I have a 30 year old Rockwell 36" bench top radial drill press. I have
had it for 30 years. I do not use it as much as I did in the past although
I did recently design, build, and post pictures of a new DP table that I
attached to the DP recently and found that I am actually using the drill
press more. I found that using adjustable clamps and a straight piece of
wood as a fence was way more trouble than my current set up. I am thinking
with more convenient and time saving features I may use my/a DP for more
than just drilling 35 mm holes in cabinet doors.

For reference, my Rockwell DP has 4 speeds, fast, more faster, still
faster than more faster, and the more fasterest speed. Translation, 700,
1250, 2400, and 4700 rpm. First off 700 rpm is too fast for 75% of my
Forstner bits. 4700 rpm makes the DP vibrate so badly that drilling at that
speed is not an option, I think that is a speed best used with a cotton
buffing wheel. Actually most Forstner bits over 1" in diameter should be
spinning at around 250 rpm for best results and longevity. My Rockwell has
a manual table height adjustment. I really like the clamping levers on the
DP, they are heavy and comfortable however once you loosen them you need to
be ready for the table to drop. This can be a real problem if you need to
raise the table a very short distance, it always ends up dropping the table
a bit, then you wiggle it back and forth while lifting up, and finally
clamping it in place and checking for proper height again. If the table
fence was in a particular location it now needs to be repositioned because
of the wiggling back and forth. My Rockwell uses 2 nuts separated by a flat
washer to limit down travel of the quill. For the height nuts to stay in
place I have to tighten them against each other with a pair of pliers, they
tend to work loose and do that "Craftsman router thing" if I simply hand
tighten them. That ain't right! My Rockwell has 3.125" of quill travel.
This simply is not enough. I find that because of that limited travel I
have to readjust table height more often than not. Because of the limited
quill travel the table has to be closer to the chuck and again more often
than not the end of the lever used to feed the quill ends up hitting the
table and then I have to readjust the table. My Rockwell being a bench top
variety limits the size of stock to be drilled, drilling into the end of a
table leg would be out of the question, if I ever had a need to do this. My
Rockwell has only "2" table adjustments, height and side to side, No Tilt.
With a radial DP you drill at an angle by tilting the top end, the motor and
head stock. Doing this however usually requires the readjustment of the
table and you lose drilling depth more and more the farther away you get
from the 90 degree setting. Because my Rockwell is a radial design it can
drill to the center of a 36" wide panel. This is one very nice feature but
I never use it. I basically always keep the location of the chuck about 8"
out. My Rockwell had 4 speeds and changing speeds requires careful
consideration in the art of "pulley jumping". There is no "easy" way to
loosen the belt. Pinched fingers are common if you do not plan and
carefully orchestrate the maneuver.

Sooooo I think I would enjoy a DP with new/better features. I believe
that I would like to go with a more traditional DP, a floor model. These
actually have a smaller foot print then my radial style DP. Front to back
my DP is around 40" and it stands about 67" tall on its dedicated steel and
mobile stand.
So here are the features I am interested in.

1. Larger variety of speeds and in particular a low speed at or below 250
rpm. Variable speed "seems" like a nice feature however I have used the
Powermatic DP with variable speed on two occasions and it was very noisy. I
have also noticed that every variable speed DP that I have looked into has a
low speed of 400 rpm, faster than I want.
2. An easier and quicker to adjust quill dept adjustment, perhaps the push
button and spin variety vs. the two nut design. I hate spinning 2 nuts up
to 3" and that would be even worse with my next #3 item below.
3. Longer quill travel, I am thinking "at least" close to 5" or more.
4. Easier to adjust table height, I think this is going to be a sure thing
with most any model these days.
5. Tilt table, most tilt left and right a few do that and tilt forward. I
am leaning towards the ones that tilt forward also.
6. Keyless Chuck? the Powermatic I used has one however I did not install
or remove the bit so I don't really know if this would be better. I wonder
if it would be more difficult to use as all that I have seen require 2 hands
to tighten and keeping the bit in place "might be a problem". Very minimum
I would want a chuck with a user friendly key.
7. Laser? I really have no problem with locating "exactly where I want to
drill a hole however locating a larger Forstner bit can be a bit more
difficult. Do the lasers afford accuracy within 1/64"?
8. Regular V-belt or the newer flat ribbed serpentine style belt? Is
vibration an issue with the 2 belt 3 pulley configuration and do either of
the style belts have less tendency of causing vibration?
9. Brand? Powermatic is out, only one style is available and it is
variable speed and about $950. Craftsman? I know, but it may be
manufactured in the same factory as all the others, perhaps. The Craftsman
does offer a keyless chuck on all but the most expensive floor models. That
may be telling me something right there. Jet? Not enough quill travel.
Steel City? This is the brand that got my attention and interest in looking
into an upgrade. Delta? The latest 17" version seems to have it all except
for the keyless chuck. IIRC it has regular V belts and the table that tilts
left, right, and forward. Laguna? Oddly, very competitively priced but
appears to be made in the same factories as the other brands, but only had a
3.5" quill travel. Grizzly? IIRC limited quill travel.
Rikon? I don't remember but I still have that taste in my mouth from the
18" BS that I briefly owned. Factory help was not beneficial in solving
"my"
problems.

Any suggestions? What to look for, look out for?

Thanks.

Leon,

This will probably only get you started but...

Here are the estimated prices and basic HP ratings of a few:

Delta DP400 or 17-900 (3/4 HP $400)
Jet JDP-17MF (3/4 HP $550)
Grizzly #G7944 (3/4 HP $325)
Grainger #3Z917 (1/2 HP $650)
Jet JDP-20MF (1-1/2 HP $1100)
Grizzly #G7948 (1-1/2 HP, $625)
Grainger #3Z919 (1 HP, $1100)
Ellis #9400 (2 HP, $2000-3000 - Ask for dealer pricing)
Grizzly #G0521 [Drill/Tap Machine] (2 HP, 3 Phase, $1250)

One benefit of the G0521 is the fact that you can tap holes without having
to purchase a tapping head. It has a built in, self reversing spindle
option.

