# New Ellis 9400 Drill Press received.



## Alan H. (Apr 2, 2017)

I upgraded my drill press this past week.  I ordered an Ellis 9400 drill press Monday from Elite Metal Tools and it arrived via Fedex Freight on Friday.  This was another great job of customer service by Elite Metal Tools to get it to me so fast.  The Ellis is anything but cheap but the pricing that Elite gives you is some of the best around and their customer service and communication is excellent.

I recently bought an Ellis band saw and was impressed with it.  So that moved me off of top dead center to go ahead and get the drill press.  I had been studying the Ellis for a while now and I am glad that I pulled the trigger.  I spoke with Ellis factory reps on three different occasions with lots of questions to be sure that I understood what I would get.

It was crated up very well by Ellis Mfg. and Fedex treated it quickly but also kindly.  I stripped the top of  the crate off while it was in the trailer and then got it off.  This thing is heavy.  Ellis says 675# net (confirmed in one of my calls to them).   I bought the press, their six inch vise and the ball bearing chuck they offer.

As usual, I gave the HF hoist a workout.  This thing deflected the arm quite a bit!  My son and I managed to snake it into the shop from the garage.  This wasn't our first rodeo on that challenge.  I tried to figure a way to stand it up with the hoist but only manage to get it off the pallet skid and partially rotated up.  We finally gave up and stood it up by hand.  I could barely handle my part.  Glad my son is young and strong!    

I gave it a customary bath in mineral spirits and WD40 to remove the oil and then moved it to its location.

Skated it to its home in the corner of the shop devoted to machining.    More to come in the next post here.


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## Alan H. (Apr 2, 2017)

The foot on the press is machined very flat and it sits on the floor with no wobble.  Overall the castings are good, and the machining is acceptable.

I bought the press with a couple of options.  First, the six inch vise that Ellis sells.  I also bought the 19mm (3/4")  ball bearing chuck they sell.  I am glad that I got both.  The vise could have been gotten through other vendors and there's a separate thread here on that topic that I started.  I just bit the bullet and bought the Ellis vise.  Time will tell on that decision.  The chuck is fine.  I checked the runout on it.  I checked it with a drill bit and a transfer punch.  I didn't have a ground test bar.   But the two tests I did landed at somewhere less than .003 and likely in the .0025" area which I was surprised and happy with..

More importantly, I also checked the runout on the spindle bore.  It is .00025" which I am also quite happy with.

While I was at it, I even checked the spindle to table squareness on a 11" diameter sweep and it was .004" delta right to left and .006" higher on the front and level on the back.   I think these are surprising okay, it is a drill press after all!

The press is self feeding down if desired and variable speed via a combination of VFD drive and an unusual 1/2 reeves drive.  Spindle rpms can be adjusted from 46 to 1265 rpms quite easily using the VFD and a lever which adjusts a variable pulley.  This lever has 3 stops and gives you what they refer to as torque ranges, really just three spots in the adjustable pulley range.   The VFD is a Mitsubishi D700 and is fed by 120Vac which then drives the 2 hp 3 phase motor.  Frequency range on the VFD is up to 120 hz and it appears that Ellis is comfortable with running it at 10 hz.  That would be about 1/6 of the motor nameplate speed.  I also did some testing with a handheld digital tach and built myself a speed chart and it attached here for fun.  I am likely going to add a tach to this monster so I don't have to refer to a chart.

So the measurements I did are encouraging.  The build quality is good and the beast is heavy enough it is not going to deflect and/or walk around the shop on me when I decide to drill a one inch hole in some steel.    The table lift is substantial and smooth.  It has two clamp locks on it and they are easy enough to engage and not drudgery like the other drill press that is also in my shop.  The column on this machine is impressive.  It appears that it is one piece including the flange that attaches to the massive base.  The machining on the column appears to have had very good attention paid to it.

So not bad for a big beast of a drill press.


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## RandyM (Apr 3, 2017)

WOW! She's beautiful.


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## FOMOGO (Apr 3, 2017)

Very nice machine, and you get that new machine smell as well. Cheers, Mike


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## bss1 (Apr 3, 2017)

You are really putting together a "dream shop" with all of the nice top shelf equipment. 

So what's next?


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## Alan H. (Apr 3, 2017)

What's next?  Tooling and more tooling.


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## mikey (Apr 3, 2017)

Gorgeous machine, Alan - congrats!

