Gunsmithing Tools: Drill Press

[roo_ster]

Howdy:

My question is this: Which manufacturers produce decent drill presses?

I asked a while back about whether I ought to buy a drill press to do some simple smithing tasks that I just plain can't get done locally.

I have looked some over, but I am at a loss as to which are quality. I have looked at Home Depot, Lowes, Northern Tool, Harbor Freight, and a few others. Oh, some just scream "crap" but I am not wise enough to evaluate them beyond eliminating the absolute worst.

I have decided on a bench-top type, due to space considerations.

Once I know which makes are of decent quality, I'll keep my eyes peeled for a used model. Sort of the "quality used item vs crappy new item" philosophy.

 

[Oyeboten]

The only Drill Presses I would consider, or have ever considered or owned, are old, U.S. made ones, such as Delta Milwaukee, Buffalo, early Sears 'Craftsman', Walker Turner, Atlas maybe, etc.


Ideally, one wants a long Quill Bearing ( no present day ones have this ) , and, good tolerances ( ditto ), Oil Cups or Sinks, or Zerks, ( ditto) and all round good quality ( ditto ) ...hence, pre-war US, or, for some brands, even those into the early 1960s, will be found to be very good.

Present day ones, unless one is to spend thousands, are junk.

Want ads, Craigs List, e-bay, or used Machinery Dealers...will be the usual recourse.

 

[rmfnla]

Look around for machine shops that are going out of business (all too common these days, unfortunately).

 

[HOWARD J]

I have a 40 year old sears craftsman---runs like new.

I have a new Sears in my reloading room--China--
I gets the job done--I don't expect it to last very long ( it's about a year & a half old )
Makes funny noises--bearings already ?
We now live in a country full of foreign junk............

 

[sophijo]

Drill Press

I've had good use from Grizzley Tools.

 

[FloridaConfederate]

I used to work at a pump company. The machine shop had two machines or mills named Bridgeport. These could be used as a surface grinder, drill press, a mill. Advertised a s the only machine that could "build" itself. Do not know about cost yet would get one for self if I ever get into the market.

 

[44-henry]

You might just want to consider the purchase of a decent import Mill/Drill instead. Though this machine has some limitations as a mill it is still capable of doing some excellent work and they make a great drill press. I have a Jet 15 in my basement and have never regretted the purchase. I teach introductory machining classes at the University where I work and my lab has four Bridgeport type mills which I have good access to, but the mill drill in my home shop still sees a lot of use when I get done with work.

 

[earlthegoat2]

Might as well get a Powermatic. They are more designed for woodworking though.

I would definitely think one of the smaller radial presses would be ideal such as the ones offered through Grizzley. I am not sure if Jet has one or not. When in doubt get a vintage one. They are generally better anyway.

 

[Digger Odell]

I picked up an old Delta from our local vocational school that was updating their equipment some years ago, & still operates great.
Like rmfnla suggests check the paper for shops closing, might also get a good deal for a
lathe or Bpt milling machine at the same time.

Good luck in your search.

 

[Clark]

There is not much self criticism coming out of Portland area barrel maker John Benjamin, but I have heard him say, "I spent too much time fixing an old drill press."

I have drilled and tapped a lot of Mausers on a drill press with a drill jig.
I have given up on that, and now do it on the mill.

The drilling and tapping could be done just as well on a drill press, if there were an X-Y table mounted on the drill press table and a vise mounted on the X-Y table.

Far more important than the quality of the drill press is the use of a center drill to started on a hole.
The run out of the worst cheap drill press might be .005" vs .001" on some great drill press.
But starting a hole without a center drill may make a .025" error.

Far more important than the drill press is that coolant get squirted on the hole being made.

What does it all mean?
Get a cheap $150 drill press, an X-Y table, a vise, a center drill, and a spray bootle filled with water mixed with cool mist.
Operate the machinery while wearing an Optovisor and a light shining on the work, so you can see.
Scribe the line on the work with a height gauge stylus on a surface plate to scratch off the Dy-chem blue.

 

[y5e06]

I have a delta DP350 and I really like it a lot. one thing that sets it apart from others similarly priced is that it has continuously adjustable chuck speed. from 500rpm up to 3500 IIRC. No changing belts or adjusting pulleys. also the verticle adjustable surface has a degree indicator and the press also has adjustable stop for the chuck depth. I have a cross vice (x-y) mounted on mine. works great for many different jobs.

 

[Rex B]

+1 on the mill-drill. You can pick up a used one under $500.
Lots of gunsmiths have been using them for milling and turning out fine work.
Another option is a Sieg minimill. It will do most of the milling and drilling chores needed for guns. $400, usually comes with a drill chuck.

For an actual drillpress, the Powermatic series from the Houdaille era (1970s - 1980) were painted metallic green with a white racing stripe. Those tend to be aimed at metalworking. Model 1200 is pretty common. I'm looking for one now.

I have a Rigid brand DP that is pretty nice, but when I find a real DP, the Rigid goes out the door.

 

[rondog]

For drilling holes in things, any cheapo drill press will do. But for "gunsmithing" tasks, I'd go with a Bridgeport vertical milling machine, or something very similar. I was a machinist for many years, and Bridgeports are one of the most versatile machines there is. There's a lot to be said for precision. Tooling ain't cheap though, but you could use one to make a living with if you had to.

 

[BCRider]

A lot of great nametags come attached to worn out stuff. There's some great deals to be had but you need to know what to look for.

I know import quality can vary widely but the benchtop drill press I got almost 30 years ago from Busy Bee, a Canadian equivalent of Grizzly and Harbour Freight, is still going strong and doing good work.

I'll just end this by suggesting that you really do want to get one that uses a morse to jacobs taper arbor to hold the chuck. The ability to swap chucks and use morse shank larger drill sizes is very valuable in the long run.