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#1
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Portable drill press/guide vs. Real drill press?
I am considering buying a portable drill press/guide (rather than a
benchtiop or standalone drill press) for the following reasons: - Don't really have the room for another big tool - I often need to drill things outside of my shop or that are already attached tto the house - A portable drill press can do most of the basics that I need to do (e.g., accurate, straight drilling) - Cheaper (and would rather get good quality portable than low end fixed drill press) Questions: - Does my thinking seem right? - What are some good brands and models to consider? (I don't want to "waste" money on a tool that is either hard-to-use, hard-to-setup, flimsy, or innacurate) Any other insights welecome! Thanks |
#2
Posted to rec.woodworking
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Portable drill press/guide vs. Real drill press?
blueman wrote:
I am considering buying a portable drill press/guide (rather than a benchtiop or standalone drill press) .... Any other insights welecome! Thanks Well, a real drill press is VERY useful - I use mine several times on every project for sure. But if you don't have the cash or the space right now, is any amount of convincing going to get you to buy one anyway? I agree that a little $99 bench-top drill press probably isn't as useful or accurate as something heavier, but if you can find a bigger used one, I'd highly recommend it. (Hint - if you can lift it with one hand, it's too small...) Other things to consider for the meantime might include a drill guide of some sort - check out http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...80,42311,42321 Or a doweling jig, depending on your intended use: http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...80,42311,42319 A while ago I actually bought one of the portable drill press/guides you mentioned, but returned it as the plunging action seemed sticky due to the posts not being parallel, and an overall cheap feel. The biggest problem I've seen with those is the lack of a good-quality model - it seems like there are only a few models made, and none feels too sturdy or accurate. On the other hand, they can be better than drilling freehand, and as you mentioned, some projects are inconvenient or impossible to bring to a stationary DP. Sorry this wasn't very conclusive, but I hope it helps, Andy |
#3
Posted to rec.woodworking
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Portable drill press/guide vs. Real drill press?
"blueman" wrote in message ... I am considering buying a portable drill press/guide (rather than a benchtiop or standalone drill press) for the following reasons: - Don't really have the room for another big tool - I often need to drill things outside of my shop or that are already attached tto the house - A portable drill press can do most of the basics that I need to do (e.g., accurate, straight drilling) - Cheaper (and would rather get good quality portable than low end fixed drill press) Questions: - Does my thinking seem right? - What are some good brands and models to consider? (I don't want to "waste" money on a tool that is either hard-to-use, hard-to-setup, flimsy, or innacurate) Any other insights welecome! Thanks I owned a Craftsman device like that once upon a time. It was designed to fit a Craftsman drill, but I only had a Rockwell Delta. So, the combination never worked well. I finally threw the device away. The Rockwell Delta drill wore out years ago. I have bought some new drills, but never again will I waste money on such a contraption. You will save money if you just buy the drill press to begin with. Jim |
#4
Posted to rec.woodworking
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Portable drill press/guide vs. Real drill press?
"blueman"
I am considering buying a portable drill press/guide (rather than a benchtiop or standalone drill press) for the following reasons: - Don't really have the room for another big tool - Cheaper (and would rather get good quality portable than low end fixed drill press) If you don't have room, make room. The drill press gets used more often in my shop than many other tools. Its a versatile and essential machine. Do yourself a big favor and buy a good (used) drill press. The only portable drill press I have is the Milwaukee 4206 but that might be a little to much for your purpose and its not too good when using it for wood. Dave Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services ---------------------------------------------------------- ** SPEED ** RETENTION ** COMPLETION ** ANONYMITY ** ---------------------------------------------------------- http://www.usenet.com |
#5
Posted to rec.woodworking
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Portable drill press/guide vs. Real drill press?
It sounds reasonable to me. I always stay with Sears products because they have parts available. i blueman wrote: I am considering buying a portable drill press/guide (rather than a benchtiop or standalone drill press) for the following reasons: - Don't really have the room for another big tool - I often need to drill things outside of my shop or that are already attached tto the house - A portable drill press can do most of the basics that I need to do (e.g., accurate, straight drilling) - Cheaper (and would rather get good quality portable than low end fixed drill press) Questions: - Does my thinking seem right? - What are some good brands and models to consider? (I don't want to "waste" money on a tool that is either hard-to-use, hard-to-setup, flimsy, or innacurate) Any other insights welecome! Thanks |
#6
Posted to rec.woodworking
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Portable drill press/guide vs. Real drill press?
