Different strokes for different folks.

I have a Drill/Mill that I bought in 1979 and a 5 speed drill press
that I bought a year or so earlier. I have a R8 arbor with a Jacobs
chuck on it that will fit in the Drill/Mill, but I can not ever recall
using it to drill anything in the drill/mill. I use the drill press
for drilling lots of things. I have a keyless chuck in the drill
press and it is so much quicker for me to use the drill press. If I
used the drill/mill, I would have to first remove the end mill holder
or whatever is in the machine, and put in the drill chuck. Use a
chuck key to tighten the drill, crank the table to position the vise,
change the speed on the drill/mill to a faster speed. Not a big deal
if I am going to drill many parts, but usually I am just drilling one
or two holes and then maybe countersinking them.

As for things you can use the drill press for besides drilling. Drum
sander, disk sander, abrasive stones, flexible shaft. You can do some
turning in a pinch by mounting a tool bit in the vise and putting the
stock in the chuck.

Dan



Grant Erwin wrote in message
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).



Grant Erwin
Kirkland, Washington