I may have to give up on my efforts to put items in a vise and drill by hand! Does anyone have recommendations on a drill press (maybe a stand only to mount the drill in?), that is reasonably capable and maybe under $125-$150?
Original Post
Replies sorted oldest to newest
Got mine for $40 at a thresherman/steam show swap meet. Nice little Craftsman. Take a square and drill bit to make sure the table is perpendicular to the spindle.
The first question to ask is what do you want to do with it (I know, drill holes!!). If you are looking for a general purpose drill press for woodworking, DIY, keeping up with the honey-do list, etc., then there are several drill presses out there that will work well. I have a Sears/Craftsman that I've had for quite a while - probably cost ~$150. I think Delta, Ryobi, etc. all have benchtop models. You can get a flavor for what's out there by looking on the Bay, HD, Lowes...
If, on the other hand, you are looking for something that can drill really small holes very accurately, then I'd look for a "mini" drill press and I suspect a good one (I'd be careful of harbor freight and its ilk) will cost a bit more than your price range. Most of the general purpose drill presses have too much play in the spindle, etc. for really accurate work - at least in the price range you ask about.
Again, depending on what you plan to do with it - especially the range of materials you plan to drill holes in (wood, brass, steel, etc.) and the size of those holes - you might consider looking for a variable speed control motor -- as opposed to the usual setup with pairs of pulleys with different diameters. My Craftsman has the pulley pairs and I almost never change the speed (though I should) - mostly because its a bit of a pain and I often just don't want to take the time... On the other hand, most of my drilling is in wood or plastic or thin, soft metals so I can mostly get away with being lazy.
Here is a holder for a power drill that converts it into a crude drill press. I had one before I got a floor drill press. It works, but is light duty and not for precision work.
If you can increase your budget, here is a nice benchtop drill press.
Larry
You might try the OGR Forum SEARCH function, as this same subject came up within the the past two weeks (asked by Jeff T), and there were LOTS of good recommendations.
This is what I have
https://www.harborfreight.com/...ill-press-60238.html
Then they do seller two different vises for them also
https://www.harborfreight.com/checkout/cart/
https://www.harborfreight.com/...ling-vise-69159.html
Micro-Mark has the Microlux bench-top drill press (#81631) advertised for $199.00. About 40 years ago I bought a Craftsman floor-model drill press with speeds up to about 8500 derived from pairs of multi-step pulleys (six steps each) driven by a special, very narrow belt. It has a large cast-iron table machined for T-bolts and the spindle has very little run out. I also have an inexpensive bench-top Delta that is fine for most uses.
That's the one. I have four of them. They are, this week, $49.50 on sale - you cannot beat them. Yesterday I drilled two #67 holes in a journal bearing cap for a lead truck. I have successfully drilled #77 with this setup and a pin vise.
I literally drill thousands of #50 and #56 holes - the most common sizes for brass steam locomotive construction - each year, and my oldest drill press is from before Harbor Freight took over - a quarter century ago. It cost me $80 back then, and worth it. I found the identical drill press in Sears back then for $160 or so.
I have their larger model in the garage - it is useful, but nowhere near as useful to me as the smaller one.
Thanks all for the ideas.
Bob2, do you mean the micro-Mark bsmith mentioned is $49.50 or the delta? Quite the deals but having a challenge finding them. Thanks for any additional information.
While most folks avoid Harbor Freight when shopping for high quality tools, a lot of their stuff works fine for the casual user. For the O.P.'s stated use, the H.F. benchtop press, along with a drill press vise, will probably fill the bill and fit the budget. Check it out carefully once you unpack it - I've come across a couple where the (non adjustable) table is not perpendicular to the spindle.
Over a decade ago, a friend challenged me to find one of these not made in China. I couldn't - even Deltas came from overseas then. That's why I recommend looking at estate sales and swap meets for the older Craftsman or Delta models that seem to last forever.
Over the years, I've bought machine tools & accessories from Enco (now MSC) when their monthly sale catalog has something on my wish list. Not the cheapest, but the economy lines, on sale, have provided good value.
Hokie - I refer to the $50 Harbor Freight. I have tried them all, including a Pratt & Whitney sensitive cast iron unit, and for hobby and aircraft work, nothing else measures up when price, size, accuracy, and robustness are all factors.
My macine shop includes South Bend, Sheldon, Bench Master, Snap-On - all good old USA manufacture. I have no particular love for Chinese stuff. Just telling you what is currently the solution to your quest.
Opinion, of course, but I have drilled tens of thousands of holes with these things - only six yesterday, removing a brake drum from an aircraft wheel. Eight the night before, mounting air tanks on a Berkshire.
