Full Size Drill Press Question

Sean Wright

Member
Messages
902
Location
WNY, Buffalo Area
To start, I only have a bench top drill press. The full size floor drill press is on the list of things to upgrade to along with a 14in bandsaw.

For those of you with a full size drill press, do you bolt it to the floor, or does its weight alone keep it in one place?

Thanks !
 
I have two floor models.
Never bolted them down.
Never felt it was necessary.

Now they do get a little tipsy if you move them though.
 
Hi Sean, :wave:
I've never bolted one down yet. I change my mind much to often as to where I want things to be. :rofl:
I'll be building a more stable base for mine though. Not to sure exactly which one yet. There are a lot of good ideas out there.

DT
 
Mine is way tipsy so its bolted to the floor. Luckily I have a nice out of the way spot for it, near the hot water heater. So I've never had to move it.

I've seen threads where folks build cabinets on the bottom part, with the DP post running up thru the middle of the cabinet. Someday when I don't have anything to do, maybe......:rolleyes:

By the way, the footprint of the floor model is the same size as the footprint of the benchtop, so IMHO you actually loose space by having to give up bench area.:eek:
 
Sean,
I'm in the 'buy what you can use' camp. I got a great deal on my Delta 11-990 DP, it's the 12" model. I picked it up used over on SMC for $75. I'm going to put mine on a small filing cabinet I have, with a plywood stand under both to bring the DP and drawers up to a useful height. Just my plan, ymmv.

edit:

Also, one thing that I really can't live without, even on a benchtop unit is having the table raise and lower by crank, not just the friction fit sleeve. My mentor John had a floor Craftsman without the crank, and that showed me that I really wanted a crank lift on my first real DP.
 
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Sean,
I'm in the 'buy what you can use' camp. I got a great deal on my Delta 11-990 DP, it's the 12" model. I picked it up used over on SMC for $75. I'm going to put mine on a small filing cabinet I have, with a plywood stand under both to bring the DP and drawers up to a useful height. Just my plan, ymmv.

edit:

Also, one thing that I really can't live without, even on a benchtop unit is having the table raise and lower by crank, not just the friction fit sleeve. My mentor John had a floor Craftsman without the crank, and that showed me that I really wanted a crank lift on my first real DP.

Ned,

I have a little 9 in Craftsman, that I have bolted to one of my benches. It has a friction fit sleeve. It is a pain. The cheap-o handle broke off, so I made one, then that just recently broke off too.:bang: Right now I'm using a vise-grip on the bolt when I need to raise and lower the table. At some point down the road I plan on upgrading to a floor model. At that point I will probably dedicate the benchtop drill press to sanding drums.
 
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Sean,

You might keep an eye out on sites like craigslist for a good used press, maybe an older one, that would fit your needs and compliment a full size one you get in the future.

Here's my 1945 Atlas...





 
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