One of the most important things to know is the horsepower requirement and
RPM needs for your applications. You can see the following web pages for
charts to calculate your actual needs in very basic form:

http://tinyurl.com/ToolSpeeds
or
http://www.multi-drill.com/drill-speed-chart.htm

Regards,
Joe Agro, Jr.
(800) 871-5022
01.908.542.0244
Automatic / Pneumatic Drills: http://www.AutoDrill.com
Multiple Spindle Drills: http://www.Multi-Drill.com
Flagship Site: http://www.Drill-N-Tap.com

V8013-R


"Leon" wrote in message
...
I have a 30 year old Rockwell 36" bench top radial drill press. I
have had it for 30 years. I do not use it as much as I did in the past
although I did recently design, build, and post pictures of a new DP table
that I attached to the DP recently and found that I am actually using the
drill press more. I found that using adjustable clamps and a straight
piece of wood as a fence was way more trouble than my current set up. I
am thinking with more convenient and time saving features I may use my/a
DP for more than just drilling 35 mm holes in cabinet doors.

For reference, my Rockwell DP has 4 speeds, fast, more faster, still
faster than more faster, and the more fasterest speed. Translation, 700,
1250, 2400, and 4700 rpm. First off 700 rpm is too fast for 75% of my
Forstner bits. 4700 rpm makes the DP vibrate so badly that drilling at
that speed is not an option, I think that is a speed best used with a
cotton buffing wheel. Actually most Forstner bits over 1" in diameter
should be spinning at around 250 rpm for best results and longevity. My
Rockwell has a manual table height adjustment. I really like the clamping
levers on the DP, they are heavy and comfortable however once you loosen
them you need to be ready for the table to drop. This can be a real
problem if you need to raise the table a very short distance, it always
ends up dropping the table a bit, then you wiggle it back and forth while
lifting up, and finally clamping it in place and checking for proper
height again. If the table fence was in a particular location it now
needs to be repositioned because of the wiggling back and forth. My
Rockwell uses 2 nuts separated by a flat washer to limit down travel of
the quill. For the height nuts to stay in place I have to tighten them
against each other with a pair of pliers, they tend to work loose and do
that "Craftsman router thing" if I simply hand tighten them. That ain't
right! My Rockwell has 3.125" of quill travel. This simply is not enough.
I find that because of that limited travel I have to readjust table height
more often than not. Because of the limited quill travel the table has to
be closer to the chuck and again more often than not the end of the lever
used to feed the quill ends up hitting the table and then I have to
readjust the table. My Rockwell being a bench top variety limits the size
of stock to be drilled, drilling into the end of a table leg would be out
of the question, if I ever had a need to do this. My Rockwell has only
"2" table adjustments, height and side to side, No Tilt. With a radial DP
you drill at an angle by tilting the top end, the motor and head stock.
Doing this however usually requires the readjustment of the table and you
lose drilling depth more and more the farther away you get from the 90
degree setting. Because my Rockwell is a radial design it can drill to
the center of a 36" wide panel. This is one very nice feature but I never
use it. I basically always keep the location of the chuck about 8" out.
My Rockwell had 4 speeds and changing speeds requires careful
consideration in the art of "pulley jumping". There is no "easy" way to
loosen the belt. Pinched fingers are common if you do not plan and
carefully orchestrate the maneuver.

Sooooo I think I would enjoy a DP with new/better features. I believe
that I would like to go with a more traditional DP, a floor model. These
actually have a smaller foot print then my radial style DP. Front to back
my DP is around 40" and it stands about 67" tall on its dedicated steel
and mobile stand.
So here are the features I am interested in.

1. Larger variety of speeds and in particular a low speed at or below 250
rpm. Variable speed "seems" like a nice feature however I have used the
Powermatic DP with variable speed on two occasions and it was very noisy.
I have also noticed that every variable speed DP that I have looked into
has a low speed of 400 rpm, faster than I want.
2. An easier and quicker to adjust quill dept adjustment, perhaps the
push button and spin variety vs. the two nut design. I hate spinning 2
nuts up to 3" and that would be even worse with my next #3 item below.
3. Longer quill travel, I am thinking "at least" close to 5" or more.
4. Easier to adjust table height, I think this is going to be a sure
thing with most any model these days.
5. Tilt table, most tilt left and right a few do that and tilt forward.
I am leaning towards the ones that tilt forward also.
6. Keyless Chuck? the Powermatic I used has one however I did not
install or remove the bit so I don't really know if this would be better.
I wonder if it would be more difficult to use as all that I have seen
require 2 hands to tighten and keeping the bit in place "might be a
problem". Very minimum I would want a chuck with a user friendly key.
7. Laser? I really have no problem with locating "exactly where I want
to drill a hole however locating a larger Forstner bit can be a bit more
difficult. Do the lasers afford accuracy within 1/64"?
8. Regular V-belt or the newer flat ribbed serpentine style belt? Is
vibration an issue with the 2 belt 3 pulley configuration and do either of
the style belts have less tendency of causing vibration?
9. Brand? Powermatic is out, only one style is available and it is
variable speed and about $950. Craftsman? I know, but it may be
manufactured in the same factory as all the others, perhaps. The
Craftsman does offer a keyless chuck on all but the most expensive floor
models. That may be telling me something right there. Jet? Not enough
quill travel. Steel City? This is the brand that got my attention and
interest in looking into an upgrade. Delta? The latest 17" version seems
to have it all except for the keyless chuck. IIRC it has regular V belts
and the table that tilts left, right, and forward. Laguna? Oddly, very
competitively priced but appears to be made in the same factories as the
other brands, but only had a 3.5" quill travel. Grizzly? IIRC limited
quill travel.
Rikon? I don't remember but I still have that taste in my mouth from the
18" BS that I briefly owned. Factory help was not beneficial in solving
"my"
problems.

Any suggestions? What to look for, look out for?

Thanks.

"Joe AutoDrill" wrote in message
...
Leon,

This will probably only get you started but...

Here are the estimated prices and basic HP ratings of a few:

Delta DP400 or 17-900 (3/4 HP $400)
Jet JDP-17MF (3/4 HP $550)
Grizzly #G7944 (3/4 HP $325)
Grainger #3Z917 (1/2 HP $650)
Jet JDP-20MF (1-1/2 HP $1100)
Grizzly #G7948 (1-1/2 HP, $625)
Grainger #3Z919 (1 HP, $1100)
Ellis #9400 (2 HP, $2000-3000 - Ask for dealer pricing)
Grizzly #G0521 [Drill/Tap Machine] (2 HP, 3 Phase, $1250)

One benefit of the G0521 is the fact that you can tap holes without having
to purchase a tapping head. It has a built in, self reversing spindle
option.

