Owen Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 Drill press Who makes a good, reliable, and powerful? drill press? I want one of the taller ones and Harbor Freight is having their annual TG sale, but I'm wary about buying anything over $20 from them! I won't buy Craftsman either, so what other companies are out there? Owen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrandonsZ Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 Yes Godfather, I feel a drill press is a good idea, but if you're going for a big one , why not go for a simple Mill, You can get higher speeds, and more versatility, and the simple upgrade of a translation table, you could do a lot more with it. Of course the cheapest mill I ever saw was $1500 from McMsater-Carr, but really they overprice everything. A cheap mill should be at least 3x better than the best drill press because of the side load rigidity design inherant in the mill dictates a quality hole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted November 24, 2004 Author Share Posted November 24, 2004 Trust me, I've considered it...but you saw my post, I'm shopping at harbor Freight for cyrin out loud! I'm poor and wouldn't have space for the mill either... Owen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsunlover Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 You can get little table top mills.. slightly bigger than a smal drill press.. Ussually similar pricing as a drill press.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 I have the harbor freight 16" or 17" floor unit. It is a hell of a drill press. Haven't had a lick of trouble in the 3+ years I have owned it. It was so much cheaper than comparable craftsman and Delta presses at Lowes that it took me a long time to build up the courage to order one. I like it better than the Delta units I have seen. Really heavy and all the adjustments have stayed tight. Plus I think they still have a so many day money back guarantee if you really don't like it. They just opened a Harbor Freight outlet near Baltimore. Notice they have changed the style of drill presses since I bought mine. In the store they had a normaly $289 unit on sale for I think $179. That one looked even nicer than the one I have. If you can get it at the sale price you can't go wrong. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=43389 Next up is a sand blaster and maybe blasting cabinet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted November 24, 2004 Author Share Posted November 24, 2004 Sweet, there's a similar model for $159....but what about these mini mills, how much, where? Owen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cody 82 ZXT Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 I was just at HF today and I think you can get a small mill for 350 or so. Definantly more than a drill press but, you can also do more work with better presiscion. What about one of those machinist vises for the drill press. Anyone ever use one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MICRO MILL/DRILL Precision milling and drilling at a price you can afford Designed for use with steel, brass, aluminum, plastic andwood Cast iron base and main post with steel gear housing for rigidity Machined and ground ways for effortless table and mill head movement Dual speed range Dial adjustments for lead screws calibrated in thousandths of an inch Item #: 47158-1VGA $279.99 http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=47158 Looks promising....but only 2 speeds....I guess it comes down to: get a tool that does 1 thing well, or get a tool that does 2 things so-so? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cody 82 ZXT Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 Anyone have any experience with one of these or any mill for that matter? Where do you get the bits for them? How much are they? What all could you really make with them? I have one of the small HF drill presses and it's OK. I certanily got what I paid for. Maybe alittle more. I like buying consumable stuff from HF. Sanding disc, grinding disc, gloves, etc... The prices is certainly right for those items and it seems like they have a better selection than Lowes and Home Depot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaleMX Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 In my opinion cheap drill presses have alot of runout and usually have squareness problems that can hinder precision work. Get something you can keep for a lifetime, not some disposable cheepie. Doesn't have to be big, just solid and square with a good true chuck. For econo good look at mid grade delta and jet stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax240z Posted November 25, 2004 Share Posted November 25, 2004 Spend the money on a high quality drill press, rather than a low quality mill. A milling machine is something that should be able to turn out a quality part or it is useless to you. A $350 mill isn't going to do that. Also wil a mill, budget a few grand for tooling, minimum, to be able to do anything useful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cody 82 ZXT Posted November 25, 2004 Share Posted November 25, 2004 In my opinion cheap drill presses have alot of runout and usually have squareness problems that can hinder precision work. Mine does have some runout that I wish it didn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsunlover Posted November 25, 2004 Share Posted November 25, 2004 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MICRO MILL/DRILL Precision milling and drilling at a price you can afford Designed for use with steel' date=' brass, aluminum, plastic andwood Cast iron base and main post with steel gear housing for rigidity Machined and ground ways for effortless table and mill head movement Dual speed range Dial adjustments for lead screws calibrated in thousandths of an inch Item #: 47158-1VGA $279.99 http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=47158 Looks promising....but only 2 speeds....I guess it comes down to: get a tool that does 1 thing well, or get a tool that does 2 things so-so?