Drill Press versus Mini-Mill

[jwmay]

Here’s a Rockwell knee mill next to a 14” bandsaw.


This is an RF30 type mill drill next to a 13” drill press.


If you can’t tell from the images, there’s 9 feet between the walls in these pictures. I could have a hand on both machines at the same time.

I got to thinking last night about my personal complaints with the RC mill. There’s a clever fix for every one of them. I suppose, that I’m not the type of person to effectuate those fixes. But it occurs to me, that the OP has gone all out with his drill press already. So maybe he would remedy all those little niggles at the outset.

Anyhow, as the pictures might illustrate, these mill drills aren’t space savers. Now the OP did say mini mill, which I’d consider a different animal than the RF30 type machine.

Also, it took me a second try here, but yes, that big RC mill can out drill the 13” drill press. This drill press, while convenient to use, hasn’t got nearly the hole making utility. But it is much faster and easier to use for quick hole making below 1/2”.

 

[jwmay]

I neither have the funds or the room for a knee mill. This one cost me $960 at HF with a coupon.

I see where you’re coming from. I bought my RC mill as a part of a package deal with a lathe. It was $3k in 2015 or thereabouts. I sold my motorcycle to buy them. And I’d bought the motorcycle with deployment money. It took me 6 years to find the Rockwell at a price I could manage…$700. Just saying, I know how it is. Lol

But with the advantage of hindsight, it’s my belief that the small knee mill has made the biggest difference in my ability to get in the shop, get something done, and get out. I sold the RC mill within 6 months of buying the Rockwell, and I moved the drill press into the car bay. It’s almost exclusively used for holes in wood these days.

So now I just encourage folks to skip the RC mill, save a little longer or sell a kidney, and get the little mill first. It’s been a game changer for me.

 

[SouthernChap]

Here’s a Rockwell knee mill next to a 14” bandsaw.
View attachment 509519

This is an RF30 type mill drill next to a 13” drill press.
View attachment 509520

If you can’t tell from the images, there’s 9 feet between the walls in these pictures. I could have a hand on both machines at the same time.

I got to thinking last night about my personal complaints with the RC mill. There’s a clever fix for every one of them. I suppose, that I’m not the type of person to effectuate those fixes. But it occurs to me, that the OP has gone all out with his drill press already. So maybe he would remedy all those little niggles at the outset.

Anyhow, as the pictures might illustrate, these mill drills aren’t space savers. Now the OP did say mini mill, which I’d consider a different animal than the RF30 type machine.

Also, it took me a second try here, but yes, that big RC mill can out drill the 13” drill press. This drill press, while convenient to use, hasn’t got nearly the hole making utility. But it is much faster and easier to use for quick hole making below 1/2”.

Hmm, I hadn't realised you could get a proper knee mill that small. Space might not be so much of an issue I guess.

I bet smaller knee mills are much more expensive on the used market (especially in the UK, unfortunately for me ); really desirable for hobbyists.

 

[jwmay]

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This is the same size as a Clausing or Rockwell small knee mill. But it has a little bigger table. They aren’t cheap, no. But they have about 5 different ones similar. There’s even one with an electronic variable speed milling head.

Harbor Freight sells one too. The HF version is red, belt drive, and has a 6”x26” table.

And yes, you can buy 3 old Bridgeports for the price of the Grizzly versions. But you can’t build a new shop for that price. Gotta pick our battles. Ha!

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[Aaron_W]

Hmm, I hadn't realised you could get a proper knee mill that small. Space might not be so much of an issue I guess.

I bet smaller knee mills are much more expensive on the used market (especially in the UK, unfortunately for me ); really desirable for hobbyists.

Yeah not a lot of them, but there have been a few "1/2 and 3/4" Bridgeports made. Price does tend to be high on the small knee mills, you can often find full size Bridgeports in the same price range, sometimes less.

The Clausing 8500 family is about the same size as the Rockwell shown earlier. 6x26" table, a hair under 6 foot tall, 600-700lbs and can be run on 120v although many are set up with 3 phase 240v for use with a VFD to provide variable speed.


This is my Clausing 8520 mill with my Sherline mill on the table for a size comparison.

 

[Aaron_W]

As far as the drill press vs mini-mill as with many things that comes down to what you do. My mills can fill in for a drill press on most of my machining projects, but the drill presses have proven handy for some of my welding and wood working projects which are often larger.

 

[rwdenney]

My Bridgeport with a Jacobs chuck in the spindle does everything my (good) drill press does. And it does it with more rigidity, better alignment, and a deeper throat. The quill travel is longer than most drill presses, too.

But the drill press is still handy when I need to throw a hole in something and the mill is set up for something else.

My old craptastic import drill press now does duty as a drum sander, and that was always its highest potential.

Rick “buy screw-length drills” Denney

 

[matthewsx]

Here's mine. Badged as Samson like my lathe but I've never been able to find out who the original manufacturer is. It's a little bigger than the Clausing but smaller than a full size Bridgeport. You can just see my dad's old Craftsman DP tucked in the little cubby next to it.



John

 

[dml66]

Thank you all for the great replies and ideas!

I don't see anything like a RF 3x in my future, the price may be close but I can't imagine dealing with a 600-700# machine at this life stage.

After working with my DP the last couple days, I don't want to let it go. Not because I have so much energy invested in it, it's just so easy to use, produces great results, and it's paid for .

Let me refine my question a bit: would a mini-mill, like a Sieg X2D or clone, out-mill a DP regardless of how hot-rodded the DP might be?

 

[jwmay]

Let me refine my question a bit: would a mini-mill, like a Sieg X2D or clone, out-mill a DP regardless of how hot-rodded the DP might be?

I think so. I would never use a drill press for milling. But I’ve never used anything that small.