drill press??

[Cheese]

Thanks, everyone. I am not sold on any drill press yet. I haven't actually used a drill press in over 30 years.

Well from my perspective, if you haven't used a drill press in 30 years why would you think you need to purchase a drill press?  So I'd suggest you abandon the drill press acquisition thing and just move forward...jeeez, that's just mental masturbation that's confusing your thought process.

 

[jeffinsgf]

Thanks, everyone. I am not sold on any drill press yet. I haven't actually used a drill press in over 30 years. It would make some drilling easier and more accurate than by hand but so far it hasn't been an issue and I wonder if it actually makes sense for me to chase one. I might be patient and see what pops up used. I am apparently in no big rush.

Here's mine. It's a 1950 14" Delta with a production table. I paid $100 for it, spent 3 weekends tearing it down, cleaning it up and putting it back together. It is exactly what you asked for in your opening post. Insanely simple and satisfyingly precise. Facebook Marketplace and Craigs List are your friends.

 

[Cheese]

How often do you guys change the speed? But I agree if it is electronic, one would probably change it more often.

Chuck...believe it or not, for every drill press session I have, I'll change the belts 2-3 times. Nothing's worse than drilling 1/8" diameter holes at 600 rpm. It's slow going and the drill bit never really cuts...it just beavers out the hole. Broken drill bits are usually the result.

My 2 favorite mantras are...change the blade in the track saw and change the speed of the drill press.  [big grin]

 

[Cheese]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member]

I routinely see 20 inch Clausings go for under 1500 to 2000 on a lot of auction sites.

Arboga and Solberga also make wonderful drill presses. All gear driven. They come up for auction as well, just not all the time.
https://exactmachinetoolsales.com/arboga-machine-tools/
https://www.normanmachinetool.com/?...pe=&product_cat=drills&product_brand=solberga

Ron

Thanks Ron for the info...I get that 30 year old Clausings are going for chump change, although I'm surprised.  [big grin]  It's interesting that we're now up against a new tech vs old tech issue. The Clausing weighs over 600 pounds, the Voyager weighs 200 pounds. Both of those drill presses have so many things going for them it's a really tough decision.

The Clausing along with the Bridgeport and the Hardinge lathe is what propelled the American industrial community for the last 50-70 years. All three are US machining icons. Very similar to what the Mazak CNC is to today's machine processing.

Also thanks for the links to the Arboga and Solberga websites, I'm unfamiliar with them...will read up and check them out.  [big grin] [big grin]

 

[ChuckM]

How often do you guys change the speed? But I agree if it is electronic, one would probably change it more often.

Chuck...believe it or not, for every drill press session I have, I'll change the belts 2-3 times. Nothing's worse than drilling 1/8" diameter holes at 600 rpm. It's slow going and the drill bit never really cuts...it just beavers out the hole. Broken drill bits are usually the result.

My 2 favorite mantras are...change the blade in the track saw and change the speed of the drill press.  [big grin]

Every session? [eek]
You need a self-adjust variable speed DP! That's one that would adjust its own speed without human intervention.

 

[FestitaMakool]

Chuck...believe it or not, for every drill press session I have, I'll change the belts 2-3 times. Nothing's worse than drilling 1/8" diameter holes at 600 rpm. It's slow going and the drill bit never really cuts...it just beavers out the hole. Broken drill bits are usually the result.

My 2 favorite mantras are...change the blade in the track saw and change the speed of the drill press.  [big grin]

Make that the jig saw too.  [wink]

 

[Cypren]

Chuck...believe it or not, for every drill press session I have, I'll change the belts 2-3 times. Nothing's worse than drilling 1/8" diameter holes at 600 rpm. It's slow going and the drill bit never really cuts...it just beavers out the hole. Broken drill bits are usually the result.

This has been my favorite feature of the Voyager by far: I’m never tempted to forego a speed change and just try to wing it because of the hassle of switching belts. Using the correct speed for the drill bit and the material is as simple as a few clicks.

 

[Bob D.]

Chuck...believe it or not, for every drill press session I have, I'll change the belts 2-3 times. Nothing's worse than drilling 1/8" diameter holes at 600 rpm. It's slow going and the drill bit never really cuts...it just beavers out the hole. Broken drill bits are usually the result.

This has been my favorite feature of the Voyager by far: I’m never tempted to forego a speed change and just try to wing it because of the hassle of switching belts. Using the correct speed for the drill bit and the material is as simple as a few clicks.

I will say the same for the DVR motor on my bandsaw. I now have the ability to change the speed based on what type of cut I am making and the material. So if resawing or cutting thick stock for a bowl blank I can use 4000 FPM, if doing lighter work I can choose 2000 FPM, or anywhere in between. If cutting plastics or aluminum there are presets for those materials too, and of course any custom speed you wish to set. All by the push of the buttons on the controller.

 

[Bertotti]

I have been drilling headstocks for tuning machines on mandolins. I think Cheese nailed it. Pass by and I'll just get a jig for tuning machines. Much cheaper in the long run. The only other use I would have for it is sanding but an oscillating spindle sander would be a much more useful tool to me. Sometimes we get caught up in that mental masturbation Cheese mentioned. I'm over it now. Thanks!