[/quote'] There yah go! And the 2 speed thing? Not really a big deal to change.. My boss started out (in his garage) with a mill very similar to that one. Made him all kinds of good parts.. and $$$ as well. Not to say Drax's point isn't valid.. but I have to say that in a lot of cases, it's the OPERATOR that determines how good the parts turn out, and not nessesarily the machine.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax240z Posted November 25, 2004 Share Posted November 25, 2004 Well that is true, I've seen guys use lathes with some serious blacklash going on, probably with tooling movement of 0.002-0.005" and they can turn out a pretty decent part once they know the machine really well. To me it's no different than buying cheap hand tools though. You get what you pay for, and a failure can mean serious damange to you and your equipment, loss of wages, or a lot worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted November 25, 2004 Share Posted November 25, 2004 Owen, Shop for a used variable speed drill press. I puchased my used band saw locally after spending some time searching used equipment here: http://www.surplusrecord.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted November 25, 2004 Share Posted November 25, 2004 surplus record is fantastic. I am keeping my eyes peeled for a rotary table now that the Bridgeport is bought and paid for! So is the 4X10 layout table that weighs 2800#, the power band saw that cust 6X steel billets, my 48" rusty slip rollers, and the 350Amp TIG machine.... Yeah, I went on a shopping spree. You can find what you want, and for the right price, too! I bought the mill out from under a Harley Shop that was dawdling about coming over for "photos" of the machine! The owner said "What do they need photos for, a Bridgeport is a Bridgeport I mean, how different can it look? Of course the shaper head on the back of the turret makes it all the more tantilizing! Muahahaha! Now to get them all on a flat bed, and over to the house! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdawson Posted November 26, 2004 Share Posted November 26, 2004 There are only about 3 major manufacturers of drill presses left, located overseas. There castings are put together under many different brand names. The better castings go into better quality machines. You really get what you pay for with these types of items. Check your local want ads and look for a better quality used one rather then getting something that is cheap but new. Delta, Jet & Grizzley are good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted November 27, 2004 Share Posted November 27, 2004 Some of these posts don't make a lot of sense. "Buy the better quality" I think that is the question. What is the better quality? Brand name? Price? Or buy what someone else has tried and liked? From looking at how they are made I don't see the Delta or Jet drill presses being as good as the Harbor Freight unit I have in my shop. Believe me I have looked. My only real complaint is I would like a larger and more centrally located off switch that is easier to hit in an a hurry. Other than that it is solid unit. The machining is all square and all the adjustments hold tight. It has done everything I have asked of it. Don't know how I would measure run out, but I have had no problem putting the holes where I want them. Guess I should have paid more for a name brand with less swing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BQR280Z Posted November 29, 2004 Share Posted November 29, 2004 I have a mill/drill from HF - and while it has it's limitations it is a very useable machine. If drill press is your primary concern you will have to add an extra set of pulleys to the motor and idler set to slow the arbor to the 100 RPM range for large bits. I recently bought HF's 12x36 lathe and their 21" gear head mill and am happily impressed. After looking for used big "name" lathes and mills, I decided I would rather have new and take care of it myself. I also did some wheeling/dealing on floor models they had in stock and came out VERY well. Billhttp://hybridz.org/photopost/data/519/27630073554-R1-036-16A1-thumb.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted November 29, 2004 Author Share Posted November 29, 2004 I've been looking into auctions and business liquidations too, just don't know what brand to look for. I wish I could find a good cheap tig welder as well. Oh well, more research. Thanks guys! Owen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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