One of the most important things to know is the horsepower requirement and
RPM needs for your applications. You can see the following web pages for
charts to calculate your actual needs in very basic form:

http://tinyurl.com/ToolSpeeds
or
http://www.multi-drill.com/drill-speed-chart.htm


Thank you Joe! I my primary use would be for wood working, the auto tapping
feature is something that I have not really considered or for that matter
even knew existed. I'll try to go with at least 3/4" hp as you suggest.
That is really what I have been looking at, oddly my Rockwell have never
"seemed" to be low on power even with it's 1/3 hp motor. I'm sure twice as
much power would come in handy with the larger bits.
So far and similar to your first suggestion I am looking closely at the
Delta 17-959L, $579 locally.

Thanks again for you expert input and links, I'll check'em out.

And while I have you attention, can you recommend an affordable and good
brand or type of HS drill bit for drilling in mild steel, etc. I had a week
moment at the wood show 2 weeks ago and the Snake Oil peddler reeled me in.
I am sure you have heard od BAD DOG drill bits, I bought'em and took'em back
the next day.

On Apr 16, 10:30*am, "Leon" wrote:
* * *I have a 30 year old Rockwell 36" bench top radial drill press.. *I have
had it for 30 years. *I do not use it as much as I did in the past although
I did recently design, build, and post pictures of a new DP table that I
attached to the DP recently and found that I am actually using the drill
press more. *I found that using adjustable clamps and a straight piece of
wood as a fence was way more trouble than my current set up. *I am thinking
with more convenient and time saving features I may use my/a DP for more
than just drilling 35 *mm holes in cabinet doors.

* * *For reference, my Rockwell DP has 4 speeds, fast, more faster, still
faster than more faster, and the more fasterest speed. *Translation, 700,
1250, 2400, and 4700 rpm. *First off 700 rpm is too fast for 75% of my
Forstner bits. *4700 rpm makes the DP vibrate so badly that drilling at that
speed is not an option, I think that is a speed best used with a cotton
buffing wheel. *Actually most Forstner bits over 1" in diameter should be
spinning at around 250 rpm for best results and longevity. *My Rockwell has
a manual table height adjustment. *I really like the clamping levers on the
DP, they are heavy and comfortable however once you loosen them you need to
be ready for the table to drop. *This can be a real problem if you need to
raise the table a very short distance, it always ends up dropping the table
a bit, then you wiggle it back and forth while lifting up, and finally
clamping it in place and checking for proper height again. *If the table
fence was in a particular location it now needs to be repositioned because
of the wiggling back and forth. *My Rockwell uses 2 nuts separated by a flat
washer to limit down travel of the quill. *For the height nuts to stay in
place I have to tighten them against each other with a pair of pliers, they
tend to work loose and do that "Craftsman router thing" if I simply hand
tighten them. *That ain't right! *My Rockwell has 3.125" of quill travel.
This simply is not enough. *I find that because of that limited travel I
have to readjust table height more often than not. *Because of the limited
quill travel the table has to be closer to the chuck and again more often
than not the end of the lever used to feed the quill ends up hitting the
table and then I have to readjust the table. *My Rockwell being a bench top
variety limits the size of stock to be drilled, drilling into the end of a
table leg would be out of the question, if I ever had a need to do this. *My
Rockwell has only "2" table adjustments, height and side to side, *No Tilt.
With a radial DP you drill at an angle by tilting the top end, the motor and
head stock. *Doing this however usually requires the readjustment of the
table and you lose drilling depth more and more the farther away you get
from the 90 degree setting. *Because my Rockwell is a radial design it can
drill to the center of a 36" wide panel. *This is one very nice feature but
I never use it. *I basically always keep the location of the chuck about 8"
out. *My Rockwell had 4 speeds and changing speeds requires careful
consideration in the art of "pulley jumping". *There is no "easy" way to
loosen the belt. *Pinched fingers are common if you do not plan and
carefully orchestrate the maneuver.

* * *Sooooo I think I would enjoy a DP with new/better features. *I believe
that I would like to go with a more traditional DP, a floor model. *These
actually have a smaller foot print then my radial style DP. *Front to back
my DP is around 40" and it stands about 67" tall on its dedicated steel and
mobile stand.
So here are the features I am interested in.

1. *Larger variety of speeds and in particular a low speed at or below 250
rpm. *Variable speed "seems" like a nice feature however I have used the
Powermatic DP with variable speed on two occasions and it was very noisy. *I
have also noticed that every variable speed DP that I have looked into has a
low speed of 400 rpm, faster than I want.
2. *An easier and quicker to adjust quill dept adjustment, perhaps the push
button and spin variety vs. the two nut design. *I hate spinning 2 nuts up
to 3" and that would be even worse with my next #3 item below.
3. *Longer quill travel, I am thinking *"at least" close to 5" or more.
4. *Easier to adjust table height, I think this is going to be a sure thing
with most any model these days.
5. *Tilt table, *most tilt left and right a few do that and tilt forward. *I
am leaning towards the ones that tilt forward also.
6. *Keyless Chuck? *the Powermatic I used has one however I did not install
or remove the bit so I don't really know if this would be better. *I wonder
if it would be more difficult to use as all that I have seen require 2 hands
to tighten and keeping the bit in place "might be a problem". *Very minimum
I would want a chuck with a user friendly key.
7. *Laser? *I really have no problem with locating "exactly where I want to
drill a hole however locating a larger Forstner bit can be a bit more
difficult. *Do the lasers afford accuracy within 1/64"?
8. *Regular V-belt or the newer flat ribbed serpentine style belt? *Is
vibration an issue with the 2 belt 3 pulley configuration and do either of
the style belts have less tendency of causing vibration?
9. *Brand? *Powermatic is out, only one style is available and it is
variable speed and about $950. *Craftsman? *I know, but it may be
manufactured in the same factory as all the others, perhaps. *The Craftsman
does offer a keyless chuck on all but the most expensive floor models. *That
may be telling me something right there. *Jet? *Not enough quill travel.
Steel City? *This is the brand that got my attention and interest in looking
into an upgrade. *Delta? *The latest 17" version seems to have it all except
for the keyless chuck. *IIRC it has regular V belts and the table that tilts
left, right, and forward. *Laguna? *Oddly, very competitively priced but
appears to be made in the same factories as the other brands, but only had a
3.5" quill travel. * Grizzly? *IIRC limited quill travel.
Rikon? *I don't remember but I still have that taste in my mouth from the
18" BS that I briefly owned. *Factory help was not beneficial in solving
"my"
problems.

