On 12/9/2015 3:02 PM, John McCoy wrote:
"SnA Higgins" wrote in
:

I have a Rockwell/Delta radial drill press, circa 1970. The manual
discusses using it as a router and as a drum sander. Since I have
those specific machines I use the drill press for drilling only.

A radial drill press is kind of a different animal - they
are usually much more stoutly constructed than a regular
drill press.


I had one, a Rockwell 32" radial DP from the late 70's, really not built
any stronger except at the arm extension and pivot point which have
nothing to do with bearings.




Myself, I have a small benchtop drill press from way back
when I first started getting tools, which is now reserved
for drum sanding. The bigger press is just for drills.

John


I am beginning to think that there may not be much more pressure on a
drum sander attachment than the load of the belts.
And FWIW the up and down pressure from drilling really does not affect
any bearings. That load is carried by the rack and pinion that moves
the quill up and down.