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

[Big Barn]

To the OP.

I can only ASSUME you're a LOT younger than a lot of us (well ME anyways).

"First and Last drill press I'll ever own". Tools are in the same category as ALL things dear to men......guns, tractors, cars, women booze.

You will constantly be looking for ways to "upgrade". Newer, faster, bigger, sexier, higher octane. Don't get caught up TOO much in the details. Buy a drill, use it and enjoy it.

[Just my humble opinion of course. Let me know if you take my advice. You'll probably be the first. . ]

 

[BukitCase]

OK, so I maybe sugar coated it a teensy bit (only 'cause I don't REALLY wanna KNOW myself )

Let's see; 8" rotary table, $350 - 6" 3jaw chuck for rotary table, $300 - 3 clamp sets, different sizes, $50 each - Palmgren camlock vise, $200 - 5" Grizzly milling vise, $190 - 10"x7" tilt table, $207 - R8 collet set, $65 - Used Kurt milling vise, $200 (came with a free welding table :=) - Haven't even STARTED lookin' at what I've spent on mills, cutters, indicators etc, already up to $1662 -

Awright, 'NUFF of this "truth in advertising" crap, now I'm gonna hafta actually go out and USE some of that stuff so I'll FEEL better ...Steve

 

[marchanna]

Yup. A nice rotary/index table will easily cost one to two thousand dollars.

 

[Dadnatron]

To the OP.

I can only ASSUME you're a LOT younger than a lot of us (well ME anyways).

I'm at the last leg of my 40's, so I'll hopefully be around a while longer. I've learned a lot about myself over the years, and one of them is that I enjoy the 'research' of something as much as I enjoy the 'practice' of it. Perhaps moreso.

I only ask because when I began researching, my simple 'strong/dependable' drill press became a major undertaking of complexity. Who knew there was this much involved? heh...

Thanks for your advice. I think one issue I also have is that I keep everything I purchase. If I could allow myself to 'sell' something so I'd have the ability or the room for something else, I'd be better off.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I'm at the last leg of my 40's, so I'll hopefully be around a while longer. I've learned a lot about myself over the years, and one of them is that I enjoy the 'research' of something as much as I enjoy the 'practice' of it. Perhaps moreso.

I only ask because when I began researching, my simple 'strong/dependable' drill press became a major undertaking of complexity. Who knew there was this much involved? heh...

Thanks for your advice. I think one issue I also have is that I keep everything I purchase. If I could allow myself to 'sell' something so I'd have the ability or the room for something else, I'd be better off.

BIGGER BARN. Why would you ever get rid of anything? :confused3:

 

[BukitCase]

Thanks Brian; I wuz gonna tell him that, but I've already spent ENOUGH of his money ...Steve

 

[Navvet]

I have pondered the question of what to purchase... and have found my own knowledge wanting.

I've often found myself in need of a drill press over the last year. I've also decided to purchase one and I began my search, as I do so often, on Craigslist. Since this isn't something for daily use, I thought I would likely be able to find a decent used machine for a reasonable price. Thus far, I haven't found much that I was certain I'd be liking. Of course, anything is better than the nothing I currently have, but that is where I began wondering whether it was so.

After a little researching, I figured, right or wrong, that I'd like a couple things. I wanted at least 1hp and I preferred easy speed control. I figured I'd be using it primarily for work around the farm, but I've also thought I'd like to do some fab work and potentially a little blacksmithing down the road. I'll likely use it occasionally on wood as well.

About the only time I've used one was in woodshop in HS over 30years ago. So, I'm sure the technology has changed at least to some degree since then. But I don't know whether that is better or worse.

What is your recommendation on what I should be looking for, given my above goals? Its not that price is no object, it certainly is, but I don't really have a budget, I just want to get my money's worth, whatever I spend. But, if I'm not going to find something on Craigslist for a decent price, whatever I purchase be it new or used, I want it to be something that will take me 'comfortably' through the rest of my life. Basically, I'd rather pay a little more for something useful, than a little less and be fighting it.

About a year ago I was in the same position you are in now with the exception of having a limited budget. A big consideration for me was not having to mess with a bunch of belts and pulleys to change speeds. I wanted to just pull a lever to change the speed as well as having a fairly accurate (+/- 10%) speed indicator.

I discovered the Wen 12" Variable speed drill press at various retailers (Home Depot, Amazon, etc ....) Very reasonable price, surprisingly accurate and pretty **** sturdy.

As a rule I don't make tool recommendations, But as far as this one goes, I am very happy with it. Look at it your self, you might be surprised.

 

[TMGT]

I picked up this Clausing 2276 last year from a surplus auction, needs a little cleaning but appears to have little use and was still cheaper then the 20in HF press plus it's a lot more machine.

I have 2 mills, a turret and a bed mill, I thought when I bought the first mill 5 years ago I wouldn't need a drill press again but quickly found out I was wrong. Mills are great but aren't a quick/easy as a drill press for a lot of things.

And as stated, tooling can easily be 2-5 times machine cost for things like mills and lathes.

Don't let 3phase scare you away from a good deal, motor changes, vfd's and rotary phase converters are all viable options.

 

[Cord]

If you want a life machine, my suggestion is to pick up an older Delta (or equal) belt driven 3 phase drill press. The variable speed stuff goes for too much coin, but there is a better way to get the same functionality. I would then put a VFD drive on it and use that to provide the speed control. The belt drive will provide the ranges the VFD can operate within. I currently have three industrial machines driven with VFD's and I just love them. Generally you can buy this industrial stuff cheap because the factories don't want to deal with used stuff and the homeowners don't know how to convert three phase power.

 

[Erik M]

I have three presses, a General (Canada) 340 15 floor model with a 1.5 hp three phase motor and a VFD for electronic speed control, a Buffalo 18 tin top floor model beast for larger chores, and a Buffalo 15 tin top bench model. All of them are good solid North American machines that will outlast me, the most expensive one was the General at $300 because it came with a machinists table and the mortising attachment. I added a foot feed and the VFD and it is extremely handy for all drilling needs.