Official Luthiers Forum!

I have been using my Shopsmith as a drill press but am giving it to someone. Therefore, I am looking to buy a drill press. I work out of my garage and don't have a lot of run when I already have a band saw, jointer, planer, drum sander and soon a job site size Sawstop when they come out. I want to buy a drill press also but I don't know what I need. I am thinking of getting a bench top model but such as a Grizzly, or a Shop Fox but I was at Lowe's and for a little less money I can get a Porter Cable floor model with a full 1 horsepower motor and the others have 3/4 HP. Space being what it is I think the better way to go might be going with the 3/4 HP and putting it on a bench and I can have drawers under it.

Any thoughts as to bench or floor model would be helpful as would, suggests to think about would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Chuck

Make sure you get one with enough clearance to drill your hole for your rosette (14" is a good size). For what we do, hp is not as big or a deal- unless you use it to thickness or drum sand.

_________________
ELEVATE || Next Level Lutherie
http://elevatelutherie.com
&
http://ensorguitars.com

As Chris indicated you pretty much can size a drill press for its intended uses. I have a 15" 1 HP craftsman model but it turns out I could get by with a much smaller model.

If you aren't sure what you will be doing with it then a 14" might be the safest bet.

_________________
Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

I bought the 15" Jet , but it was more cause I am a dealer and got better price . I have the floor model and have a cross slide vise so I can mill with it.

_________________
The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

I've got a 14" 3/4hp bench top model that sits on a stand with castors. There's a large drawer in the stand for drill stuff. I've been meaning to put better castors on it for the last 28 years.

Alex

_________________
"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

I have a bench top radial drill press. It is not as sturdy as a regular press, but has some features which are handy for instrument making. It came mounted on an open stand which I replaced with a storage cabinet.

I had Grizzly and Shop Fox both had motor and switch issues. I returned one Shop fox drill and had to replace a motor till I got one that worked. It is sad to see this. Jet I think may be a better tool. The customer service was ok but it doesn't say much for the tools quality.
I have a mill drill from MSC that operated for 10 yr with no issue.

_________________
John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

I bought a Delta 18" a few years ago and I love it. 6" quill stroke and best depth stop I've used. Also real easy to change speeds. It has a laser to mark the drill spot that I don't find useful. I don't have a large shop but I'm glad I made the room for this one. I got it for a lot less than I see them selling for now - I couldn't afford $1K for it.

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Years ago, my wife and I won just under $1,000 in a lottery. I used my share to buy a drill press, she used hers to pay her Visa bill.
I still have the drill press, she still has the Visa bills.

Alex

_________________
"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

I have a vintage Delta 18". I couldn't afford a new drill press so I bought a used one and restored it. I probably could have just cleaned it up, and put it into service, but I like restoring tools. I went with the mega size because I have this dream of doing an archtop guitar at some point and the extra depth will come in handy. The difference in the footprint between a 14" and an 18" floor standing model isn't that much. The 14" would be fine for most of what I do, but I don't think I'll ever say "I wish I had the smaller one." Mine has a 1 HP motor and I think that is probably overkill for what we do.

The main thing I think I'd look for is the ability to adjust the table and maintain the setting and a decent depth stop. Those features alone will make or break your love of what ever tool you pick.

John Killin brings up two important points. You must be able to adjust the table for different operations and you've got to be able to return it to level and perpendicular to the quill. The depth stop is important, too. My press has a locking mechanism that revolves around the hub of the drill handle. It will securely lock it in any position and it will reliably stop the travel of the quill, but it's fussy to adjust. I much preferred the depth stop on my dad's old press. A threaded shaft ran parallel to the quill and two locking nuts could be adjusted along the shaft to stop the quill at any desired depth. It was easy to do fine adjustments and it was secure. I think the capacity of the chuck is a consideration. Mine will handle a 1/2-inch bit shank. My press is undoubtedly Asian made and was bought at a local farm and home store in 1980. It's a bench top model and I built a rolling stand for it, so it functions like a floor model, but is moveable. The stand has storage for all the drill bits and accessories that I've collected over the years. Another feature I like is that the head and the table of mine can be pivoted around the column independent of each other. If I needed to drill the end of something longer than the column, I could swing the head out to the side, beyond the edge of the stand, to get more capacity.

_________________
The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

FWIW. Years ago, I bought a Craftsman 14" floor model. I eventually upgraded the motor to 1HP, but I found no fault with this press even with its smaller motor. I have used it as a floor model, as designed, but it was easy enough to lower the head down on the shaft so I could hoist it up and use it as a bench-top press. I still have it set up as a bench top but I do have the option to set it up as a floor model again, if I decide I need it that way. And the unused post just sits there waiting to be needed.
Tom

_________________
I spent most of my money on women, guitars and whiskey, the rest I wasted.

I got my 17" Jet 10 years ago. Threaded rod depth stop which to me was a huge improvement over the rotary handle mounted one on a previous Delta.

You have to manually change speeds by moving the belts.

It does everything I ask of it. Good tool. If you use the Robosander a lot and I do, get the little end support Lee Valley sells to eliminate any sideways movement.

Did have to change the switch after about 8 years but aslo had to on my Jet disk/belt sander and Delta belt sander.

_________________
It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

I have a Grizzly 14" floor drill press, I believe the 12 speed model and I also had a switch issue after a couple years. They wouldn't warranty the switch but it also wasn't very expensive and once I replaced it with a new version, it's been working fine ever since. They also updated to a threaded rod depth stop which while it isn't as fast to change depth as the rotary version, it's almost surely more accurate.

Having started on a bench and then gone to a floor model, I'd highly recommend a floor model irrespective of which brand you end up buying. Maybe it's not an issue for drilling holes in guitars but, the added depth from chuck to table is something that I take advantage of all the time for various reasons.

Edit: Also just remembered that the stock chuck and tapers on my Grizzly were garbage and I ended up buying some other chuck and a spare MT2 (or3, whatever it is) to Jacobs taper. I think I bought middle of the road stuff for about $100 and they've not given me any problems since.

_________________
http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

I think it is worth thinking about a small milling machine if you are looking for a drill press. For what we usually do it meets all the needs of a drill press and can do quite a bit more as well.

I have a Clausing 8520:
http://www.lathes.co.uk/clausing%20vertical/

You could easily think of it as a very well built radial drill with the benefit of being able to perform milling operations as well. They are available used (but not always cheap or in great shape). Grizzly sells new machines that are very similar. It does not take up more space than a similarly sized drill press.

I do have 2 other drill presses as well, a Buffalo bench top drill and a small sensitive drill for extremely high speeds. If I had to keep only one it would be a simple decision to keep the Clausing.

_________________
Burton
http://www.legeytinstruments.com
Brookline, MA.

Thanks for the info. A lot for me to think about here.
Chuck