Any suggestions? *What to look for, look out for?

Thanks.

FWW did a comparison a year(2-3?) or so ago. Based on that, I bought a
Ridgid and I am very pleased. Helluva deal too. IIRC, it had the
lowest run-out of any of them. They really liked the Delta too, again,
IIRC.

"Robatoy" wrote in message
...
snip


FWW did a comparison a year(2-3?) or so ago. Based on that, I bought a
Ridgid and I am very pleased. Helluva deal too. IIRC, it had the
lowest run-out of any of them. They really liked the Delta too, again,
IIRC.

I'll take a look back. I looked at the Ridgid at the show, it has a really
good price and was discounted more at the show, $270 IIRC. And you cannot
beat the warranty. The deal breaker here is that it has a short quill
travel, I really want close to 5" or more. Thanks for the input.

On Apr 16, 10:36 am, "Leon" wrote:
And while I have you attention, can you recommend an affordable and good
brand or type of HS drill bit for drilling in mild steel, etc.

See if this works - it may not work due to the wrap:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...ght=drill+bits

or

http://tinyurl.com/ceffq3

Pretty good discussion there about drill bits and their use by the
knife making community. Some of those guys drill a billion holes with
their bits.
Quite an assortment of folks with an opinion on bits, all the way from
the casual builder to the registered bladesmith.

Robert

"Leon" wrote in message
...
I have a 30 year old Rockwell 36" bench top radial drill press. I
have had it for 30 years. I do not use it as much as I did in the past
although I did recently design, build, and post pictures of a new DP table
that I attached to the DP recently and found that I am actually using the
drill press more. I found that using adjustable clamps and a straight
piece of wood as a fence was way more trouble than my current set up. I
am thinking with more convenient and time saving features I may use my/a
DP for more than just drilling 35 mm holes in cabinet doors.

For reference, my Rockwell DP has 4 speeds, fast, more faster, still
faster than more faster, and the more fasterest speed. Translation, 700,
1250, 2400, and 4700 rpm. First off 700 rpm is too fast for 75% of my
Forstner bits. 4700 rpm makes the DP vibrate so badly that drilling at
that speed is not an option, I think that is a speed best used with a
cotton buffing wheel. Actually most Forstner bits over 1" in diameter
should be spinning at around 250 rpm for best results and longevity. My
Rockwell has a manual table height adjustment. I really like the clamping
levers on the DP, they are heavy and comfortable however once you loosen
them you need to be ready for the table to drop. This can be a real
problem if you need to raise the table a very short distance, it always
ends up dropping the table a bit, then you wiggle it back and forth while
lifting up, and finally clamping it in place and checking for proper
height again. If the table fence was in a particular location it now
needs to be repositioned because of the wiggling back and forth. My
Rockwell uses 2 nuts separated by a flat washer to limit down travel of
the quill. For the height nuts to stay in place I have to tighten them
against each other with a pair of pliers, they tend to work loose and do
that "Craftsman router thing" if I simply hand tighten them. That ain't
right! My Rockwell has 3.125" of quill travel. This simply is not enough.
I find that because of that limited travel I have to readjust table height
more often than not. Because of the limited quill travel the table has to
be closer to the chuck and again more often than not the end of the lever
used to feed the quill ends up hitting the table and then I have to
readjust the table. My Rockwell being a bench top variety limits the size
of stock to be drilled, drilling into the end of a table leg would be out
of the question, if I ever had a need to do this. My Rockwell has only
"2" table adjustments, height and side to side, No Tilt. With a radial DP
you drill at an angle by tilting the top end, the motor and head stock.
Doing this however usually requires the readjustment of the table and you
lose drilling depth more and more the farther away you get from the 90
degree setting. Because my Rockwell is a radial design it can drill to
the center of a 36" wide panel. This is one very nice feature but I never
use it. I basically always keep the location of the chuck about 8" out.
My Rockwell had 4 speeds and changing speeds requires careful
consideration in the art of "pulley jumping". There is no "easy" way to
loosen the belt. Pinched fingers are common if you do not plan and
carefully orchestrate the maneuver.

Sooooo I think I would enjoy a DP with new/better features. I believe
that I would like to go with a more traditional DP, a floor model. These
actually have a smaller foot print then my radial style DP. Front to back
my DP is around 40" and it stands about 67" tall on its dedicated steel
and mobile stand.
So here are the features I am interested in.

1. Larger variety of speeds and in particular a low speed at or below 250
rpm. Variable speed "seems" like a nice feature however I have used the
Powermatic DP with variable speed on two occasions and it was very noisy.
I have also noticed that every variable speed DP that I have looked into
has a low speed of 400 rpm, faster than I want.
2. An easier and quicker to adjust quill dept adjustment, perhaps the
push button and spin variety vs. the two nut design. I hate spinning 2
nuts up to 3" and that would be even worse with my next #3 item below.
3. Longer quill travel, I am thinking "at least" close to 5" or more.
4. Easier to adjust table height, I think this is going to be a sure
thing with most any model these days.
5. Tilt table, most tilt left and right a few do that and tilt forward.
I am leaning towards the ones that tilt forward also.
6. Keyless Chuck? the Powermatic I used has one however I did not
install or remove the bit so I don't really know if this would be better.
I wonder if it would be more difficult to use as all that I have seen
require 2 hands to tighten and keeping the bit in place "might be a
problem". Very minimum I would want a chuck with a user friendly key.
7. Laser? I really have no problem with locating "exactly where I want
to drill a hole however locating a larger Forstner bit can be a bit more
difficult. Do the lasers afford accuracy within 1/64"?
8. Regular V-belt or the newer flat ribbed serpentine style belt? Is
vibration an issue with the 2 belt 3 pulley configuration and do either of
the style belts have less tendency of causing vibration?
9. Brand? Powermatic is out, only one style is available and it is
variable speed and about $950. Craftsman? I know, but it may be
manufactured in the same factory as all the others, perhaps. The
Craftsman does offer a keyless chuck on all but the most expensive floor
models. That may be telling me something right there. Jet? Not enough
quill travel. Steel City? This is the brand that got my attention and
interest in looking into an upgrade. Delta? The latest 17" version seems
to have it all except for the keyless chuck. IIRC it has regular V belts
and the table that tilts left, right, and forward. Laguna? Oddly, very
competitively priced but appears to be made in the same factories as the
other brands, but only had a 3.5" quill travel. Grizzly? IIRC limited
quill travel.
Rikon? I don't remember but I still have that taste in my mouth from the
18" BS that I briefly owned. Factory help was not beneficial in solving
"my"
problems.

