Need drill press and something else.....

[Uncle Alvah]

I am building my first rifle, a Southern Mountain rifle, iron hardware.
I am shopping for a drill press and I would be interested in opinions on a second powertool purchase.
Small verticle belt grinder?
8" Bench grinder, or maybe a 8"wire wheel/buffing wheel rig?
Can ya help a guy out?

[Long Ears]

I couldn't survive without my drill press. Get as big as will fit in your shop or on your bench. You might try Grizzly tools they are a big step above Harbor Freight's junk in my opinion. There aren't many tools being built here at home anymore so buy the best imports you can. Grizzly has a fantastic parts department and good service, for me anyway. I have a 2" belt grinder and a 1" belt grinder, I rarely use the 1". I think the best 1" on the market is a Kalamazo. I hardly ever use a bench grinder for anything anymore. I even sharpen my lathe cutters on the belt grinder. Good luck, Bob

[Dale Halterman]

I haven't bought a new stationary power tool in decades. I watch Craigslist, go to estate sales and auctions or flea markets.

The only power tool I use regularly for gun building is my drill press. A very distant second would be my band saw for roughing out stock blanks.

Dale H

[FALout]

A good drill press is a great addition for any shop, I don't use my grinder much unless I damage a wood chisel.  I'm lucky to have use of several bandsaws at work, so no need to buy one.  Most of my tools are for hand use.  To me, you can't have enough files both wood and metal. 

[Paddlefoot]

I would choose a band saw over any other power tool   If you wanted to see what it was like back in the day a turning saw or "bow saw" would be what you wanted but dang that's a lot of work.  If you are going to get a sander get one with a disc and a belt. One tool with more uses. On the drill press, An "arm" drill press strikes me as a pretty useful tool. They have a cylindrical arm that retracts or extends as well as rotates so you can drill around a circular perimeter and I believe some can do duty as a router is some applications. Pretty sure Grizzly makes one

[WKevinD]

I use my 1"x 42" Grizzley belt sander almost every day.

Kevin

[porchdog48]

 I found an old Craftsman drill press the was much better than the new chinese manufactured one I had, and only paid $75 on Craigslist.  Just keep checking Craigslist everyday and sooner or later a deal will pop up.
Dave

[Mark Elliott]

I would say that a modern gun builder needs to have a drill press and a bandsaw.   It makes things a lot easier.    I have a 15" Craftsman drill press and a 14" Jet bandsaw which are quite sufficient when kept in good working order.

I also have a Grizzly 2x72 knife makers belt sander and a small Grizzly 7x12 metal lathe for tool fabrication.   I would like a much larger metal lathe, but getting one in the shop is a problem.   I also have a large Nova wood lathe but that is mostly for horn work which is another thing altogether. 

A drill press and a bandsaw would be a great start.   

[Curt Lyles]

Alvah I have an old American made delta rockwell floor model that Im not usin right now that I might sell I live in Indiana and you would have to come after it. If your interested my email is clram@bnin.net.Curt

[deepcreekdale]

A suggestion if you are looking for a wire wheel/buffing rig set up. Get one that runs at slow speed, most grinders work at 3450 RPM. A buffing wheel or wire wheel spinning that fast can catapult anything you are working on into the farthest, dark corners of your shop. Slower wheels are far more controllable and easier on your parts. You used to easily be able to get buffing heads  cheaply that you could connect to any electric motor with a fan belt. Might be worth looking for one of those, probably will save a lot of money on that.

[David R. Pennington]

You can build longrifles without any power tools. I have a drill press, a very old (1940-50"s) bench type I use ocasionally. They are handy once in a while. I don't have a lot of room for large power tools. I have an old Craftsman table saw I use to saw to minimum depth of barrel inlets before I chisel them out. I would like to have a real nice commercial grade bandsaw for cutting out blanks, but I have learned to do without it. I rough blanks out with chainsaw, then go from there. I had one of those little bench top bandsaws and finally learned the only thing it was fit for was ruining blanks and manufacturing frustration. I bought a little Sherline mini lathe a few years ago and it comes in handy turning jags, screws, tumblers and the like. I justify it's existence by manufacturing a small part for my work ocasionally.
Ninety percent of the work I do on longrifles is with hand tools. Planes, chisels, gouges, files, egg beater hand drill, brace and bit, etc.,. Most of these were bought used, flea markets, antique stores.