 

[Packard]

Machine shop drill presses tend to be very accurate. 

This one, used sells for $2,499.00 and weighs 4,100 pounds. 

But personally I would try to find a jig that will accomplish the required accuracy.

 

[mino]

This one, used sells for $2,499.00 and weighs 4,100 pounds. 
IMG

Sorry, but that is one truly hilarious photo!

The black band pretending to be "holding" on to the pallet is priceless.

Especially as someone meant it seriously judging how it is overextended already.
[big grin] [big grin] [big grin]

/joke aside/
Getting something like this IS a good idea if one owns his shop building with a heavy-load concrete floor and knows it will have long term use. The only issue with these behemoths is their movement. As long as none is planned, they are a great value.

 

[Packard]

We have three machine shop grade industrial drill presses in our tool room.  We bought them all used from used machinery brokers and drill presses are incredibly cheap from these outfits.  I doubt we paid more than $250.00 for each one. 

But...

But these probably weigh 200 pounds or more each.  So you might need a couple of friends to move these.  Stairs would scare me. 

But cheap and solidly built.  Many of these brokers don't even list them as they have so many.  A phone call works best.

 

[Bertotti]

Ironically enough I have actually considered a mini lathe mill. What I would use it for is smaller work but then I wonder what else I could do if I had the drill press. I just have a lot of thinking to do to decide what my future needs will be.

 

[Bob D.]

Unfortunately for those who were drooling over the Vulcan metalworking drill press it is dead and there are no plans to bring it back to life according to an email I received yesterday.

That is disappointing but that's the decision NOVA has made for whatever reason. I searched yesterday for a Vulcan new or used and turned up nothing. Even a voyager is difficult to find in stock now. Vendors are taking orders with estimated December 2021 delivery dates from what I have seen. They'll gladly take your money today for a drill press delivered a minimum of 6 months from now.  [unsure]

So if I find a Voyager in stock now I am going to buy it now. I've been on the fence for this DP for 2 years, always saying I'll wait another month or two or finding some excuse to put it off. Before the Voyager is NLA I aim to have one. Based on my 10 year history with their lathe and 2 years with the bandsaw motor I feel there is little risk in the DVR technology.

Here is the email I received yesterday from NOVA.

 

[mino]

That is disappointing but that's the decision NOVA has made for whatever reason.
...

With metal manufacturing basically converted to CNCs today, the market is flooded with old high end presses available for those small shops that cannot afford a proper CNC mill.
The market likely got too small and the occasional non-metalwork customers like us cannot make up for the needed volume.

I see this also in Europe.
You can still get high-end DPs for manufacturing use in the $5k+ range and you can get cheapo ones for $500 or so. But the mid range is disappearing fast. Everyone just goes for used industrial machines at those price ranges. Same for as non-CNC mills a decade ago.

I think we need to wait a decade and the Chinese and Indians will pick up the small shop market hole and fill it up. For better or worse.

 

[Imemiter]

I have been drilling headstocks for tuning machines on mandolins. I think Cheese nailed it. Pass by and I'll just get a jig for tuning machines. Much cheaper in the long run. The only other use I would have for it is sanding but an oscillating spindle sander would be a much more useful tool to me. Sometimes we get caught up in that mental masturbation Cheese mentioned. I'm over it now. Thanks!

I have one of those Shop Fox drill presses that has an oscillating sander function. The swap over to sanding mode isn't too bad and the dust collection works well. It's no mill but I've loved having it around for making plugs and jigs.

I offered to make the wife a jig for drilling out fiddle pegs, but she prefers free-handing with her 12v Bosch. Almost offered her my CSX last time but I want to hang onto it awhile longer.  [big grin]

I've got a few mandolins. A Moon and a Mowry are my favorites. I really should play them more often (or sell one and get a Nova...) Post a picture of yours sometime!

 

[Packard]

Stu-Mac makes a bunch of drilling jigs for this purpose.  If they don't have what you want, then a machine shop can make one for you.  Or make the jig from hardwood and install hardened steel bushings.

McMaster-Carr has almost any size you could want.  If I recall correctly the fiddle only would require 4 holes.  They are probably symmetrical on both sides so only two bushings would be required.

Or go on one of the fiddle building sites and ask there.
https://maestronet.com/forum/index.php?/topic/338554-drilling-string-holes-in-pegs/

 

[Cheese]

Unfortunately for those who were drooling over the Vulcan metalworking drill press it is dead and there are no plans to bring it back to life according to an email I received yesterday.

Thanks [member=60461]Bob D.[/member]  for posting that reply from NOVA. That's really disappointing... [sad] [sad]  Guess I'll have to go the Ellis route or the used Clausing route.

 

[rvieceli]

Here you go [member=44099]Cheese[/member] 

Small road trip.
https://www.bidspotter.com/en-us/au...0439/lot-2bddd5d4-e842-40bd-86f8-ad2e0154aef4

Ron

 

[Cheese]

[big grin]...Road Trip... [big grin]

Interesting Ron, it certainly starts out cheap enough. [jawdrop]

But then again, with 10% sales tax & an 18% commission, stuff adds up in a hurry.  What do you predict this one will go for?