Buying a drill press
- Thread starter juno
- Start date
I got the Ryobi DP120 3 years ago and haven't had a bit of problems out of it.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/home_journal/workshop/1274536.html?page=4
It was less than 200 if I remember right.
Just my experience.
womo
http://www.popularmechanics.com/home_journal/workshop/1274536.html?page=4
It was less than 200 if I remember right.
Just my experience.
womo
TK9120
Sr Member
One of my woodworking magazines just did a review of benchtop drill presses. They said they are just as good as the floor models. Of course it all depends on what you will use it for. Unless you will be drilling deep holes, you're probably better off with a benchtop one.
When I get home I'll see if they have the reviews online. Or I'll list the two they recommend.
When I get home I'll see if they have the reviews online. Or I'll list the two they recommend.
starfighter66
Well-Known Member
I have purchased a number of tools from harbor freight including a drill press, their stuff is inexpensive and works well for everyday hobby stuff.
exoray
Master Member
Like a lot of the power tools at Harbor Freight they are simply Harbor Freight branded generic overseas models... My suggestion is to simply go and have a look at the different models in person, the little differences even from the same generic one from one re-brander to another makes a difference... If I remember correctly from my shopping one of the Ryobi models is the same as one of Harbor Freight ones...
Anyway I ended up getting a Delta in the end... It had an attached light that I liked as well as a few other options like an 'easy' and what I considered 'better' way to lock out both up/down movement so I could use it dual purpose as generic milling machine when needed...
Anyway I ended up getting a Delta in the end... It had an attached light that I liked as well as a few other options like an 'easy' and what I considered 'better' way to lock out both up/down movement so I could use it dual purpose as generic milling machine when needed...
DarthElvis
Active Member
When you are looking for a drill press, it is important to remember what kind of work you will be doing. Soooo, what kind of work will you be doing? My other passion is woodworking and I have a full woodshop in my garage. The vehicles have been exiled to the driveway:lol.
A bench top drill press is the one shop machine that does not differ greatly from it's freestanding counterpart. Shop Fox makes a bench top press that doubles as an oscillating spindle sander. That is a great quality to have if you have sanding needs. I personally use a Rigid that I got for a great price back when Rigid came with a lifetime warranty.
Tell us what type of work you would like to do, and we can take this a little further. Here is a link to another forum that I belong to, and is probably my favorite woodworking site. You can find out everything about everything on just about any tool you may be considering. There is no shortage of opinions of course, but that what you get from passionate people:lol
http://www.forums.woodnet.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php
A bench top drill press is the one shop machine that does not differ greatly from it's freestanding counterpart. Shop Fox makes a bench top press that doubles as an oscillating spindle sander. That is a great quality to have if you have sanding needs. I personally use a Rigid that I got for a great price back when Rigid came with a lifetime warranty.
Tell us what type of work you would like to do, and we can take this a little further. Here is a link to another forum that I belong to, and is probably my favorite woodworking site. You can find out everything about everything on just about any tool you may be considering. There is no shortage of opinions of course, but that what you get from passionate people:lol
http://www.forums.woodnet.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php
Maelstrom
Sr Member
I actually got mine at Big Lots. Was cheaper than the one at Harbor Freight, I use it almost everyday, and have had no problems whatsoever.
This was just one of the lower end models not a Name Brand Refurb.
And as stated above it really depends on what you'll be doing with it. For light duty a drill press is a drill press. For something heavy duty (thick steel, stone, brick etc. etc.) you may want to look around.
I personally find that the best way to get the most out of any drill is the bits that you use. You can skimp on the machine, but don't skimp on the bits!
This was just one of the lower end models not a Name Brand Refurb.
And as stated above it really depends on what you'll be doing with it. For light duty a drill press is a drill press. For something heavy duty (thick steel, stone, brick etc. etc.) you may want to look around.
I personally find that the best way to get the most out of any drill is the bits that you use. You can skimp on the machine, but don't skimp on the bits!
moviebuff5
Sr Member
I've been itching to start using my drill press to do some low impact milling. Is there any advice considering doing this?
Also, I know you can turn it into a make-shift lathe as well. Again any experience out their with this?
