Michael,
I have to agree with Tim, most of the import stuff is genuine junk for metal
work... I'll even add to his assessment about horzontal play...most of them
don't have any kind of friction lock on the spindle and vertical play is
even worse. That make 'em real drill bit busters when the bit grabs, the
spindle goes down .200 and the.. snap...

A mill drill is really what you want you'll get your R8 collet, and most of
them at least have a friction clamp on the spindle that will add enough drag
to keep them from busting bits.
If you are going to go with a drill press, try and find a used American
machine like a Delta or Rockwell from the 50's-60's even a Craftsman of that
vintage is a pretty good machine
Too bad you are on such a short clock, both mill-drills and drill presses
show up on evilBay quite regularly.

Are you hep to www.craigslist.org and are you close to a city in the list,
lot's of amazing stuff shows up.

Dave


"DeepDiver" wrote in message
...
I've long wanted a nice floor-standing drill press, but haven't ever had
an absolute requirement for one, so I've been making do without. Now, I
may be needing a floor-standing drill press for a particular job.

(More about the job in another post. But for now, know that I'll be
enlarging a lot of holes from 1/2" diameter to 5/8" diameter in 1/4"
thick, type 316, stainless steel plate.)

Does anyone have any recommendations (or models to avoid)?

I'm probably looking for a unit in the $500 range, although I may be able
to go higher. Large swing is not critical for this job, but obviously, I'd
want as much capacity as possible for future jobs. A square table is
required, and I'd prefer parallel t-slots like a milling table, rather
than the radial ones that are common on smaller units.

It would be really, REALLY nice if it had an R8 spindle, but I suspect
that's not likely outside of mill/drill machines. Any other features I
should be looking to get/avoid?

Also, it can't be something too rare or exotic (i.e., long time to
order/receive, as I will need it within a couple of weeks).

Thanks,
Michael