"DoN. Nichols" wrote in message
...
According to Will :
Post the maximum diameter hole you will need to make, and which
stainless steel, and we can calculate the highest spindle speed which
you can use. The cheap import 5-speed ones typically won't go slow
enough, except for the smaller holes (say 1/8" or smaller. The somewhat
larger (still cheap) floor standing ones with 16 speeds (lots of pulley
slots and two belts) will probably go slow enough, but with a large
hole, they are not rigid enough, and once you start your hole, the
needed force will cause the table to bend down a bit, making your hole
not perpendicular to the surface of the workpiece.

Almost all of the import drill presses will not go slow enough
to use the maximum size bit which the supplied chuck will hold for
drilling through plain steel, let alone through stainless steel.
...
Old US made drill presses are more likely to be satisfactory,
even if they need a bit of work at first.

I'm pretty clear on the spindle speeds needed, thanks to all of the great
information posted in this thread. Given that our holes would go between
1/4 and 1/2 inch, using 300 stainless, we seem to need about 300 to 800 rpm.

Given the requirement for using large pressing forces, and the need for
rigidity, what manufacturers and models do you think might be good
candidates? Honestly a very short model with a wide stable base would be
preferred by me, just because it could be easily stored under a rack in a
warehouse, or maybe floor mounted in the corner of a warehouse.

Someone here had picked up a 2/3 HP Craftsman 10 inch drill press, which is
certainly short, and seems to be okay at 680 rpm for a 1/4 inch hole, but
probably doesn't cut it for anything much larger than 1/4 inch diameters.


And I would suggest that you use split point high cobalt steel
bits for the task, instead of the more common HSS bits.

What advantages do those have?

--
Will