----- Original Message -----
From: "Lee Michaels"
Newsgroups: rec.woodworking
Sent: Thursday, April 16, 2009 11:06 AM
Subject: The hund for a replacement drilll press, sorta long


Snip


Gee Leon, you think they make a drill press on this planet that meets your
specifications?

3 come close! LOL. I have not see the17" Craftsman up close, I like the
Steel City with the 6" stroke but I like the Delta with it's
multi-directional tilt table.



Just kidding. You do have a long list of requirements. I will just
comment on a couple things I know about drill presses. I have used
different drill presses for over 35 years. Probably equal woodworking and
metal working.

Well I want to up grade. My Rockwell has served me well and continues to
run well. Set up is a B____ thoutgh.


One of the big problems I had with many drill presses was that they did
not have a slow enough speed for me to use a drill bit of any size on
metal.

That is what I am finding and expecially on the variable speed models. The
couple that I am focusing on go down to 215 rpm IIRC. I drill a lot of 35
mm holes for Euro hinges and the recomended speed for that sized Forstner
bit is 250 rpm.


So
I sought out bigger drill presses and more speeds. After trying different
brands, I settled on Grizzly and bought several of their drill presses
both for myself and others. Nothing fancy. Just big enough to do the job,
enough speeds and reasonably priced.

The Grizzly G7947 and the G7948 both have 4 - 3/4" spindle travel. Some
of their bigger units have 5" plus spindle travel.

I'll look over there again.


Here are my drill press tips.

1. Always buy a floor model.

2. Always buy a minimum of a 17" model. Bigger is better.

3. Never buy less than 12 speeds.

4. Get the biggest table you can. This allows you to bolt on specialized
tables and jigs more easily.

5. Always bolt the drill press to a peice of plywood or an extended base.
They will always tip over at the most inopportune time. And often with
deadly safety issues.

6. Build specialized jigs and tables for your drill preses. This greatly
increases production and safety.

7. If you must install a mobile base, install it on the extended base.
Drill presses on wheels are a disaster waiting to happen. They tip so
easily.

8. Install good lighting to the drill press. Most of them have lights, but
the need more. The surface area should be well lit for accuracy and
safety reasons.

9. Always have a small cart, bench or whatever handy and close to put your
tools, measuring devices, etc. Anything loose on a drill press table can
easily become a deadly projectile. Be safe.

I should mention that when drilling metal, I often had to drill holes in
subassemblies. This meant drilling heights would vary up to three feet.
Our way of doing this was to build wood jigs that held the metal to the
proper height. It took a little work to set up the initial hole. But the
others followed quickly with the change of the drilling platform that
swapped out and in easily.

I have no idea if this would help your situation or not. Just a
suggestion.

Well now, I seemed to be all tapped out of drill press wisdom. Good luck
on your search.

Lee Michaels

Thank you Lee, I'll keep all of that in consideration.