Drill Press AND a Vertical Mill???

[woodchucker]

Finding a decent floor model drill press for a decent price has been the biggest challenge I am facing. I'm not about to drop $500 or more on one. I've been toying with the idea of bidding on one of these I recently saw in auction.

Swedish made radial drill. 7" column, 24" arm. It's a little less than 8 feet tall. Overkill?

how does that go up and down on the column, is it powered, or cranked?

 

[MyLilMule]

how does that go up and down on the column, is it powered, or cranked?

First off, the suggestion was a joke. I would imaging this well sell near $1k if not more.

But, I believe these are a crank. Some, like a Carlton, have a second motor to raise and lower the arm.

 

[MyLilMule]

I have a Clausing 8520 and an old Jet 15 mill drill in the garage shop and a Craftsman 15” in the wood shop . I think having a bench top high speed drill press would be handy is that what your dads is ?

It's an old Taiwanese import. 5 speeds. It only has a couple of inches of travel. Truthfully, I have no real attachment to it at all. I still have my Dad, he's 84, and this is just a thing. I wouldn't need it to remember him. He's the best father I could have asked for.

I have an old Craftsman workbench DP that someone gave me last year, that needs some work. Maybe I should get it down from. the shed loft and see if it's worth restoring.

 

[woodchucker]

I have a Clausing 8520 and an old Jet 15 mill drill in the garage shop and a Craftsman 15” in the wood shop . I think having a bench top high speed drill press would be handy is that what your dads is ?

unless you are using small drill bits, the high speed is not used much.
I use low speed more .. Even woodworking not much call for high speed. I have never used the top speed. I use the lowest speed a lot.

 

[Charles scozzari]

I have a small mill and three drill presses, could probably do without one DP, but don't expect to get rid of it.

I agree with the ease of using the Bridgeport as a drill press but I have a Ring Fu radial arm that I use for all my smaller work mainly because I want to take some of the load off the Bridgeport spindle bearings. But I do use the Bridgeport for my bigger drilling work. Thanks, Charlie

 

[Aaron_W]

unless you are using small drill bits, the high speed is not used much.
I use low speed more .. Even woodworking not much call for high speed. I have never used the top speed. I use the lowest speed a lot.

The little Dremel drill presses are pretty nice for small drills. Don't take up much space and are fairly cheap. There are of course much better ones out there but they can get rather expensive.

 

[Charles scozzari]

The little Dremel drill presses are pretty nice for small drills. Don't take up much space and are fairly cheap. There are of course much better ones out there but they can get rather expensive.

Very nice machines, but working with steel is hard on the Dremel. Thanks, Charlie.

 

[Bi11Hudson]

The little Dremel drill presses are pretty nice for small drills. Don't take up much space and are fairly cheap. There are of course much better ones out there but they can get rather expensive.

Having tried a Dremel DP, I'm not real impressed with the accuracy. I've tried both the current version as well as an older, better made version. In both cases, they could not be depended on to hit a specific point. That's one reason for the HF minimill. The other was speed; I do a lot of work with plastics, for electrical insulation. Drilling into the side of (almost 1/4) 6mm(?) PlexiGlas, the drill would heat up the plastic, melting it to the point that the 2-56 tap would slip in and out of a 1/16 hole. I solved the problem(s) by drilling very slow. The minimill has good repeatability, coming down the same place most every time. I can now tap a 1/16 hole and trust the finished size.

As a rule, small drills need to run fast, the smaller the faster. Working with acrylics, slower speed is necessary when the hole must be accurate. For drilling metal, a good center punch helps immensly to keep the drill running true. I use a 'prick' punch more often than a 'center' punch.

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[woodchucker]

Having tried a Dremel DP, I'm not real impressed with the accuracy. I've tried both the current version as well as an older, better made version. In both cases, they could not be depended on to hit a specific point. That's one reason for the HF minimill. The other was speed; I do a lot of work with plastics for electrical insulation. Drilling into the side of (almost 1/4) 6mm(?) PlexiGlas, the drill would heat up the plastic, melting it to the point that the 2-56 tap would slip in and out of a 1/16 hole. I solved the problem(s) by drilling very slow. The minimill has good repeatability, coming down the same place most every time. I can now tap a 1/16 hole and trust the finished size.

As a rule, small drills need to run fast, the smaller the faster. Working with acrylics, slower speed is necessary when the hole must be accurate. For drilling metal, a good center punch helps immensly to keep the drill running true. I use a 'prick' punch more often than a 'center' punch.

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Bill, with plastics, I find a step drill works great, it doesn't grab and try to feed itself. Don't know if you use them. I would think a 2 flute straight bit in you size would be good as well for plastics.

 

[Bi11Hudson]

There is the size problem involved. A 2-56 screw is 0.086 dia, the tap drill I use is 1/16, 0.062. A couple thou off, but I don't need steel quality 80% threads. The problem is that when a small (1/16) drill runs fast, it melts the plastic as it drills. The depth is usually 3/8 to 1/2 inch to allow for the tapered threads on the end of the tap. For larger sizes, I do use a step drill. The plexi is 3mm (~1/8"), the hole either 3/8" or 12mm (15/32). Twist drills cause way too much drift and cracking. The step drill gives near perfect results.

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