can probably use someting like an hmd904. Unless you really think you are going to need the extra capacity I'd advise getting as small as possible because the weight goes up pretty quickly on the larger models which makes them a PITA to carry and setup, especially if you are drilling overhead or in a wall. I have used Milwaukees big and small and as far as im concerned the big ones are too big and the small ones are not very rugged (less than the hougen at least)

 

[sk farmer]

how many holes do you have to drill?

if it is just a few on one job do you really need top of the line?

i have an evolution mag drill and every size annular cutter from about 1/2 up to about 1 1/8 by 1/16. some new, some used, some import, some domestic . i don't think i have 600 in the whole setup. i won't say it is top of the line but i keep the cutting fluid running and it keeps right on drilling, i have drilled 100's of holes, maybe 1000's. never missed a beat. i have no reason to think it will fail me.

 

[Dustball]

What's your budget?

 

[matt_i]

What's your budget?

A 60T ironworker could pop in the 1" dia holes in A36 but I think you'd have to be @ 80T to pop out 1.25" dia slugs.......BAM! DONE!

But the punch also has a throat depth where the magnet drill does not...

 

[lis2323]

A 60T ironworker could pop in the 1" dia holes in A36 but I think you'd have to be @ 80T to pop out 1.25" dia slugs.......BAM! DONE!

But the punch also has a throat depth where the magnet drill does not...

Plus the mag drill is portable and the iron worker......well not so much.


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[Bigmo1]

I spec'd out and bought a smaller Hougen for work, w annular cutters between 1" & 1.75" drilling 3/4 plate in a verticle position. Its prob the best set up you can get. But youre talking about $1500-2000 range for drill and cutters

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[tarbellb]

Plenty of good brands out there, definitely like and have a Hougen.

But good to hear from SKfarmer about the Evo drill, they are dirt cheap (check Ebay!).

 

[Renegade1LI]

I have a hougen & milwaukee, love the hougen hate the milwaukee, however the milwaukee is set up with a 3 jaw chuck, but weighs a ton. The hougen drills definitely are built to last & almost every iron worker shop comes with a hougen when erecting steel. I think our oldest is about 35 years old, doesn't get used every day but isn't babyed either.

 

[Iron Beaver]

I got a mag drill a few months ago and did a bunch of research. I'll share what I found out:

First some brand info that I gathered:

I didn't research Milwaukee or Makita. They both make mag drills but I wanted one from a manufacturer more geared to metalworking tools.

Fein: Lightweight and versatile, seem to have a decent reputation. They have a range from economy to premium. If you are feeling really spendy, check out their cordless mag drills

BDS Maschinen: German made and great reputation; again ranging from economy to premium. CS unitec rebrands these as the MAB series I believe. If you are feeling spendy check out their pneumatic mag drills and get a biiig air compressor to power one

Hougen: I think USA made? Again, I read and heard nothing but good things about them. You will pay extra $$$ for one with a coolant reservoir though.

Nitto Kohki: Ruggedly built and seemingly made to drill hole after hole after hole in a semi-production environment, especially if you get one with auto feed. Nitto kohki uses their own cutter design, and their shanks will not interchange with any other manufacturer's. You are limited to NK cutters only in your mag drill. The upside of this is their wonderful quick-change system which is rock solid.

Euroboor: I think this is the OEM for Fastenal MagBeast drills as well. Little known but made in the Netherlands, look out for good deals on eBay. I don't know much about them other than that.

Unibor: Made in England, offer some pneumatic options as well. The few things I heard about them were good; again since it's a lesser known brand look out for good deals on eBay.

In general, I would look for one with a coolant reservoir that can continuously feed your cutter with fluid. A morse taper spindle would add a ton of versatility as well, I wish for one on a regular basis. Auto feed is a very nice luxury feature and many manufacturers offer at least one auto-feed model, but those tend to be their most expensive models.

 

[Iron Beaver]

Other brands that have intrigued me are Alfra, Steelmax, and Evolution. I know nothing about them.

In addition check out this place, I get my cutters from them: www.mrmtool.com

 

[tig]

I decided on the "Fein Slugger JMU 137-2QW".

I really wanted multi-speeds and reverse for tapping.

It should be here next week... I'll keep y'all posted.

 

[Bigmo1]

Hougan...they make a more compact one, weighs about 25 lbs, 2" depth capacity and up to 2" cutter capacity.Around $1400. Used these in power plants, rugged and reliable.
Model:HMD905 PN:905105

 

[isb cornbinder]

My HOUGAN is 50+ years old and still works like new. The drill motor is a Black and Decker, reversible. Those were the days when B&D made tools were the standard for excellence.
If I were to buy a new mag-drill, I would likely get a Milwaukee unit.

 

[Renegade1LI]

Buying a Hougen for drilling is like buying a Ridgid for pipe threading, sure there are others but these are the industry standard. Plenty of good knock offs out there, all depends on your end game.