Nick
Thanks for all the great advice guys (and I love the link to the vintage diy articles). The National Treasure thread is what got me thinking about it. I'd like to drill the holes into the glasses with a little bit of precision. I own a CNC mill, but it's not really suited to this sort of work.
exoray
Master Member
I simply purchased some good end mills (4 flute, and expect to pay $20+ each) and a 6" slide vise from Harbor Freight, drilled some mounting holes in the bed of the drill press and mounted the vise... Then I tweaked all the adjustment screws on the vise to tighten up the tolerances as it was pretty sloppy... After that I went to town and it works real well for what it is...
I have turned a few parts with simple files once chucked up in the press, using the side of the vise as a tool rest...
They have vertical tool rest that you can purchase... I don't have a link handy but I have found them when I considered doing this...
Although with both of these conversions, the biggest issue to remember is the drill press is designed for up/down motion only... The bearings are not designed for the horizontal force when milling or doing lathe work, so you might cause bearing to fail under hard use... Or you might notice wobble or vibration that makes precision work impossible...
SaberFreak
Sr Member
If you're not too worried about how your drill press look, and don't need fancy adjustments or instrumentations, then go for those China made ones, if they're available where you are.
They're cheap, built like a tank and never breaks down.
They're cheap, built like a tank and never breaks down.
Johnny Fever
Well-Known Member
Dremel makes a somewhat decent drill press attachment for its tools. I have one that is about ten years old that comes in handy for intricate drilling such as this. It is similar to the one here. http://www.mytoolstore.com/dremel/drillprs.html Hope this helps.
-John
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TheGreenMachine
Well-Known Member
The Harbor Freight tools can be hit and miss. For cheaper purchases($50-60) they don't tend to be that bad. You get your moneys worth out of them, but they are more or less a disposable/consumable items. For any sort of more significant purchases you might be better off looking elsewhere.
I highly recommend them as a source for different types of drill bits. They are cheap and certainly cheaper made than some more expensive bits. However the quantity you can get for the same money tends to give them quite an edge. I buy the 10 packs all them time for heavy projects(like drilling lots of steel) so I don't trash my sets of good bits. Also convenient when you've got friends "helping" out. Let them screw up your cheap bits.
-TGM
I highly recommend them as a source for different types of drill bits. They are cheap and certainly cheaper made than some more expensive bits. However the quantity you can get for the same money tends to give them quite an edge. I buy the 10 packs all them time for heavy projects(like drilling lots of steel) so I don't trash my sets of good bits. Also convenient when you've got friends "helping" out. Let them screw up your cheap bits.
-TGM
i've had mine for about that long as well, with no issues.
TK9120
Sr Member
Sorry for the delay. Here's what Wood magazine recommends.
Top Tools:
Delta DP350 - $240 - Good except the depth stop adjustment slipped after drilling 100 holes.
Grizzly G0485 - $190 - The best depth stop, 16 speeds from 230 to 3,270
Top Value:
Ryobi - DP121L - $170 - Digital speed display, laser crosshair that never needs batteries, best table for clamping and it comes with a vise.
Depth stop slipped the most
If you don't do a lot of multi hole drilling, the Ryobi looks to be a good buy.
Top Tools:
Delta DP350 - $240 - Good except the depth stop adjustment slipped after drilling 100 holes.
Grizzly G0485 - $190 - The best depth stop, 16 speeds from 230 to 3,270
Top Value:
Ryobi - DP121L - $170 - Digital speed display, laser crosshair that never needs batteries, best table for clamping and it comes with a vise.
Depth stop slipped the most
If you don't do a lot of multi hole drilling, the Ryobi looks to be a good buy.
My drill press is Boba Debt's old one that I won in the custom blaster contest probably 7-8 years ago. It's a small, bench-top Central Machinery model which is, (I think) the brand Harbor Freight carries.
While I wouldn't want to equip a full time, professional shop from Harbor Freight, their stuff has always been plenty good for my needs.
Oh- I drilled my NT glasses w/ no problems at all- just remember to put a full size bar of latinum under the glasses frames as a block to steady them. :lol
Good Luck!
-Sarge
While I wouldn't want to equip a full time, professional shop from Harbor Freight, their stuff has always been plenty good for my needs.
Oh- I drilled my NT glasses w/ no problems at all- just remember to put a full size bar of latinum under the glasses frames as a block to steady them. :lol
Good Luck!
-Sarge
