Author Topic: Drill pres (Read 2566 times)

Mauser06 · « **on:** January 13, 2023, 09:30:25 PM »

I'm thinking a drill press would be a nice item to add to my shop....I've been using a hand drill. I've used a drilling guide...I feel like a drill press would would be easier to keep straight and square...

Any thoughts on what size I need for our uses of gun building? A bench top would be ideal if I could get away with one...don't know if a certain size/motor would be better etc so figured I'd ask before I start looking.

Scota4570 · « **Reply #1 on:** January 14, 2023, 01:12:26 AM »

Old, heavy, and American made. The box store ones that run about $100 are flimsy and run to fast for larger bits. Anything you get will be a step up in work quality. Do get a drill press table vice.

Bill Raby · « **Reply #2 on:** January 14, 2023, 01:49:59 AM »

Big and heavy is ideal. But a cheapo bench top drill press will do the job and be better than a hand drill.

Bob Roller · « **Reply #3 on:** January 14, 2023, 02:19:04 AM »

Quote from: Scota4570 on January 14, 2023, 01:12:26 AM

Old, heavy, and American made. The box store ones that run about $100 are flimsy and run to fast for larger bits. Anything you get will be a step up in work quality. Do get a drill press table vice.

Old heavy USA floor model.Bought new in 1964 and then I went to Sears&Roebuck and bought a new CT&E table and a 3 inch vise for it and all this was $264 in solid currency and all American made in Pittsburgh and Chicago.The table has X&Y plus rotary capability.
Bob Roller

44-henry · « **Reply #4 on:** January 14, 2023, 05:15:42 AM »

Second buying a good used one. Bought this 1950s Delta some years back on Craigslist, much better than anything you will find in the big box stores. It now has a nice XY table on it of similar vintage. It was fun getting it and the lathe into my basement.

Fly Navy · « **Reply #5 on:** January 14, 2023, 08:38:34 AM »

My older 8" Delta has been a great workhorse for a long time. I would like to have a 10" but the new ones aren't built as good. The main thing I look for is play in the chuck. Mine has no side play which most new ones seem to have.

P.W.Berkuta · « **Reply #6 on:** January 14, 2023, 10:28:42 AM »

I inherited my dad's bench top Craftsman drill press which worked just fine but I just had to have a floor model, so I traded up to one. It was a Harbor Freight model - big mistake. It did OK but my Craftsman bench top was better at drilling holes that were straight it just did not have the quill travel that I wanted. I sold that HF floor model and bought a big WEN bench model and mounted it on a bench I made with wheels so that I could move it around and when not in use it could be moved out of the way - it's a nice drill press for the money.

mikeyfirelock · « **Reply #7 on:** January 14, 2023, 03:31:41 PM »

Keep an eye out on the want ads. I found an old Sears Craftsman floor model for sale for $100. In decent shape . It was a bear to move, but has served me well. (Hopefully you Won’t have to take it apart to get it into the basement like I did.)

alacran · « **Reply #8 on:** January 14, 2023, 03:36:33 PM »

I bought an 8 inch Taiwan made drill press back in "84 still have it, works great. At the time I bought it to make teak plugs and plugs that aren't commercially available. I paid $50 bucks for it back then. It has its limitations, but it will do everything that is required for stocking a rifle. It has a 1/2 horsepower motor.
This same press is still being made but I believe it is made in China now. E- Bay has them for less than $100.
Harbor Freight used to sell one that was very similar. Now they sell one with a stamped steel table. I would stay away from those, the table will drive you crazy, since it is not machined flat.
I bought a used 13-inch Shop Fox drill press last year. It is a quantum leap over the one I bought in "84. But I still have the old one and still use it.
You don't have to spend a ton of money on one. Just make sure it has a ground cast iron table and base. The only plastic on it should be the switch.
If you are patient, you should be able to find a good deal on a used drill press.

Goo · « **Reply #9 on:** January 14, 2023, 04:05:05 PM »

get one you can slow down to 200 rpms for drilling tool steel with out hardening as you drill

flehto · « **Reply #10 on:** January 16, 2023, 01:01:25 AM »

This is my floor model drill press w/ a vise setup for drilling lock bolt holes, bbl lug pin holes and also RR pin holes. The vise is very accurate and the top bbl flat is clamped against the permanent vise jaw. A large sheet of reinforced 3/4" thick plywood is bolted to the drill press table. W/ this setup, the 4 bbl lug 1/16 dia holes are drilled in 20 minutes. The 3 RR pipe holes slightly less.......Fred

deepcreekdale · « **Reply #11 on:** January 16, 2023, 09:12:59 PM »

Gun building does not require industrial strength machinery that was once used to turn or drill battleship barrels. Unlikely you will ever drill a hole bigger than a # 3 which does not take much power to go through wood or the steel used in muzzleloaders. If you can find a large old drill press in good shape for a good price, fine but expect it to weigh a whole lot. I have used an import benchtop for decades and it works just fine. A quality vise is almost more important than the press. A perfectly tuned drill press used with a cheap, wobbly vise won't work any better than a cheap import. Nothing in gun building requires super powerful machinery and the level of precision required on muzzleloaders comes more through careful set up than from super sophisticated equipment. I still prefer a hand drill with a center guide for most holes such as for barrel or ramrod pipe pins. Holes for parts like tang and lock screws can be easily drilled by eyeball, coming in from both sides and meeting in the middle. Start with a smaller drill bit and drill till you have a clear hole and then enlarge to final size. Your eyeballs are remarkably accurate.

