Drill presses

[Jason M]

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Not quite hardcore so move if deemed necessary.
Moved to the Cool new forum ;)



I have ~ $200 to spend on a floor mount drill press for Fathers Day.

I have looked at what you can get at Harbor Frieght and am not really impressed.

I have found Old Rockwell Presses on Ebay for approx the same amount.

My question is am I looking at the best places?
Are the HF $200 units going to last at all?
Anyone have a good old Drill press that they want to get rid of???



Just trying to get the most drill for my money..

[camo]

the improrts come in many diffrent grades and the HF are at the low end of the quality scale. I prefer the older made in usa ones. I keep an eye on them on ebay and you can definatly find some great old presses on ebay if you keep a sharp eye peeled.

for new ones try sears or www.use-enco.com

[rugburn]

Try Northern Tool, Enco, J and L Tool or......
my personal favorite, The Surplus Record
www.surplusrecord.com

[fj40guy]

Jason,

I'd go with an old Rockwell any day. :)

I have a 1920's Gossinger (sp?) cast iron unit. Belt drive (yes, originally leather belt). Sucker has a small #1 Jacobs taper for the drill chuck, but can it nice and staight. $200 for it, and couldn't have been happier.

Only thing on old drill presses... make up a dial indicator. I have a 5" bar with a 1/4" pin on one side. Dial indicator on the other side. Hook it up to the chuck, spin by HAND... barely touching the table top (solid surface on mine) I can make sure that drill is dead 90 degrees to the table top. Lots of the old drill presses were abused as press arbors... bending them. On my drill press the head can unbolt, and be shimmed (if needed). Still a simple tool to make sure your are staight on... can not be beat.

Tom :usa:

[PTSchram]

I have an old import that after fifteen years of repeated abuse is finally wearing out.

I have seen a trend to much lighter castings and am certain that those with the narrower bodies do not have nearly the longevity of the heavier duty models. Back when I worked in industry, it surprised me how many Enco drill presses I saw in factories.

The cheap ones will likely never be square enough to justify the dial indicator method. The tables move around under use, if you don't screw the head to the pedestal, the head will move around as well. Avoid the temptation to use a cross-slide vise, unless you spend more for the vise than the drill press, otherwise, you WILL break many drill bits. The use of mill bits in drill presses account for much damage as well as the chuck will come out of the quill as soon as any side loading is applied.

I would hate to think what I'd do if I didn't have a drill press in the shop. Now that I finally have room for it and can walk around it and have my bits, etc nearby, it is even more valuable to me.

For $200, buy an Enco and a good vise.

[dcs]

Enco discontinued most of their low cost import drill presses. :confused:
Enco drill presses (http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INLMK3?PMK0NO=165831)

Grizzley still has a good selection.
Grizzley drill presses (http://www.grizzly.com/products/items-list.cfm?key=380000&gid=B1A583A7-C65E-470E-8545-9D69C3EBF300&site=grizzly)

Northern Hydraulics has this one (http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=6970&langId=-1&catalogId=4006970&PHOTOS=on&productId=108793&categoryId=93622). Has anybody ever used on of these?

[Brandon]

I beat up my bent craftsman bench drill press almost daily and I wish I had something better but it is still my most used tool. For that reason next time I will invest in a good one, appreciate the info here..

this looks like a nice unit for the price
http://www.grizzly.com/products/item.cfm?itemnumber=G7944&gid=B1A583A7-C65E-470E-8545-9D69C3EBF300&site=grizzly

[vikingsven]

I beat up my bent craftsman bench drill press almost daily and I wish I had something better but it is still my most used tool. For that reason next time I will invest in a good one, appreciate the info here..

this looks like a nice unit for the price
http://www.grizzly.com/products/item.cfm?itemnumber=G7944&gid=B1A583A7-C65E-470E-8545-9D69C3EBF300&site=grizzly

I'm wondering about these grizzly presses? Anyone have any more input on them? Quality or crap?

[KS Toy]

I don't think they are all bad. If you want a good one get an Ellis... http://ellissaw.com They are a bit more then $200