I need a drill press

allen levine

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new york city burbs
Are there any reasons I shouldnt purchase the tabletop delta or black/decker(same thing) model?

I need something portable, small(dont have room anywhere), and I dont want to spend more than 150-175.

I figure Ill mount it on a small piece of plywood and just put it on my work table when I need it.

I basically need it to drill accurate depths. Im sick and tired of using blocks of wood as stops on my drill bits.Plus, I dont always get a straight hole with a handheld.

I need something that is easy enough for me to maintain, and use, no impossible mechanical stuff if I need to alter something or change something.

Id appreciate any advice.
 
Allen, I had a little Delta "Shopmaster" benchtop drill press, and had no complaints about it. It was a bit limited in capacity and quill stroke, but it ran smooth and powered its way through anything I tried to drill with it. One of the best $100 I've spent on my shop. I ended up selling it when I got a bigger floor model drill press, but the big one doesn't run as smoothly as the little Delta.
 
Hi Allen - A floor standing unit has some advantages, but the benchtop DP's have some benefits too. Lots of people do fine with a benchtop DP when the situation requires it. I updated my very small 8" Grizzly DP with a much heavier and more powerful 13" Harbor Freight 38142 on sale for $144. I'm usually pretty skeptical about HF machines in general, but I've not only been happy with this DP, I've actually been fairly impressed with it. It's take considerably more money to do substantially better IMO. I chose it over the Delta, Ryobi, Craftsman, Northern Tool, and Grizzly models.
 
allen,

I got my bench top along with a radial arm saw through our local paper on line, but there are lots on craigslist here. You might want to see what's available in your area.... Some of the older ones have good travel, and drill straight on. The price on a lot of them too...





Just an alternative idea.
 
thats a great thing don, I know about the drill stops, but I was just using wood blocks...or taping the bit.

Im not sure I want to buy one used, Imnot mechanically inclined, and I wouldnt know if Im buying something thats on its last breath.
Im going to watch the sites like amazon and see if they put any specials on it, or Ill check some local big stores to see prices. July 4th is coming, Im sure Ill get a 10 or 20% off coupon somewhere for a 50 or 100 dollar purchase.
Thanx for the advice, its time to get one.....
 
Allen, I have a Delta Shopmaster drill press from lowes and it works great. It has been through a lot and still keeps on going.


Ah yes, good ole Bumble, er Head Banger.
I don't recall the model I have off the top of my head... But I've got a Delta Benchtop DP, caught a good deal off of the Creek's classifieds just about the time I shut down my shop a couple of years back. Its been sitting in my storage unit for two years. Still, just $75 sure worked for me back then.

Jeff, your tale where Bumble sent you to the ER has just added more incentive to build a good DP center in my shop, early on once I get things moving in the shop.
 
I decided the price of used machines is just high enough that it probably pays for me to get a new one.
Im pretty sure Im going with the Delta DP300L

My next question, so Im finished with the purchase. Will this machine have enough power to use a mortise and tenon type bit/chisel type?
(delta makes a nice set, unless someone knows a better one at a decent price)
 
I have a Ryobi 10 inch drill press and for the most part it did all I asked.
However, it fell short when used as a mortising department. It had enough power but not enough quill travel. If you are interested I have an older Delta mortise attachment I would let go of for a very reasonable price.
 
it was like the stork coming and bringing me a new baby.
Noone told me how heavy this drill press is.
My kid bought me the MT kit as a present.
thanx anyway tom

My buddy is coming over at 7:30, I think he wants to sit back and put some baseball on the big screen. Hes in for quite a suprise. Were going to be setting this thing up. Now I have to make some kind of table for it,

Isnt he beautiful? Figured this will be the last time Ill see it without it being covered in sawdust.
 

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Allen,

Congrats on the new Drill Press.:thumb:

I have the same model, DP300L. I picked mine up from Lowe's a while back. If you take the time to dial the lasers in, you won't be sorry. They are very handy. A down side to the lasers is that they use a battery as their power source, so if you forget to turn them off, you will be going through batteries.

I had considered the morticing kit. Let us know how it works.
 
I have a bulging disk again in my back.
Ive been ordered out of the garage for a couple of weeks.
Heat frustration wasnt enough, now the disk is bulging and the pain has been unbearable some nights.
Today, when everyone left this morning, I snuck out to set it up.
My buddy, my best friend since Im 12, failed to show to help me as promised.
I guess a night out in Manhattan as a single man, was just too much for him to handle.

Delta instructions say 20 or something minutes to set up.
Me, :dunno: a bit over 4.5 hours, with 2 short breaks.

The mortiser took me 30 minutes, but I underestimated the time and precise settups Ill have to do with this machine.

I was rushing through some hole drilling, and actually got the laser to be exact, which I was so proud of myself.(sean, Im a little dissapointed Delta didnt hook the laser up to the power supply instead of a 9v battery)

I decided before I put the thing to rest for a couple of weeks now, I wanted to just try one mortise.
I lack the skill and technique, but my very first attempt, after forgetting to tighten the depth screw, was ok, not good, but acceptable.
I drew a line, and cut a mortise.
Like I said, not perfect, but I believe with practice, this is a pretty decent tool.

I have a house full of college kids.
(all downstate from WNY as they say, lockport, amherst, and some other city up in the buffalo area)

I think Ill like this machine, but never appeciated my table saw so much until I had to set this up.

obviously, I didnt secure the wood enough and thought I could hold it as I cut, so it moved slightly, the line was off, but it does cut square, something I had to see for myself.

I have 2 chairs I must finish, they are going to PA, and the person wants to stain them first, so when I finish those, I will build a stand on casters out of 2x6's and plywood. If Im ambitious, I might even put a drawer or two on it, that is my first project when Im feeling better. Must get this thing on a table and working.
 

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Allen,

Sorry to hear about you back. I hope it starts to feel better soon.
What do you think of the tray? I have some space limitations around my DP, so intalling it wasn't an option.

Was it easy to install the morticing attachment? Did you have to take the chuck off to install it? Any idea as to how deep of a mortice it can make?
 
I dont have the specs in front of me, but I believe it was about up to near 3 inchs deep? (or alittle under, Id have to look it up, they offer you a sheet with specs)It attaches over the chuck, pretty simple installation, just needs to be fine tuned when its on.(It attaches above the chuck, the bit goes into the chuck, and the outer part of the bit, the square mortiser, attaches to that piece. I had to see a square hole to believe it.)
I put the tray on, I dont know if Ill use it, its not in my way, Im going to have to mount the drill press on a mobile base.
 
a fence to get started

built a fence for the DP. simple but I think it will do.
 

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