Looking for the views from the wider audience, I have a bit of a quandary regarding pillar drills.
This is more of a sanity check as I think I know what I should do…
Basically I’ve got too many. Like most, space is at quite a premium, and like all, I don’t have as much space as I’d like. As a result I need to thin the herd. Not sure how someone gets in a situation where they realise they have too many machines but here we are…
Not including the bench fobco, the mag base, and various hand drills, I’ve got three and could do with loosing one, if not two.
My lineup is as follows
Walker turner (hefty American 5 speed)
Elliott progress 2gs
Arboga a2608
All three have their advantages and disadvantages, and there isn’t a perfect drill here.
The walker turner has quite a limited speed selection, and is lacking any proper way of mounting vices, but has a huge table and by a long stretch the greatest quill travel at over 7”. It’s also single phase which makes things easier but it’s forward only.
The Elliott is a typical 2gs, it’s not the most user friendly with it being belt driven and has got a small table. It’s also only got 5” of quill travel. But it’s got the back gear which gives the biggest range of speeds, plus the table is slotted so allows work holding. This is also single phase and has both forward / reverse which is nice.
The arboga is the only gear head drill here, and those that know them know what they’re all about. This is the baby in their range which means it lacks certain features but it’s still capable. This is the biggest drawback, but it’s also got quite a small quill travel at 5-1/2”. The great thing is it’s the only MT3 drill here, has a large tee-slot table, has quite a small footprint considering it’s capabilities and has a good range of speeds. This is three phase drill with a two speed motor, but isn’t a problem as I’ve got a phase converter now so can finally use it (it’s practically brand new and has been stood in the corner of the garage waiting for a vfd conversion or a phase converter to run it for quite some time)
The walker turner is my current go-to due to its versatility and does everything I want. It’s actually a decent drill. From a money perspective the arboga has by far the highest value, followed by the Elliott and by loosing these two would mean more pennies for other items I don’t necessarily need. But the arboga would replace both and I wouldn’t loose out on much besides the quill travel, but the same goes for the Elliott. However the arboga is MT3, so that should be a no brainier?
Thoughts???
This is more of a sanity check as I think I know what I should do…
Basically I’ve got too many. Like most, space is at quite a premium, and like all, I don’t have as much space as I’d like. As a result I need to thin the herd. Not sure how someone gets in a situation where they realise they have too many machines but here we are…
Not including the bench fobco, the mag base, and various hand drills, I’ve got three and could do with loosing one, if not two.
My lineup is as follows
Walker turner (hefty American 5 speed)
Elliott progress 2gs
Arboga a2608
All three have their advantages and disadvantages, and there isn’t a perfect drill here.
The walker turner has quite a limited speed selection, and is lacking any proper way of mounting vices, but has a huge table and by a long stretch the greatest quill travel at over 7”. It’s also single phase which makes things easier but it’s forward only.
The Elliott is a typical 2gs, it’s not the most user friendly with it being belt driven and has got a small table. It’s also only got 5” of quill travel. But it’s got the back gear which gives the biggest range of speeds, plus the table is slotted so allows work holding. This is also single phase and has both forward / reverse which is nice.
The arboga is the only gear head drill here, and those that know them know what they’re all about. This is the baby in their range which means it lacks certain features but it’s still capable. This is the biggest drawback, but it’s also got quite a small quill travel at 5-1/2”. The great thing is it’s the only MT3 drill here, has a large tee-slot table, has quite a small footprint considering it’s capabilities and has a good range of speeds. This is three phase drill with a two speed motor, but isn’t a problem as I’ve got a phase converter now so can finally use it (it’s practically brand new and has been stood in the corner of the garage waiting for a vfd conversion or a phase converter to run it for quite some time)
The walker turner is my current go-to due to its versatility and does everything I want. It’s actually a decent drill. From a money perspective the arboga has by far the highest value, followed by the Elliott and by loosing these two would mean more pennies for other items I don’t necessarily need. But the arboga would replace both and I wouldn’t loose out on much besides the quill travel, but the same goes for the Elliott. However the arboga is MT3, so that should be a no brainier?
Thoughts???
