Replacement drill press recommendations?

[rScotty]

I hope you can find a good used Bridgeport mill. Others are good, too. We use our shop mill for everything. It's one of those tools that I never thought I needed until one happened along. Now I can't imagine being without. The old manual mills manual ones are fast becoming very cheap. There may yet be a few out there in tech schools, junior colleges, or old machine shops. Probably same price range as the better 18" drill presses. Be sure to get the vise, collets, drill chuck, and some bits. Hire a rigger to move it to your shop - it's worth it.


I use mine for a drill press all the time - and for wood-working as well. I just got through using it to do a project with invisible joints using glued dowls. Last year we used a flycutter to flatten one side of an ornamental hardwood slab. .

The other day a friend brought over a vintage cast part with a broken hardened bolt down inside a tapped hole. We clamped it down and center drilled that broken bolt with a tiny carbide end-cutting milling bit. A few steps later and out she came. You couldn't have done that any other way I know of.

There are times I don't even turn the motor on - just use the mill to hold something absolutely solid and dialed in to hit a true center while I turn the qull by hand. Nice tool.
rScotty

 

[etpm]

A Bridgeport type mill has an advantage that is not obvious at first if you are not familiar with them. They are super flexible. The largest part of the machine is the column. On top of the column sits the saddle. The saddle has a dovetail machined into it and the ram fits into this dovetail. The saddle can be rotated 360 degrees. The ram can be moved back and forth in the saddle. The head bolts to the end of the ram using a complex joint. Because the ram can be moved back and forth the head can be moved closer or farther away from the column. The complex joint that affixes the head to the ram allows the head to be tilted in two axes. If you are facing the machine the head can be tilted, actually rotated, 180 degrees in either direction. The 180 degree rotation is used for shipping the machine. When rotated 180 degrees if a drill chuck was in the spindle it would be pointed straight up. Also, when facing the machine, the head can be tilted so the the spindle faces toward the column or away from the column. All these degrees of freedom allow for all sorts of complex setups. And I have certainly used all these degrees of freedom many times on my mill and mills at places I have worked. If you get a mill, and you should, get one with the variable speed head. You will not regret this decision. If you don't get the variable speed head you will curse the decision. A VFD is not a good substitute for a mechanical variable speed head. A power feed for the X axis, the long axis, is also really nice. I use mine all the time. If you do get a mill I will help you with advice on how to use it and what accessories you will need. I'm retired and would not mind at all sharing my knowledge.
Eric
P.S.
Get a mill.

 

[Fallon]

A mill has been on my to do list for a while. I picked up the Precision Matthews 1340gt back in 2018. Pretty happy with the Tiawanese quality over China quality on it. A mill has been next on my list since then. A decent looking (at least on Cragslist) Bridgeport seemed to be arooun $4-5k pre-COVID here in the Denver area. Seems to be pushing $7k now. Not nearly as much heavy manufacturing here near the Rockies as back east & a lot lower supply of old mills & the like.

I know they can be had for cheaper, but I dont have the time, tools or experience for a mill restoration. I keep eyeing up a Bridgeport or a current clone as the standard for what I want. Getting a slightly smaller PM knee mill may end up being my path just to get something not worn. Getting a used private sale mill often means included tooling, which can cost as much as the mill itself.

Good to hear a mill mosty replaces a drill press. More motivation to keep the curren DP limping along & save up for the mill.

Been watching This Old Tony, Blondie Hacks, Abom, CEE Australia & a pile of other machining channels for a while. So have a decent clue about the gear & skills, but little to no hands on experience on a mill.