Wanted: First and Last drill press I'll ever own

[Deere Dude]

I have a Sears 40 yo floor mount and works great for most needs. In a Facebook buy and sell sales forum someone put a 13-15"? floor mount drill press and an older Sears jointer with a lot of bits for $60. It put it in the WTF why not category. Not I got a press in the shop and one in the barn, and used seldom but they are there when I need them.

Actually, as often as I use the floor mount feature I could get away with a simple bench mount press.

 

[Ford850]

Sharp drill bits can make even a marginal drill press shine. I learned this after upgrading to a larger Grizzly drill press because I was tired of my pathetic bench top Black and Decker. Well, as long as I was getting a new press, I decided to learn how to properly sharpen my bits. Wow, my new press was awesome! Then one day I dragged the bench top B&D out to the barn for an 'on site' project, since it was portable. I chucked a sharp bit, and wow, all of a sudden that old thing worked like I never remembered. I now use the little B&D more often than the larger Grizzly since it is convenient, and mainly because I have sharp bits.

 

[Dadnatron]

Speaking of sharp bits...

I recognized I needed to sharpen mine yesterday, when I was almost laying on my drill, to go through some sheet metal. I finally just took out a nail, punched a 'pilot' hole, then drilled out the rest. It was pathetic. I don't know who let them get so dull, but he really needs to be reprimanded.

 

[Big Barn]

Probably the SAME guy in my shop.

 

[lostcreekranch]

Have you guys ever looked at the Drill Doctor bit sharpeners?



Quick and easy bit sharpening.

I bought the low end model 350x several years ago then upgraded to the 750x last year.

 

[oosik]

My Drill Doctor is at least ten years old. Works good for bits from around 1/8" up to around 3/4". Below 1/8" is sort of hit and miss - hard to control the sharpening process. There is an upper limit for Drill Dr and I think its around 3/4" maybe up to 1". There is a learning curve but once its mastered the bits are very close to brand new after sharpening.

 

[marchanna]

How well a drill bit works is often not dependent on how sharp it is. In fact many bits are intentionally dulled in the factory in the form of an 兎dge prep or 渡egative chamfer? The principle behind this is that a slightly dulled edge will remain sharp longer. The real issue that impairs the drill from cutting is the wearing down of the cylindrical margins on the outside diameter of the drill point and the wearing off of clearance at the cutting edge. And of course large chips. In many cases a drill may appear and feel sharp, but actually needs to be ground back a 1/4 in order to clean up the margins. Be careful not to anneal the steel when grinding: if it changes colour , then you致e imparted too much heat.

 

[Redneck in training]

I had some broken/stripped bolts in a pump that occasionally re-occur (design weakness.) I was using a hand drill to drill a hole, then insert an EZ out spinning in reverse to get the broken bolt out. But sometimes my aim was bad and if I was a little off I ruined the threads in the pump while trying to get the bolt out.

My solution was to buy a Craftsman drill press from Sears. Since I always wanted a drill press, I bought the top-of-the-line most expensive model. It's heavy and lugging it home and setting it up was a chore. Laser sights and all the goodies.

When I fired it up, that's when I learned it doesn't operate in reverse.

You can temporarily cross the V belt (like number 8) to reverse the rotation. If your chuck is mounted on thread then it might not work. Mounted on a taper will work.

 

[goeduck]

The real issue that impairs the drill from cutting is the wearing down of the cylindrical margins on the outside diameter of the drill point and the wearing off of clearance at the cutting edge.

Easy for you to say

 

[lostcreekranch]

How well a drill bit works is often not dependent on how sharp it is. In fact many bits are intentionally dulled in the factory in the form of an 兎dge prep or 渡egative chamfer? The principle behind this is that a slightly dulled edge will remain sharp longer. The real issue that impairs the drill from cutting is the wearing down of the cylindrical margins on the outside diameter of the drill point and the wearing off of clearance at the cutting edge. And of course large chips. In many cases a drill may appear and feel sharp, but actually needs to be ground back a 1/4 in order to clean up the margins. Be careful not to anneal the steel when grinding: if it changes colour , then you致e imparted too much heat.

As noted, I use my Drill Doctor 750X but, mostly just on larger bits. I don’t try to sharpen the smaller bits. These bit sets at Woodcraft fill that void.

1-Piece Combo Brad Point And Twist Drill Bit Box

It’s a combination of smaller twist drill and brad point bits. I use the brad points for woodworking and twist drill for steel. Really nice to always have a sharp bit. Woodcraft used to have boxes like this that were twist drill bits only and brad points only. You got many more of each size. As I recall they would go on sale for $19.99.