Any suggestions? What to look for, look out for?


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

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.

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. 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.

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

On Apr 16, 11:06*am, "Lee Michaels"
wrote:

A great post on drill press use and info, Lee. Good stuff, then I got
to this:

Well now, I seemed to be all tapped out of drill press wisdom. *

I heard the cymbal crash, the ba-da-bump!, and all I needed was the
"HIYO" from Ed McMahon.

Here till the end of the week?

;^)

Robert

wrote in message
...
On Apr 16, 11:06 am, "Lee Michaels"
wrote:

A great post on drill press use and info, Lee. Good stuff, then I got
to this:

Well now, I seemed to be all tapped out of drill press wisdom.

I heard the cymbal crash, the ba-da-bump!, and all I needed was the
"HIYO" from Ed McMahon.

Here till the end of the week?
==============================

Gee thanks Robert. That means a lot coming from you. I wish a had a joke
ready to go, but alas, you caught me sans joke. Ohhhhh, welllll.....

Lee

On Thu, 16 Apr 2009 10:27:01 -0500, Leon wrote:

So
far and similar to your first suggestion I am looking closely at the
Delta 17-959L, $579 locally.

Leon, I was impressed with that one when I worked at Woodcraft. I built
a forward-tilting table for my benchtop DP so it would tilt in both
axes. Delta is the 1st commercial product I've seen with that capability.

But if you have a soft spot for radial, Delta makes one. Rikon makes
two :-).

--
Intelligence is an experiment that failed - G. B. Shaw

Great "tip" on the adding a bigger plywood base to avoid the tipping
issue.

I watched craigslist for a long time trying to get a 1hp drill press
with the biggest base possible. I felt pretty lucky finding a 20"
Crapsman that had a brand new 1hp motor for $100. Unfortunately the
fricking shaft has some hellacious run out. I suppose the same guy who
fried the motor tweaked the shaft. Oh well, OK for $100. However, I
cringe everytime I walk by the thing and actually tucked it in between
to heavier machines as a "fall back" for when it tips over. I was
thinking I would wedge anchor it down. The engineering of such a small
base seems really stupid. Plywood to the rescue. Smart!


On Apr 16, 9:06*am, "Lee Michaels"
wrote:
"Leon" wrote in message

...





* * I have a 30 year old Rockwell 36" bench top radial drill press. *I
have had it for 30 years. *I do not use it as much as I did in the past
although I did recently design, build, and post pictures of a new DP table
that I attached to the DP recently and found that I am actually using the
drill press more. *I found that using adjustable clamps and a straight
piece of wood as a fence was way more trouble than my current set up. *I
am thinking with more convenient and time saving features I may use my/a
DP for more than just drilling 35 *mm holes in cabinet doors.

* * For reference, my Rockwell DP has 4 speeds, fast, more faster, still
faster than more faster, and the more fasterest speed. *Translation, 700,
1250, 2400, and 4700 rpm. *First off 700 rpm is too fast for 75% of my
Forstner bits. *4700 rpm makes the DP vibrate so badly that drilling at
that speed is not an option, I think that is a speed best used with a
cotton buffing wheel. *Actually most Forstner bits over 1" in diameter
should be spinning at around 250 rpm for best results and longevity. *My
Rockwell has a manual table height adjustment. *I really like the clamping
levers on the DP, they are heavy and comfortable however once you loosen
them you need to be ready for the table to drop. *This can be a real
problem if you need to raise the table a very short distance, it always
ends up dropping the table a bit, then you wiggle it back and forth while
lifting up, and finally clamping it in place and checking for proper
height again. *If the table fence was in a particular location it now
needs to be repositioned because of the wiggling back and forth. *My
Rockwell uses 2 nuts separated by a flat washer to limit down travel of
the quill. *For the height nuts to stay in place I have to tighten them
against each other with a pair of pliers, they tend to work loose and do
that "Craftsman router thing" if I simply hand tighten them. *That ain't
right! *My Rockwell has 3.125" of quill travel. This simply is not enough.
I find that because of that limited travel I have to readjust table height
more often than not. *Because of the limited quill travel the table has to
be closer to the chuck and again more often than not the end of the lever
used to feed the quill ends up hitting the table and then I have to
readjust the table. *My Rockwell being a bench top variety limits the size
of stock to be drilled, drilling into the end of a table leg would be out
of the question, if I ever had a need to do this. *My Rockwell has only
"2" table adjustments, height and side to side, *No Tilt. With a radial DP
you drill at an angle by tilting the top end, the motor and head stock.
Doing this however usually requires the readjustment of the table and you
lose drilling depth more and more the farther away you get from the 90
degree setting. *Because my Rockwell is a radial design it can drill to
the center of a 36" wide panel. *This is one very nice feature but I never
use it. *I basically always keep the location of the chuck about 8" out.
My Rockwell had 4 speeds and changing speeds requires careful
consideration in the art of "pulley jumping". *There is no "easy" way to
loosen the belt. *Pinched fingers are common if you do not plan and
carefully orchestrate the maneuver.

* * Sooooo I think I would enjoy a DP with new/better features. *I believe
that I would like to go with a more traditional DP, a floor model. *These
actually have a smaller foot print then my radial style DP. *Front to back
my DP is around 40" and it stands about 67" tall on its dedicated steel
and mobile stand.
So here are the features I am interested in.

1. *Larger variety of speeds and in particular a low speed at or below 250
rpm. *Variable speed "seems" like a nice feature however I have used the
Powermatic DP with variable speed on two occasions and it was very noisy.
I have also noticed that every variable speed DP that I have looked into
has a low speed of 400 rpm, faster than I want.
2. *An easier and quicker to adjust quill dept adjustment, perhaps the
push button and spin variety vs. the two nut design. *I hate spinning 2
nuts up to 3" and that would be even worse with my next #3 item below.
3. *Longer quill travel, I am thinking *"at least" close to 5" or more.
4. *Easier to adjust table height, I think this is going to be a sure
thing with most any model these days.
5. *Tilt table, *most tilt left and right a few do that and tilt forward.
I am leaning towards the ones that tilt forward also.
6. *Keyless Chuck? *the Powermatic I used has one however I did not
install or remove the bit so I don't really know if this would be better.