[P.W.Berkuta]

I am building my first rifle, a Southern Mountain rifle, iron hardware.
I am shopping for a drill press and I would be interested in opinions on a second powertool purchase.
Small verticle belt grinder?
8" Bench grinder, or maybe a 8"wire wheel/buffing wheel rig?
Can ya help a guy out?

I would strongly suggest a GOOD drill press either old used one or if you must buy new go Grizzly. I have a Harbor Fright floor model that will not drill a hole square or perpendicular to the table. I use it just to put rough holes into stuff. I use my mill for accurate work. A bench grinder is good - look at Rigid Tools (I see them at Home Depot) their 8" looks good. As for a buffer / wire wheel don't use the grinder get a seperate one just for buffer / wire wheel work.

[SingleMalt]

While I do have a drill press, I rarely use it. Not counting the ramrod hole, you need to drill three holes on a longrifle with accuracy. The tang bolt and lock bolts. I bought a drill guide from someone here on ALR years ago and use it. I think someone makes one today. It works great for not only screws but pins for trigger guards and ramrod pipes.  Best money I've spent in a while for tools.

[kutter]

I am building my first rifle, a Southern Mountain rifle, iron hardware.
I am shopping for a drill press and I would be interested in opinions on a second powertool purchase.
Small verticle belt grinder?
8" Bench grinder, or maybe a 8"wire wheel/buffing wheel rig?
Can ya help a guy out?

I use a verticle belt grinder a lot in my work (4x48"). Everything from sharpening tools to shaping metal parts to polishing. Wood sanding as well. Once you get used to one and working on the verticle as well as the the blind under side of the bottom wheel, you can do a great amt of very fine work.

A buffer/grinder I have but haven't used it as a buffer nor a grinder in 40yrs on gun parts. I do put a hard wheel on it and put a razor edge on carving tools with it. But no metal polishing/finishing with it. The other side has a wire wheel on it and I use that for cleaning up dirty parts of rust and grime. Works fast and efficiently. HAng on tight,,they can take a ride on you!
For finishing purposes I do use a fine wire wheel on metal that has been hand polished. Coat the metal with some oil,,most any oil will do and use a medium speed fine wirewheel to burnish the surface. Leaves a very nice finish for either in the white or ready for rust blue or brown. Shows up any file or polishing scars you missed too.
 For that all you need is a recycled motor belted to an arbor. Kick the speed down about 1/2 and there you are. OSHA probably won't approve of the set-up but too bad.
I had another motor set up with a small drill chuck on it that I used for spin polishing and shaping screws and pins. Very handy. Had it mounted on a small wooden block so I just put it in the bench vise when needed and out of the way when not. No floor space taken up.
I use my small lathe headstock 3 jaw now, but the former did just as well for many years.
That motor now runs the rust blue carding wheel.

I got rid of my floor mounted drill press many years ago. Now I have just a small bench mounted one that I use occasionally and a JET mill-drill.
The small drill press is more than enough to drill the bbl pin and screw holes needed in a L/R project using a simple spike center mounted in the table and lined up with the drill bit.
Lots can be done w/o a lot of expensive equipment.

[Jerry V Lape]

Drill guide (think Dave Rase sells them) along with your portable hand drill will do all you need to assemble a rifle.  If you are going to assemble your own lock then a drill press or mill is needed.  Band saw is nice but I have a scroll saw that will cut the stock outline and doesn't take as much space or money.  Again if you are planning on cutting blanks from larger wood then a band saw would be pretty important.  The point is that until you figure out how serious a builder you will become there are less expensive options.

[n stephenson]

I finally moved my drill press to another shop other than my gunshop.I hardly ever used it. I do have a large Rockwell bandsaw in the shop though. The most useful tool I have ever bought is a hand held 1 inch Makita belt sander it was about $300 . I will never be without one again. It can be used flat or on curved surfaces with both inside and outside radius . It works on wood and metal with different grades of belts available. I worked about 25 years without one and have the wore out elbows to prove it.           Thanks Nathan

[flehto]

In my workshop you'll find  four free standing electric power tools....a drill press, band saw, disk sander and a bench grinder,.

The free standing Craftsman drill press has 8 speeds which accommodate drills up to 3/8" and also some higher speeds for very small drills. It has the power to handle larger drills than 3/8"  w/ turned down shanks.

The band saw is a 14" Grizzly to which I added ball bearing blade guides for "on the line sawing". The stock plastic block blade guides allowed too much blade wander. A good band saw job eliminates a lot of wood that would otherwise be removed w/ hand tools.