 

[quickfarms]

I really like my Milwaukee

 

[Lwel9226]

I have a smaller SteelMax.... Works very well, Cost about $800 several years ago.... I have more in tooling than the drill cost.... probably about $1500.... The auto lube only works in the upright position.... sidewall or overhead you need an oil squirt can....

LynnW

 

[tig]

I decided on the "Fein Slugger JMU 137-2QW".

I really wanted multi-speeds and reverse for tapping.

It should be here next week... I'll keep y'all posted.

I'm in love.

 

[Iron Beaver]

I can't decide whether to ogle the mag drill in the foreground or the beautiful red BMW (?) on the lift.

 

[Rinspeed]

We have two of the larger Milwaukee at the shop purchased last year and they are a beast. I had wanted to buy Hougen but the boss wanted Milwaukee. Not really cheap but they can save you a ton of time.

 

[The Tool Tyrant]

"I'm in love." That becomes obvious when you start drilling holes for no apparent reason!

 

[tig]

I can't decide whether to ogle the mag drill in the foreground or the beautiful red BMW (?) on the lift.

See my garage thread for more of where that came from ;-)

"I'm in love." That becomes obvious when you start drilling holes for no apparent reason!

I see what you did there.

On a related note, did you note the guy above's screen name?

 

[dr_clyde]

I have a Hougen HMD 904 for annular cutters and an old as balls Milwaukee that has MT3 spindle for holding drill chucks or reamers or whatever.

They both have their place. If all you want to to make holes, and make them fast, the Hougen is your tool. Annular cutters are incredibly efficient. If you feel the need to drill small holes, drive taps, or other round tooling, the MT3 spindle of the Milwaukee is very, very handy.

 

[lis2323]

I have a Hougen HMD 904 for annular cutters and an old as balls Milwaukee that has MT3 spindle for holding drill chucks or reamers or whatever.

They both have their place. If all you want to to make holes, and make them fast, the Hougen is your tool. Annular cutters are incredibly efficient. If you feel the need to drill small holes, drive taps, or other round tooling, the MT3 spindle of the Milwaukee is very, very handy.

Sound advice. [emoji106]

I have a Hougen with the optional drill chuck.

Ideally I would have a second mag drill permanently set up with a MT spindle and (or) drill chuck.

I sold my Hougen 904 a while back. Obviously I hadn't thought it through too well. Lol[emoji23]





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[Woods_Wanderer]

I got a used Hougen 904 recently and have been super impressed with it. My local tool shop sells Unibor annular cutters which have also been great, 140x 5/8" holes in 3/8" plate for my first project and the cutter still looks almost new.

 

[Craftfab]

For those of you with coolant tanks on your mag drills that self feed through the pilot pin, do you use them or do you just coat the work surface or cutter before each hole?

I have about 180 holes I want to drill in my table and trying to decide if I want the coolant tank model Hougen 904s or not.

 

[Rinspeed]

Coolant makes a mess, oil makes a hell of a bigger mess. How much of a difference is there in price.

 

[timgunn1962]

It depends a lot on the job in my limited experience.

Drilling upwards, it's usually a case of applying cutting paste and adopting a philosophical attitude. Drilling downwards, oil is usually cheaper than the extra cutters you get through when cutting dry. The potential mess can also affect the decision on what is the most appropriate course of action.

For 180 holes downwards into a table, I'd say the oil is a no-brainer. Poly sheet under it, couple of cans of brake cleaner and a shoproll, will cost less than an extra cutter.

 

[Walkers]

For those of you with coolant tanks on your mag drills that self feed through the pilot pin, do you use them or do you just coat the work surface or cutter before each hole?

I have about 180 holes I want to drill in my table and trying to decide if I want the coolant tank model Hougen 904s or not.

Most of the drillsI have used you can squirt the fluid of your choice into the space above the pin before you start drilling, so you need to have the reservoir attached to use its feature.
I keep an aeroso can of cutting oil as well as a stick of cutting lube handy. Both seem to work fine.

 

[eejack]

Coolant makes a mess, oil makes a hell of a bigger mess. How much of a difference is there in price.

Out in the field ( steel erection and beam modification ) we use Hougan slick sticks - a waxy stick lubricant - to great effect. No where near as messy as oil. I pretty much use these slick sticks for all of my out and about drilling and taping. Pretty sure they come in a little 2oz and a 16oz stick.

As far as which tool to buy, been using Hougans for maybe 30 years without a complaint.

If you are up in the air with one like I often am, a safety rope is essential for the occasional power failure that releases the magnet.

 

[Craftfab]

Thank you all. It is about $100 more for the coolant set up vs standard. The non-coolant bottle version has a spot above the pin as Walkers mentions that holds what Hougen claims is enough coolant for 1-2 holes (at least in the 904 versions). I am planning to use some sort of cutting fluid either way, or slick stick, but wasn't sure if coolant bottle set up was worth it. A lot for the videos I have seen in research even show coolant bottle versions running with the bottles empty and coolant applied to cutter or surface before cutting.

 

[tarbellb]

Wax or slick stix is the most versatile and cheap. If you can wax it, do it.