Some years ago I was about one step ahead of where you are now. I had a small
drill press and I used it on just about every single project I did. It had
some problems, though, and I set about finding another one without breaking
the bank. The story is http://www.tinyisland.com/htbdrillp.txt

I haven't owned a drill press for some time, though. Now I do all my drilling
on the milling machine, in the lathe, or by hand. It is my opinion that the
best small bench-top drill press is the tool they call a "mill-drill".
Depending on where you live (you didn't mention that) you can sometimes find
these for only a little more than you would spend on say a new Jet 17" drill
press (to cite an example of a decent quality import).

There is a little pamphlet written by Delta which I have read but don't own.
It shows a whole bunch of kind of gimmicky tricks you can do on a drill press.
I've done a couple of them, like chuck up a pin, turn on the press, and have
at it with a file, or like chucking up a copper tube and using it along with
a puddle of kerosene and some grit to drill a hole in glass, or like chucking
up a sanding drum and edge-sanding a board. But mostly I just drilled holes
and sometimes did tapping like the guys said.

Grant Erwin
Kirkland, Washington

Ryan Wright wrote:

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