"SonomaProducts.com" wrote in message
...
Great "tip" on the adding a bigger plywood base to avoid the tipping
issue.

I watched craigslist for a long time trying to get a 1hp drill press
with the biggest base possible. I felt pretty lucky finding a 20"
Crapsman that had a brand new 1hp motor for $100. Unfortunately the
fricking shaft has some hellacious run out. I suppose the same guy who
fried the motor tweaked the shaft. Oh well, OK for $100. However, I
cringe everytime I walk by the thing and actually tucked it in between
to heavier machines as a "fall back" for when it tips over. I was
thinking I would wedge anchor it down. The engineering of such a small
base seems really stupid. Plywood to the rescue. Smart!
=========================================

Another trick we used ws to install some kind of hardware on the forward
edge of the plywood. Several things will work. We used everything from an
eyebolt to a swivel D ring. We would put some rope through it and pull
everytime we needed to move the drill press. To move it back or sideways,
we just grabbed the support post. But this was often impossible to move it
out from the wall. That is why we added the rope thingy to the front of the
plywood.

On Apr 16, 12:02*pm, "
wrote:
On Apr 16, 10:36 am, "Leon" wrote:

And while I have you attention, can you recommend an affordable and good
brand or type of HS drill bit for drilling in mild steel, etc.

See if this works - it may not work due to the wrap:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...51&highlight=d....

* or

http://tinyurl.com/ceffq3

Pretty good discussion there about drill bits and their use by the
knife making community. *Some of those guys drill a billion holes with
their bits.
Quite an assortment of folks with an opinion on bits, all the way from
the casual builder to the registered bladesmith.

Robert

A billion? *wringing my hands in wrath-like fashion...*

Let's see now. 1 per second? That would be 31 years of continuous
drilling.

On Apr 16, 12:23*pm, "
wrote:
On Apr 16, 11:06*am, "Lee Michaels"

wrote:

A great post on drill press use and info, Lee. *Good stuff, then I got
to this:

Well now, I seemed to be all tapped out of drill press wisdom. *

I heard the cymbal crash, the ba-da-bump!, and all I needed was the
"HIYO" from Ed McMahon.

Here till the end of the week?

* ;^)

Robert

Try the veal, don't forget to tip your waitress.........

I have the Delta and I'm not sure why the
need for the keyless chuck.

I would want to be able
to really crank down on larger bits and
a keyless chuck ain't up to that task.

The Delta I have is the laser model and even
that is pretty nice. The table is quite large
and has removable inserts.

http://www.deltaportercable.com/Prod...roductID=14999

250 - 3000 RPMs


Leon wrote:
Delta? The latest 17" version seems to have it all except
for the keyless chuck. IIRC it has regular V belts and the table that
tilts
left, right, and forward.

And while I have you attention, can you recommend an affordable and good
brand or type of HS drill bit for drilling in mild steel, etc. I had a
week moment at the wood show 2 weeks ago and the Snake Oil peddler reeled
me in. I am sure you have heard od BAD DOG drill bits, I bought'em and
took'em back the next day.

Leon,

Believe it or not, I generally stay out of the discussions on tooling
because it is such a varied and diverse subject... I can sell the machines
but don't know squat about tooling per say... McMaster Carr is my friend.

I'd ask in rec.crafts.metalworking for the best answers...

Regards,
Joe Agro, Jr.
(800) 871-5022
01.908.542.0244
Automatic / Pneumatic Drills: http://www.AutoDrill.com
Multiple Spindle Drills: http://www.Multi-Drill.com
Flagship Site: http://www.Drill-N-Tap.com

V8013-R

"Larry Blanchard" wrote in message
om...
On Thu, 16 Apr 2009 10:27:01 -0500, Leon wrote:

So
far and similar to your first suggestion I am looking closely at the
Delta 17-959L, $579 locally.

Leon, I was impressed with that one when I worked at Woodcraft. I built
a forward-tilting table for my benchtop DP so it would tilt in both
axes. Delta is the 1st commercial product I've seen with that capability.

I think you are right about the table tilt.

But if you have a soft spot for radial, Delta makes one. Rikon makes
two :-).

Yeah, it is a nice feature if you need it but I really have not had the need
in 30 years. I got mide as a reward through the GM Maritz program, meeting
sales quotas. I think I would like to use the table tilt feature over the
head tilt feature.

"Robatoy" wrote in message
...
On Apr 16, 12:02 pm, "
wrote:


A billion? *wringing my hands in wrath-like fashion...*

Let's see now. 1 per second? That would be 31 years of continuous
drilling.


LOL, I think you have a Touché on Robert.

"Joe AutoDrill" wrote in message
...
And while I have you attention, can you recommend an affordable and good
brand or type of HS drill bit for drilling in mild steel, etc. I had a
week moment at the wood show 2 weeks ago and the Snake Oil peddler reeled
me in. I am sure you have heard od BAD DOG drill bits, I bought'em and
took'em back the next day.

Leon,

Believe it or not, I generally stay out of the discussions on tooling
because it is such a varied and diverse subject... I can sell the
machines but don't know squat about tooling per say... McMaster Carr is
my friend.

I'd ask in rec.crafts.metalworking for the best answers...


Honest answer Joe, Thank you.

Leon asked:

And while I have you attention, can you recommend an affordable and
good brand or type of HS drill bit for drilling in mild steel, etc.

There was a time, back when they were my customer, I would have said
Cleveland Twist Drill without a moments hestitation.

Today, Cleveland Twist Drill is part of the Kennametal IPG (Industrial
Products Group) family of quality cutting tools and I don't have a
clue.

Lew

"SonomaProducts.com" wrote in message
...
Snip

Crapsman that had a brand new 1hp motor for $100. Unfortunately the
fricking shaft has some hellacious run out.


In all my searching and coming up to speed with what is available today I
have not yet run across a DP with a "fickeing shaft". What does that do?
:~)

"Pat Barber" wrote in message
...
I have the Delta and I'm not sure why the
need for the keyless chuck.

Typically I tighten the chuck so tight that I have difficulty loostening it
up, hense the comment about a user friendly key. Acutally I have been using
cordless and corded drills since the early 90's that all have keyless
chucks, my Pansaonic was the first. I have not had a problem with slippage
with any of the keyless chucks. I herard long ago that keyless more evenly
tightens down and provides a better grip. That comment may have been made
as a compairison to keyed chucks and not using all 3 holes to evenly tighten
the chuck, which I do. The problem is that I only use 1 hole to loosen,
maybe if I gave all 3.....



