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Advice on a drill press, & misc questions
(Ryan Wright) wrote in
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
Hmm, well, I am partial to old Iron. That said, I have an OLD JET Gear
Head 18" Drill Press. I don't use it too often, I find myself using my
vertical Mill alot.
I do have a neat old 15" Walker Turner Bench mount drill press on the end
of my welding table, that and my 12" Diacro Finger brake have come in
really handy on the welding table.
Try and find a good old Walker Turner, Rockwell, Powermatic, Clausing
(nice!), Buffalo or similar Drill Press, the 17"-20" are good and beefy.
Leigh of Marmachine who frequents here usually has a small cache of drill
presses he picks up at auction. You would be wise to do the same, hit the
auctions. Not sure of many imports that are all that great in the NEW
catagory....?
Marty
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