paulitus · « **Reply #12 on:** January 17, 2023, 12:33:58 AM »

Faced with a similar choice a few years ago, and having some machine shop time in my past, I opted for this little machine. It drills nice holes, and can do light milling, as well.

kutter · « **Reply #13 on:** January 17, 2023, 01:50:29 AM »

I have a Taiwan Mill/Drill. I use that for the drill press operations. Plenty accurate and the XY table is great to center stuff.
I do much more firearms building and repair/restoration than some M/L stuff so it gets a lot of use. The expense is likely not in the cards for the occassional user but used machinery is still often quite inexpensive due to the 'buyer must move' policys of the seller.

I had a floor mount Atlas drill press way back (maybe it was a Delta??).
I never did get a lot of use from it and finaly sold that and opted for a rather small bench top import that does what I need it to do.
Limited for sure as to depth, heigth, etc. But so much better than hand drilling.
Especially that quaint hand crancker, but I admit it has it's use at times as well. Looks neat too.

Above posts have mentioned the Vise..Get a good accurate, solid vise for use on any machine you use.
A lightweight item will only leave you with inaccurate work as it moves around and/or is difficult to clamp securely in position.

Check around your area for 'Second Hand Tool' stores. They are not all that common but they do occur and everything from machinery like this to hand tools can usually be bought for cheap.

Mauser06 · « **Reply #14 on:** January 17, 2023, 07:28:13 AM »

Thanx all! As always, good info. I will see what I can find. Didn't take me long to find a good older delta bandsaw. I know I'm not in my long term house....so I hate to get another big machine that I'd probably want to move. I could put it in the attached garage next to the bandsaw since my truck doesn't fit in it....lol

c deperro · « **Reply #15 on:** January 18, 2023, 08:29:56 PM »

Unless you are drilling tomahawk handles I would buy an older milling machine. like a clausing 8520 or 8530. or a burke millrite. far better than any home shop drill press.

45-110 · « **Reply #16 on:** January 18, 2023, 10:09:40 PM »

Yes my big Rockwell drill press sits unused, I do all my drilling on the milling machine, just no comparison for ease and accuracy.

hanshi · « **Reply #17 on:** January 18, 2023, 11:26:58 PM »

Several years ago we moved to another state. Many things got sold including a Harbor Freight hobby drill press. It had an iron base and iron table and a drill press vice. I don't build guns so it did everything I asked of it.

After the move I bought the same press from Harbor Freight but it wasn't quite the same. The iron was now aluminum. It still works for me and is not as heavy as the older one was. But I know it isn't iron and I don't like it. But for just a hobbyist like me I can't really complain.

rick landes · « **Reply #18 on:** January 19, 2023, 05:12:03 PM »

A good X/Y vise is a must IMHO.

flehto · « **Reply #19 on:** January 28, 2023, 04:48:00 PM »

During the time I was a tool and diemaker, drilled tens of 1000s of holes and most were drilled in a drill press. The tapped and dowel holes were laid out w/ a square, center punched
and the center punch was picked up w/ a small, flexible drill. The only time a center drill was used was when a vertical mill, lathe or radial drill press were used. The reason a small flexible drill was used to pick up the center punch was that it could be moved until it didn't flex which signaled that the drill and center punch were aligned. This was achieved quickly. The dies we built had build time estimates so the fastest methods were used including the fastest ways to drill the many holes. If the holes had to be accurately located, a jig bore was mainly used or a Bridgeport mill was sometimes used.

Of all the holes I drilled, rarely was a center drill used.....Fred

rkrcpa · « **Reply #20 on:** January 28, 2023, 06:10:32 PM »

I have an old(er) Black and Decker that I received as a gift in the early '80's. It has done everything I have asked of it but I do wish it had a way mechanical way to raise/lower the table height.

oldtravler61 · « **Reply #21 on:** January 28, 2023, 06:52:50 PM »

I have an old Cummings floor drill. It weighs about 150 pounds. Only problem is it has power. But the spindle doesn't turn anymore and I am NO mechanic. Sure wished I could get the old girl running again.

Bob Roller · « **Reply #22 on:** January 28, 2023, 07:16:28 PM »

Quote from: oldtravler61 on January 28, 2023, 06:52:50 PM

I have an old Cummings floor drill. It weighs about 150 pounds. Only problem is it has power. But the spindle doesn't turn anymore and I am NO mechanic. Sure wished I could get the old girl running again.

If it's belt driven I think the motor shaft is turning inside the pulley,
Bob Roller

JTR · « **Reply #23 on:** January 28, 2023, 07:45:15 PM »

A common problem with an old machine is that a lot of them were badly abused or just plain worn out.
One similar to the one Paulitus shows will do the work nicely.
John

Scota4570 · « **Reply #24 on:** January 28, 2023, 08:43:54 PM »

I have rigged by big old drill press to run very slow. When cutting countersinks with a piloted tool, or reaming, slow is good. IF you run to fast you get shatter and things go down hill very fast.

I so use the little box store one more often.

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Author Topic: Drill pres (Read 2566 times)