How to choose a drill press

[Robert1998]

Hello. I want to buy a drill press. I have read some articles but they want to sell drills and I prefer your experience.

What chararcteristics should I look for in a drill press?

The hardest thing I will work with will be steel. Probably no thicker than 10mm How many watts are proper? Should I look for an specific characteristic?

Thank you

Kind regards

 

[zzr1200]

How much do to want to spend on a drill press and what size chuck do you require???

 

[winchman]

Usually the older British Made ones are the best quality.
Meddings, Pollard, Startrite, FOBCo, etc
I am not sure if Spain has any Older drill manufacturers?
What's for sale locally? In general if you buy a good quality drill it will always keep its value.
The more speeds the better especially slow speeds if you need to drill large holes

 

[Benterrier]

Do you intend to use it regular or just light hobby use. In my opinion you get what you pay for. Go for the best quality you can afford and look for something with a realistic slow RPM. Some of these budget Chinese jobs are ridiculously fast and are not built to last using poor quality materials.
I went for an old vintage 1960 British made Fobco Star and am currently close to finishing a overhaul. It will have cost me a total of £160, its rock solid and a quality product.

 

[gaz1]

Hello. I want to buy a drill press. I have read some articles but they want to sell drills and I prefer your experience.

What chararcteristics should I look for in a drill press?

simple, solid and well made if precise work is needed everytime

hobby stuff chinese made rubbish will get you through

 

[frank horton]

again dont know whats over there but early Taiwan made equipment will be cheap and well made.....
pretty sure if it's ALL made from cast iron ur on the way.....
make sure u put a big rod, say 10mm dia in the chuck and give the rod a pull/push...
if it wobbles walk away .......
a decent older drill press in the UK would cost around £250 now.....
sometimes more for Meddings etc.....everybody know's what they are worth now....

 

[zx9]

everybody know's what they are worth now....

Not everyone, some still just want to clear space.
My Meddings came from a wood worrier friend who asked if I wanted it as it was destined for the skip outside his railway arch, his business partner having just bought a new Clarke , I was round with the van sharpish. I did feel a bit guilty so took him a nice bottle of wine next time I called around his place, he was more than happy.

But to the original question, unless it is for business use and needs all the modern safety gear that a new one would have bide your time and wait for the right price on an older machine.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

If you can, get one too heavy for you to lift on your own. The Colin Chapman theory doesn't work for things like this.

 

[atomant48]

As for features one of the thing that annoys with mine is the table is not geared for raising / lowering so I’d definitely look for that. Often find myself struggling with the table as the drill sizes go up.

 

[bigegg]

Get an old cast iron one - as slim says, get one you can't lift.
Bearings can be replaced, reasonably cheaply.
So can motors if necessary.
And the pulleys, to change your speed choices.


Rack+pinion lift on the table is nice.


A floor drill actually takes up less room (if that's an issue) - the "foot" goes under the bench, and only the pillar comes through the worktop. Then the table can be lifted or spun out of the way.
My meddings mb takes up nearly 2ft of worktop - I mounted it *in* the worktop, and gained a *lot* of bench space.

 

[Robert1998]

Thanks you very much for all your answers and help.

I want to start working with metal. As a hobby. I don´t know the size I´ll need yet, but I think, small things.

Ok, now I know the more speeds, the better. What is a good speed range? I mean the lower and hihgger RPM? Sorry, I´m learning english and sometimes I don´t explain my seelf properly.

I preffer one that can fit in my table. For examen 20-25 inches tall. I was thinking on expending about 200€.

One thing is inportant for me is laser. I´m one eye blind, and I prefer to have a guide to see better where I´m going to drill. If I buy an old drill, Is it easy tu installa laser guide?

And how many watts are right?

Thank you again

 

[gaz1]

cross line laser will help

something like this banggood is rated on here

https://www.banggood.com/MTOLASER-3...tion-Alignmen-p-1288988.html?cur_warehouse=CN

if you cant buy one you can build one

https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/homemade-drill-press-a-big-one.73541/

 

[Robert1998]

Thank you for your answer.

Build one is far from my skills. Sooooo far

But i don´t have idea about the power. 800 w? 1400 w?

 

[gaz1]

motors on the old ones 1400 or 3 phase

 

[bigegg]

Thank you for your answer.

Build one is far from my skills. Sooooo far

But i don´t have idea about the power. 800 w? 1400 w?

Bigger the better, in general.
I have a 750w (actually an old 1hp output) motor on mine.
That's probably equivalent to a 1000W modern motor.

It's just about powerful enough: I'd prefer a 2.5kW/3hp, just "because".

 

[Munkul]

Best rule of thumb for brand new drills is:
You get what you pay for.

A £50 dirty-pro bench drill will flex like crazy and is generally horrible... how do i know? Because my uncle just bought one

An older fobco, meddings, etc, even some of the older Clarke offerings... you have to judge on condition, but they're not too badly made. I'd 100% buy second hand.

 

[Benterrier]

A poor example of a Fobco Star purchased for £75 has been great fun transforming it into a nice example. Just over a £100 spent on second hand castings ( bottom cover, motor mount depth stop clamp). New chuck, quill bearings, drive belt, operating lever, electric flex and paint.

 

[Happy_welder22]

https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/pillar-drill-mods.106033/

I discuss about a few things here. The laser is an easy fit (unless you spend ages like me hacking it about :-) ) I’ll look to finish the write up.

 

[Robert1998]

Thanks for all your help. Now, I know what I have to look for.

I´ll try with second hand (But in Spain we don´t have a great DIY culture) If I don´t find anythinh, I´ll buy a new one with at least 1000 watts.

 

[brightspark]

dont think i could live with all that swiss cheese on the table .id have to cover it with 1/8th steel sheet screwed down and mill the slots in and a new hole in the middle or weld them all up