The disk sander is used for numerous tasks.....straight  edges on sheet metal, shaping various wood forms and also other tasks...seems it's used frequently. Shaping chisels is also done w/ a can of water nearby.

Seeing I  resharpen all my drills, a bench grinder is a necessity and it performs some other tasks.

Wouldn't be w/o these 4 machine tools......Fred     

[Dan Fruth]

For a first time builder, I would humbly suggest you start with the drill guide and a cordless drill for drilling 1/16" and 8/32 holes. Tom Snyder sells these guides and they are worth every penny. As to a band saw, consider seeking out a local shop that has a band saw, and ask them if you could pay to make a few cuts on your stock blank. Have your layout lines all done, and pay them a visit. Once you finish your first gun, you may not want to tackle another, or you might just "catch" the bug, and then you can start acquiring the big tools.

[n stephenson]

I second what Dan says. Try it out first and, if you like it you can always buy more tools later. I don`t know if anybody else has this problem but, I`ve found out that" tool collecting" can be about as addictive as gun and gun part collecting. I will state publicly that it is NOT my goal to be featured on an episode of Hoarders.LOL!!!!                  Thanks Nathan

[wmrike]

I have done a lot of good work with a bench-top press, so if funds are limited, don't throw out that idea.  A floor model is much more versatile.  I use an old Craftsman floor model that allows me to get the table up about 52".  Most all the floor models being sold now will only go waist high or so, and I'm too old to bend over that much.  An earlier poster put in a good word for Grizzly, and I would second that. The last time I looked, they were the only offering that permitted the table to be run up high enough that it would be comfortable to work on.

[JCKelly]

Agree with Fruth & Stephenson

I did this as a HOBBY, not for a living. Made about a dozen rifles, two pistols and about five 1/3 scale guns, had no drill press. Did have a 1963 B&D 1/4" drill and drill stand. Oh and I think someone with a router cut the 7/8" barrel channel on three stocks for me.

Didn't suffer, didn't know I had to have a drill press.
Wife did get me a Sears bandsaw and that I used.

Ramrod holes drilled with a brace & bit, in my very humble opinion, are less likely to wander out of the stock than if you use some electric machine. Yeah, electric saves one's muscles a few calories. I am inclined to think one must be more skilled, a better craftsman, to use power tools without OMG WHA' HAPPENED??

and I am not that skilled

Personally I would avoid using any power grinder or sander. No control. Use that antiquated arm-powered tool called a "rasp".

Much more fun.

Ya wanna make these things for a living, then get your CNC shop.

[oldtravler61]

  Uncle Alva just remember back then they didn't have any fancy tools with spark. An they did just fine. Just remember the more power tools you use the quicker the mistakes. Ask me how I know. Oldtravler

[flehto]

Much of the work when building a MLer is handwork, but some of the "less exciting" tasks can be more pleasant and less boring using power tools. The end product doesn't reveal what tools were used. In fact, when needed, my Dremel does certain tasks better and faster than hand tools. 

If one wants to build LRs "the old way", that's a good thing, but I'd rather use the saved power tool time for the aesthetic features of a LR seeing they're the most difficult tasks for me.....Fred

[Clark Badgett]

I guess I'm rather lucky in some regards. I have a boss that does not mind if I want to stay over a few minutes to use his metal cutting band saw to rough out a blank, or shorten a barrel and true up the face on the lathe. So long as I am not on the clock.

I do have a small hobby metal lathe and a wood lathe in my small garage, but I rarely use them unless I decide to make a tool for something or for other hobbies. Also have a small drill press that has come in handy for some things but I've only used it to drill tang bolt holes so far in regard to gun building. Most everything else I actually like using hand tools.

[P.W.Berkuta]

I am in Fred's boat on this matter. I enjoy building the gun after all the parts are on the stock. I build from a plank not a kit or a semi-inlet stock so for me the work begins with the basic parts on the wood -- barrel, lock, triggers, butt plate. I then shape the wood with hand tools and add more parts (that I make) - then final shaping, finishing and testing. I work the plank to get to MY beginning of the build with power tools be it bandsaw, drill press, router, mill, or lathe. I also do this as a hobby but I want to finish the project BEFORE I die. NOTE : When I started to build muzzleloaders in the late 60's I was full of energy and did ALL the work by hand now that I am older and wiser I use the tools that I have and I am also very happy with my finished product as I was in my teen's & 20's when I did it by hand. Do your build as you like but don't hold the “holier than thou " card against those that want to use power tools - I am totally positive that if any of the "old masters" were alive today they would be using ALL the tools available to them.