Gunner Asch wrote:
Id consider a 1/3hp drill press to be the minimum with a drill bit and
perhaps a 1/4 hp a minimum with a hole saw. If as everyone suggested,
you gear it down and use lots of oil G

How many holes do you actually need to drill? Up to say..15 or so..if
you took your time and used oil and didnt try to force em....Id say
you would be ok with a 1" hole saw. A good quality one like a Lenox.
The other option is to use a unibit/step drill of some sort..and take
your time. 1/4 hp..really isnt very much for a largish cutter of any
sort.

Thanks again, Gunner, I appreciate it. The number of holes will depend upon
how closely I can space the holes without weakening the uprights (which are
3x3 square tube @ 1/8" wall thickness). If I go with 2" vertical spacing,
I'm looking at about 80 holes; with 3" spacing I'm looking at about 54 holes
(this assumes holes from 28" high to 68" high, which may increase slightly
if I discover I need holes up higher).

That'd mean going through a lot of hole cutters!

(copied from the reply I just sent to Don
BUT: I dug around in the shop and found my old compressor, with the 1hp
motor (not compressor duty) motor still attached to it. If I make an
adaptor plate between the 1hp motor and the drill press mount, it *will*
fit.

The only rub is that it has a 5/8" shaft (3/16" keyway), and the smallest
single pulley with those dimensions from McmasterCarr has an OD of 1 3/4".
I'm guessing that extra 1/4" inch will multiply the RPM by 1.75/1.5 (if that
is the correct formula), and I will end up with about 725RPM at 1hp.

That's a fair bit faster, but with the extra torque perhaps I could then use
the 1" silver/demming drill bit with coolant and crank it hard and fast
through the
workpiece (unless I can get a smaller single pulley for a 5/8" motor shaft
with a 3/16" keyway).

Hmmm....

Jon