Two things to consider - get yourself a good drill chuck and look into rotary broaches.


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## randyjaco (Apr 3, 2017)

Enjoy it. I sure like mine. They are awesome machines. 

Randy


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## Alan H. (Apr 3, 2017)

Thanks Randy, in mid-February in a thread here on the topic your recommendation to me was to get one.

Here's the thread.  I should have moved faster!


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## danielM (Apr 4, 2017)

would love to see some things you create with your new tools! Please post.


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## Randall Marx (Apr 4, 2017)

Very nice! Jealous!!!


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## bretthl (Jul 20, 2018)

I am getting ready to purchase and came across this post.  One year + since you bought this machine - are you still happy with it?


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## Alan H. (Jul 20, 2018)

Yes and here's an example why -


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## bretthl (Jul 20, 2018)

Good to hear.  Thanks for the reply!


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## Silverbullet (Jul 21, 2018)

Nice to see one well made ,  is it American made or off shore. Your going to love power feed . You'll find your drills will cut more even and with less wear.


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## Alan H. (Jul 21, 2018)

Silverbullet said:


> Nice to see one well made ,  is it American made or off shore.  . . . ..



See post #10 here.


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## Silverbullet (Jul 21, 2018)

At least it's built here and tested means ALOT. Have some good luck sure is a pretty one too. I own an older enco but it's not a big boy . And a big boy Rockwell I hope to get out and use . My old walker Turner bench top with ships wheel is kind of my favorite for quick holes . I have too many tools .


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## bretthl (Feb 4, 2019)

I received a "Golden Goose" chuck with my 9400 (add on with the order through Elite).  Horrible chuck and it surely not ball bearing.  Will not grip a 1/2" shank no matter how tight it is cranked from all three key positions.  Ellis will not accept returns so beware if you are considering the "Golden Goose" - quack!


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## Baja_Dude (Sep 1, 2021)

i just ordered the Ellis 9400 drill press. After many hours of research, i decided on it. Has not arrived yet. Did get the ball bearing chuck and 6 inch vice. Considered the 'milling table' but passed since i current have a PM 833 mill


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## Winegrower (Sep 1, 2021)

If you guys like these drill presses, you’re gonna LOVE your Bridgeport.

I have a heavy duty Powermatic drill press that I rarely use, the mill being so much better.


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## Firstram (Sep 1, 2021)

Winegrower said:


> If you guys like these drill presses, you’re gonna LOVE your Bridgeport.
> 
> I have a heavy duty Powermatic drill press that I rarely use, the mill being so much better.


I have a 20" Wilton next to my Bport. If a hole doesn't need xx/1000 locating, it goes to the drill press!


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## Winegrower (Sep 1, 2021)

Firstram said:


> If a hole doesn't need xx/1000 locating, it goes to the drill press!


 i find it fast and easy whether or not high precision is needed.   With a DRO, you can run a string of evenly spaced holes way faster than laying them out by hand.   And for holes in the 4 corners, it’s not even close, getting them perfectly positioned in X and Y.

And I have a way superior vise on the mill, even though there is a good clamping system and fence on the drill press.

But, to each our own.


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## Firstram (Sep 1, 2021)

Winegrower said:


> With a DRO, you can run a string of evenly spaced holes way faster than laying them out by hand.   And for holes in the 4 corners, it’s not even close, getting them perfectly positioned in X and Y.


This falls into the xx/1000 category. 


Winegrower said:


> And I have a way superior vise on the mill, even though there is a good clamping system and fence on the drill press.


I have a 6" Palmgrin vise with stepped jaws and a speed handle on the DP. Its mounted on piece of 1/4" plate with slots perpendicular to the table slots, big T-bolts make it easy and fast to position. Full set of annular cutters with coolant fed arbor will quickly drill the holes that don't need to be precise. My old Wilton is a 650 lb workhorse that still earns it's keep almost every day.


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## kb58 (Sep 2, 2021)

I have the advantage of not enough space, thereby limiting myself to either a mill or drill press. The mill won.


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## Weldingrod1 (Sep 2, 2021)

I couldn't resist adding a vintage Craftsman with engine turned trim to my stable... it got a lot more use after I swapped down to a 900 rpm three phase motor to bring low speed into "metal" territory. A vise-grip like clampy widget and a vise let me lock parts into the right place quickly.
As a bonus, it doesnt need the spindle oil sacrifice ritual my Rockwell wants;-)

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk


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