I would want to be able
to really crank down on larger bits and
a keyless chuck ain't up to that task.

The Delta I have is the laser model and even
that is pretty nice. The table is quite large
and has removable inserts.

http://www.deltaportercable.com/Prod...roductID=14999

250 - 3000 RPMs

I think I am looking at the one a step above, newly introduced IIRC. It has
a longer quill travel and appears to have a larger base.
http://www.deltaportercable.com/Prod...roductID=15685



Thanks for the input.

----- 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.

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
...
Leon asked:

And while I have you attention, can you recommend an affordable and good
brand or type of HS drill bit for drilling in mild steel, etc.

There was a time, back when they were my customer, I would have said
Cleveland Twist Drill without a moments hestitation.

Today, Cleveland Twist Drill is part of the Kennametal IPG (Industrial
Products Group) family of quality cutting tools and I don't have a clue.

Lew


I'll check'um out Lew, thanks.

wrote in message
...
On Apr 16, 10:36 am, "Leon" wrote:
And while I have you attention, can you recommend an affordable and good
brand or type of HS drill bit for drilling in mild steel, etc.

See if this works - it may not work due to the wrap:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...ght=drill+bits

or

http://tinyurl.com/ceffq3

Pretty good discussion there about drill bits and their use by the
knife making community. Some of those guys drill a billion holes with
their bits.
Quite an assortment of folks with an opinion on bits, all the way from
the casual builder to the registered bladesmith.

Robert


Thank you Robert, just took a quick look and I immediately saw a comment
about "Chicago Latrobe" bits and apparently he is getting pretty good
mileage out of them. Seems every time I pull a bit out of my box it is the
only dull one in the box. I grab the next over sized or under sized bit and
it is fine. Perhaps I should go for the next up or down wrong size more
often.

"Leon" wrote:

Acutally I have been using cordless and corded drills since the
early 90's that all have keyless chucks, my Pansaonic was the first.
I have not had a problem with slippage with any of the keyless
chucks.

Like a lot of things, it's a matter of size.

1/2" and smaller chucks usually found on hand held drills are great
for keyless chucks.

OTOH, a drill press, bench or floor, will typically have at least a
5/8", more likely 3/4" chuck.

A keyed chuck above 1/2" has a lot going for it., IMHO.

Lew

"Leon" wrote in message
...

Thank you Robert, just took a quick look and I immediately saw a comment
about "Chicago Latrobe" bits and apparently he is getting pretty good
mileage out of them. Seems every time I pull a bit out of my box it is
the only dull one in the box. I grab the next over sized or under sized
bit and it is fine. Perhaps I should go for the next up or down wrong
size more often.


Oh C R A P, I just looked up one of the brands mentioned. A single 7.5
mm bit just over 4.5" long sells for ........ One hundred fifty four
DOLLARS.

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
...
"Leon" wrote:

Acutally I have been using cordless and corded drills since the early
90's that all have keyless chucks, my Pansaonic was the first. I have not
had a problem with slippage with any of the keyless chucks.

Like a lot of things, it's a matter of size.

1/2" and smaller chucks usually found on hand held drills are great for
keyless chucks.

OTOH, a drill press, bench or floor, will typically have at least a 5/8",
more likely 3/4" chuck.

A keyed chuck above 1/2" has a lot going for it., IMHO.

Lew



Ok then, 2 votes NO against the keyless. I'll forget about that. That
takes, thank goodness, Craftsman out of the hunt.

"Lee Michaels" wrote in message
...

Here are my drill press tips.

1. Always buy a floor model..

Any particular reason? I often see floor models "Loosely Assembled" and or
assembled wrong. I was also considering the fact that assembled may be
harder to transport from the store.

A local dealer that has been in business 50 + years and offers free assembly
and adjustment or free delivery with in 50 miles.

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
...

Today, Cleveland Twist Drill is part of the Kennametal IPG (Industrial
Products Group) family of quality cutting tools and I don't have a clue.

I've never seen anything but high quality from Kennametal.

Translation: ****ing shaft.

"Leon" wrote in message
...



In all my searching and coming up to speed with what is available today I
have not yet run across a DP with a "fickeing shaft". What does that do?
:~)

"CW" wrote:

I've never seen anything but high quality from Kennametal.

The was a time when Kennametal produced some very high quality,
sintered metal tooling inserts; however, I've been away from that part
of the business long enough to have only historical knowledge of
Kennemetal.


Lew

Lee Michaels wrote:


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

Excellent post, Lee! And duly saved in the archives. I already have a
DP, but, if Leon's Rockwell suddenly shows up for sale ....




--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 10/22/08
KarlC@ (the obvious)

"Swingman" wrote in message
...
Lee Michaels wrote:


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

Excellent post, Lee! And duly saved in the archives. I already have a DP,
but, if Leon's Rockwell suddenly shows up for sale ....




I am seriously thinking about having a yard sale, Drill press, jointer, and
portable plainer, and a 556 PC Biscuit Cutter I wonder how long they will
last? LOL

If you are seriously interested I will send a picture of it and the boat.
;~)

