Hello again,

I'm impressed by the knowledge here! And by the detailed information
given. Many thanks to everybody that has contributed to this
discussion. I'm following up the article by Don Nichols because of
the variety of points he raises, but all the other responses have
been very valuable. Thank you all! I had already read the article
from 1998 pointed to by another poster about what to watch for when
buying used. I didn't think I was going to do this, but in light
of what has transpired here, I'm now going to check out used drill
presses.

Note that the 12" models can drill holes centered only 6" from
the nearest edge of the workpiece. If this is sufficient, fine.
Otherwise, consider larger, even if you are over your price limit.

The pieces I need to drill now are 1/16" thick (the 1" hole), and 1/8"
thick (smaller holes) and at most 1/2" from an edge, so size is not
an issue.


... (lots of valuable info deleted )
Note that carbide drills in that size are *very* expensive, so
we'll calculate based on HSS. And I don't think that there are any
Silver & Demming (e.g. reduced shank) drills, in solid carbide, so HSS
is the most likely one for you.

I bought a set of 2 tapered bits, the first one to 1/2" and the second
from 1/2" to 1". These are to drill into 1/16" thick 316 stainless.
They are probably HSS (I don't have them nearby to check at the
moment, they cost $30).
The 1/8" 316 stainless will be drilled with smaller cobalt bits.

... (more good info deleted)
How many drill bits do you want to use per hole? Even the 280
RPM one is pushing things a bit for hobby work.

For the 1" holes, the two tapered bits I bought have something like 10
different sizes each, progressively larger. This, I presume, has the
same effect as using 20 progressively bigger drill bits.

How thick is your stainless steel? You will want a minimum
stroke of probably at least a half inch longer than your workpiece
thickness with a 1" drill. You may need more if you have to lift the
workpiece out of fixturing, or if you need to change the drill bit
without disturbing the workpiece.

This is important, as the 1" holes are to go on opposing faces of 2"
square tube, so if I wanted to drill two holes without unclamping the
piece the stroke should be 2" plus the length of the tapered drill
bit. More than the small drill presses I was considering can do.
The alternative is to unclamp the piece and reverse it, but this
gets into issues of alignment and rigidity, as someone else pointed
out.

... (more good info deleted)
brands/models. Does anyone have other recommendations?

Yes -- find a used machine tool dealer, and look for a serious
drill press -- with at least a MT-3 spindle. Plan to drive the drills
directly -- no chuck involved.

That's going to be my next step.

Expect that such a drill press will also probably need three
phase, so plan on building a rotary converter -- or hooking up VFD,
which will allow you to get even more speed control, as you can control
the motor speed directly, to supplement the belt reduction.

Nothing is as simple as I expected/hoped, oh well. Still, I recognize
good advice. Thanks!

...
Give us a clue where you are located, and perhaps we can point
you to a used equipment dealer known to do things right in your
vicinity.

Yes! Please! I'm in Red Bank, NJ (central NJ).

Thank you again for all the info!

A.