It sounds reasonable to me. I aiways stay with Sears products because
they have excellent parts availability. blueman wrote: I am considering buying a portable drill press/guide (rather than a benchtiop or standalone drill press) for the following reasons: - Don't really have the room for another big tool - I often need to drill things outside of my shop or that are already attached tto the house - A portable drill press can do most of the basics that I need to do (e.g., accurate, straight drilling) - Cheaper (and would rather get good quality portable than low end fixed drill press) Questions: - Does my thinking seem right? - What are some good brands and models to consider? (I don't want to "waste" money on a tool that is either hard-to-use, hard-to-setup, flimsy, or innacurate) Any other insights welecome! Thanks |
#7
Posted to rec.woodworking
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Portable drill press/guide vs. Real drill press?
I don't know if I agree with the good quality portable vs low end fixed
argument. I have a $99 8" Craftsman bench top drill press - probably about as low end as they get and it is very useful and accurate (at least for what I've done). Someone once wrote (I think on this newsgroup) that drill presses are really metal working machines so even the cheapest ones do well with wood. Also, I had one of those drill guides and it was pretty bad (maybe I had a really cheap one of those too) and I eventually threw it out. Anyway, I would definitely get the drill press if you have the room - even if you can only get the cheapest ones. Charles Lerner blueman wrote: I am considering buying a portable drill press/guide (rather than a benchtiop or standalone drill press) for the following reasons: - Don't really have the room for another big tool - I often need to drill things outside of my shop or that are already attached tto the house - A portable drill press can do most of the basics that I need to do (e.g., accurate, straight drilling) - Cheaper (and would rather get good quality portable than low end fixed drill press) Questions: - Does my thinking seem right? - What are some good brands and models to consider? (I don't want to "waste" money on a tool that is either hard-to-use, hard-to-setup, flimsy, or innacurate) Any other insights welecome! Thanks |
#8
Posted to rec.woodworking
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Portable drill press/guide vs. Real drill press?
blueman wrote:
I am considering buying a portable drill press/guide (rather than a benchtiop or standalone drill press) snip Something like this - http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=2405 while not as accurate as a real drill press, does still get used occasionally for drilling holes in places where the drill press can't reach, or in things that are not movable. I would stay away from the things that strap a hand drill to a plunger mechanism. You really want a decent drill press though... -- JeffB remove no.spam. to email |
#9
Posted to rec.woodworking
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Portable drill press/guide vs. Real drill press?
On Thu, 07 Sep 2006 21:01:50 GMT, blueman wrote:
I am considering buying a portable drill press/guide (rather than a benchtiop or standalone drill press) for the following reasons: - Don't really have the room for another big tool They have a pretty small footprint. My 10" benchtop, while not light, is not difficult to move from one spot to another. Getting it up from floor level would not really be something I'd want to do on a regular basis, but if you have to stick it in a corner or something because you haven't got a good spot for it, if it's up at bench height it's not bad to move. I just tip it forward and get my shoulder under the head to take most of the weight and away you go. - I often need to drill things outside of my shop or that are already attached tto the house I'm having a hard time picturing why you'd need a perfectly straight hole in something attached to the house. -Leuf |
#10
Posted to rec.woodworking
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Portable drill press/guide vs. Real drill press?
JeffB wrote: blueman wrote: I am considering buying a portable drill press/guide (rather than a benchtiop or standalone drill press) snip Something like this - http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=2405 I have the same one. It's also sold by Sears and Ace Hardware. It's OK, but I find myself freehanding all the time instead of using it. I suppose if I had to drill through some dowels, I'd use this. Avoid the one made by General, which you find at the Borg. Sears, Ace, and Grizzly (among others) also sell those lever-operated drill stands, and they look OK to me, but for that money you're just about into a Chinese 8-10" benchtop drill press. For some reason, drill presses are one of those things the Chinese manufacturers seem to be doing OK with (as opposed to, say, scroll saws). Ace sells their 10" for $99. Their brand is just rebadged Tradesman, the el cheapo line you see in Sears and Borg. I got the 8" version from Harbor Freight on sale for $39 last weekend. Haven't assembled it yet. I agree with the others who say that even a cheap drill press is orders of magnitude more useful than a guide. |
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