Leon wrote:
I have a 30 year old Rockwell 36" bench top radial drill press. I have
had it for 30 years. I do not use it as much as I did in the
past although I did recently design, build, and post pictures of a
new DP table that I attached to the DP recently and found that I am
actually using the drill press more. I found that using adjustable
clamps and a straight piece of wood as a fence was way more trouble
than my current set up. I am thinking with more convenient and time
saving features I may use my/a DP for more than just drilling 35 mm
holes in cabinet doors.
For reference, my Rockwell DP has 4 speeds, fast, more faster,
still faster than more faster, and the more fasterest speed. Translation,
700, 1250, 2400, and 4700 rpm. First off 700 rpm is too
fast for 75% of my Forstner bits. 4700 rpm makes the DP vibrate so
badly that drilling at that speed is not an option, I think that is a
speed best used with a cotton buffing wheel. Actually most Forstner
bits over 1" in diameter should be spinning at around 250 rpm for
best results and longevity. My Rockwell has a manual table height
adjustment. I really like the clamping levers on the DP, they are
heavy and comfortable however once you loosen them you need to be
ready for the table to drop. This can be a real problem if you need
to raise the table a very short distance, it always ends up dropping
the table a bit, then you wiggle it back and forth while lifting up,
and finally clamping it in place and checking for proper height
again. If the table fence was in a particular location it now needs
to be repositioned because of the wiggling back and forth. My
Rockwell uses 2 nuts separated by a flat washer to limit down travel
of the quill. For the height nuts to stay in place I have to tighten
them against each other with a pair of pliers, they tend to work
loose and do that "Craftsman router thing" if I simply hand tighten
them. That ain't right! My Rockwell has 3.125" of quill travel.
This simply is not enough. I find that because of that limited
travel I have to readjust table height more often than not. Because
of the limited quill travel the table has to be closer to the chuck
and again more often than not the end of the lever used to feed the
quill ends up hitting the table and then I have to readjust the
table. My Rockwell being a bench top variety limits the size of
stock to be drilled, drilling into the end of a table leg would be
out of the question, if I ever had a need to do this. My Rockwell
has only "2" table adjustments, height and side to side, No Tilt.
With a radial DP you drill at an angle by tilting the top end, the
motor and head stock. Doing this however usually requires the
readjustment of the table and you lose drilling depth more and more
the farther away you get from the 90 degree setting. Because my
Rockwell is a radial design it can drill to the center of a 36" wide
panel. This is one very nice feature but I never use it. I
basically always keep the location of the chuck about 8" out. My
Rockwell had 4 speeds and changing speeds requires careful
consideration in the art of "pulley jumping". There is no "easy" way
to loosen the belt. Pinched fingers are common if you do not plan
and carefully orchestrate the maneuver.
Sooooo I think I would enjoy a DP with new/better features. I
believe that I would like to go with a more traditional DP, a floor
model. These actually have a smaller foot print then my radial style
DP. Front to back my DP is around 40" and it stands about 67" tall
on its dedicated steel and mobile stand.
So here are the features I am interested in.

1. Larger variety of speeds and in particular a low speed at or
below 250 rpm. Variable speed "seems" like a nice feature however I
have used the Powermatic DP with variable speed on two occasions and
it was very noisy. I have also noticed that every variable speed DP
that I have looked into has a low speed of 400 rpm, faster than I
want. 2. An easier and quicker to adjust quill dept adjustment, perhaps
the push button and spin variety vs. the two nut design. I hate
spinning 2 nuts up to 3" and that would be even worse with my next #3
item below. 3. Longer quill travel, I am thinking "at least" close to 5"
or
more. 4. Easier to adjust table height, I think this is going to be a
sure
thing with most any model these days.
5. Tilt table, most tilt left and right a few do that and tilt
forward. I am leaning towards the ones that tilt forward also.
6. Keyless Chuck? the Powermatic I used has one however I did not
install or remove the bit so I don't really know if this would be
better. I wonder if it would be more difficult to use as all that I
have seen require 2 hands to tighten and keeping the bit in place
"might be a problem". Very minimum I would want a chuck with a user
friendly key. 7. Laser? I really have no problem with locating "exactly
where I
want to drill a hole however locating a larger Forstner bit can be a
bit more difficult. Do the lasers afford accuracy within 1/64"?
8. Regular V-belt or the newer flat ribbed serpentine style belt? Is
vibration an issue with the 2 belt 3 pulley configuration and do
either of the style belts have less tendency of causing vibration?
9. Brand? Powermatic is out, only one style is available and it is
variable speed and about $950. Craftsman? I know, but it may be
manufactured in the same factory as all the others, perhaps. The
Craftsman does offer a keyless chuck on all but the most expensive
floor models. That may be telling me something right there. Jet? Not
enough quill travel. Steel City? This is the brand that got my
attention and interest in looking into an upgrade. Delta? The
latest 17" version seems to have it all except for the keyless chuck.
IIRC it has regular V belts and the table that tilts left, right, and
forward. Laguna? Oddly, very competitively priced but appears to be
made in the same factories as the other brands, but only had a 3.5" quill
travel. Grizzly? IIRC limited quill travel.
Rikon? I don't remember but I still have that taste in my mouth from
the 18" BS that I briefly owned. Factory help was not beneficial in
solving "my"
problems.

Any suggestions? What to look for, look out for?

Thanks.

Here's a 16-speed (220-3600 rpm), 3/4 hp, floor drill press for $190. You'll
probably have to provide your own keyless chuck.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=43378

"Leon" wrote in message
...

"Lee Michaels" wrote in message
...

Here are my drill press tips.

1. Always buy a floor model..

Any particular reason? I often see floor models "Loosely Assembled" and
or assembled wrong. I was also considering the fact that assembled may be
harder to transport from the store.

A local dealer that has been in business 50 + years and offers free
assembly and adjustment or free delivery with in 50 miles.

Ahhhhh...., Leon has a background in retail!! I shoulda known that.

What is the term I am looking for here? Ya know, one that sits on the
floor. Or should I say STANDS on a floor. Ya know, the tall one. NOT a
bench model. They usually come unassembled and you have to put them
together.

An example is the Grizzly G7948 is described in the catalog as a G7948 12
Speed 20" Floor Drill Press,

If you buy from a distant location, you will get everything in boxes anyway.
You do the assembly.

Leon wrote:

Rockwell uses 2 nuts separated by a flat washer to limit down travel
of the quill. For the height nuts to stay in place I have to
tighten
them against each other with a pair of pliers, they tend to work
loose and do that "Craftsman router thing" if I simply hand tighten
them.

That's why pliers were invented.

My experience is it is a great depth gage if you use pliers for final
setting.

A 16-speed, 3/4 hp, floor drill press Is pretty basic "jelly bean"
offering.

Uses 3 sheaves and 2 belts to make speed changes.

Never had a problem with vibration on mine.

Make sure you have a gear and rack to lift/lower table.

Make sure quill is equipped with std morse taper (Joe AutoDrill time).

Equip with a removeable machinest vice to insure easy location of
drill bit on work piece.

(Drilling a hole 1/64 off sucks)

IMHO, a drill press is definitely a KISS product.

Have fun.

Lew

"Leon" wrote

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

You are welcome Leon.

Now I am dying to find out which one you buy. Don't keep us in suspense!

"Swingman" wrote

Lee Michaels wrote:

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

Excellent post, Lee! And duly saved in the archives. I already have a DP,
but, if Leon's Rockwell suddenly shows up for sale ....

Damn! Compliments from both Robert and Karl. That doesn't happen very
often.

Everything is OK. Everything is alright.

Peering out my office window in a fit of paranoia

Thanks Karl.