Bob said it well! I tap stuff in a drill press all the time. The top
pulley cover opens from front to back. (most of the newer ones open side to
side) This allows me to take the belt off and fit a shop-made handle on the
spindle spine and turn it by hand to tap holes. Works great! -just remember
to take the belt off! You'll see a lot of drill presses with a lot of
different speeds, chances are you won't need more than 5 speeds. Go for
robust and simple, it will be one of your most-used tools. As soon as you
get it, drill a dimple or two into the cast table, that way YOU did it
rather than someone else that you would have to hunt-down and kill.


"Bob Swinney" wrote in message
news:AgEMb.35364$na.25857@attbi_s04...
1. After drilling the correct hole size for tapping use the drill press
chuck to start a tap straight into the hole. A good way to do this is to
start the motor and quickly turn it off; then as it has coasted to nearly
a
stop, jam it into the hole. The tap will be started straight. Finish
tapping by hand. Or you can turn the chuck by hand and tap all the way
through if you like. Power tapping is possible in the drill press by
running the tap into a pre-drilled hole with the quill feed handle. Get
some manual tapping experience before trying power tapping though. Power
tapping is best done with spiral-pointed taps.

2. Get as much quality as you can afford and one with a large clearance
(throat) for work in the size range you anticipate. A floor model is
preferred over a bench model - they are generally available with larger
clearance.

3. Any good (metal type) drill press will work well for wood. Rotary
files
are uselful for shaping wood and metal too, if you are careful.

Bob Swinney




"Ryan Wright" wrote in message
m...
I could also title this thread, "Help me spend my money".

OK, so I'm just starting to get into metalworking, and my first two
purchases are a chop saw (bought it) and a drill press (still
looking). I need to cut some steel beams and bore nice, straight holes
in them for bolting a metal frame together. I'll also be doing some
welding, but that's another topic alltogether.

I'd like this press to be my first major purchase toward building a
good machine shop and learning metalworking techniques. So, on to my
questions:

1. What else can I do with a nice press besides drill straight holes?
I admit I know very little about metalworking. I'm into woodworking
and have built some very nice pieces of furniture, but I've only ever
used a drill press to make a straight hole. What else are they used
for?

2. What sort of features should I be looking for in a press?

3. Can you recommend a good press that will work well both for metal
and woodworking?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

-Ryan