We have one of those at work. It's horrible. The belt is too long so some of the low gears can't be used without having the belt rub against the housing. The depth stop, which was impossible to set accurately, broke off a long time ago. The drill doesn't even run true so it's nearly impossible to precision work with it. In other words, it's cheap from Harbor-Freight.
Sorry.... I can't recommend it.
If you want an inexpensive drill press, I suggest looking at the Jet JDP-12. That's not top of the line either, but at least the drill runs true and the machine drills round holes with considerable precision.
~Tom
Sorry.... I can't recommend it.
If you want an inexpensive drill press, I suggest looking at the Jet JDP-12. That's not top of the line either, but at least the drill runs true and the machine drills round holes with considerable precision.
~Tom
wandered past that last night -
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
i bought some low dollar tools from Big Lots yesterday.
we'll see how these work out .
just like these -
Rotary Tool Kit - 80 Piece Set
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The bearings used in the chuck assemblies are the same type & size that you find in the likes of a skateboard......just plain tiny. Put one of the longest bits you can, get a dial-gauge & measure the deflection.........this tolerance separates the good ones from the lousy ones.
_______________________________________________________Rick.........
_______________________________________________________Rick.........
Maybe we have different ideas of what "cheap" means. The Jet is $400, the Harbor Freight is $40.
At $40, its a good value. I'm not expecting .001" accuracy, just a device to drill a lot of decently perpendicular holes. I've made a few dozen PCBs with this drill doing the holes, and this has helped immeasurable in drilling heat sinks and cases vs. my old method (freehand).
Don't get me wrong, I'll take the Jet ten times out of ten if you're buying the tools. For a tool I use rarely, and for very few purposes, $40 is the deal I want.
At $40, its a good value. I'm not expecting .001" accuracy, just a device to drill a lot of decently perpendicular holes. I've made a few dozen PCBs with this drill doing the holes, and this has helped immeasurable in drilling heat sinks and cases vs. my old method (freehand).
Don't get me wrong, I'll take the Jet ten times out of ten if you're buying the tools. For a tool I use rarely, and for very few purposes, $40 is the deal I want.
Possibly. Maybe we've been burnt differently by cheap, crappy tools too... Or have had the pleasure of using real tools and gotten spoiled.
If $40 is your budget and you already have a hand drill, I would actually recommend getting a drill stand. I've drilled many PCBs, chassis parts, etc. with a setup like that. That'll drill straight holes and the drills tend to run true.
I can, obviously, only judge by the one sample of that particular drill press that I've seen. That one specific sample is a complete piece of junk. Maybe you got a better sample...
Anyway. You're happy with the deal. That's all that really matters...
~Tom
I picked my TEK 2465B out of the surplus pile at work. About $20 worth of caps and a fan later, I had it fixed.
Now, probes are another story. TEK P6139's are not exactly cheap. I think I ended up shelling out $150 for two of them on ePay. Given that they're $400/ea from TEK I figured I'd done a decent deal... ~Tom
For PCB's I'd rather get on of those small dremel drill press jobbies, its basicaly a press you put a dremel tool into, the small size (you can put it in your drawer when not in use), is realy handy. they are quite pricey though at about $30 or so a pop.
BUT, it is far nicer to use on PCB's then a giant drill press. ( I also have a cheap nasty one) the runout on the drillbit is quite horrible, you set it up with the tip centered on the point you want to drill, then when you switch it on the bearings have so much play, the ti pof the drillbit goes in circles around the spot you mark. I usualy use a pin vice to make some leadholes to give it something to catch on to.
BUT, it is far nicer to use on PCB's then a giant drill press. ( I also have a cheap nasty one) the runout on the drillbit is quite horrible, you set it up with the tip centered on the point you want to drill, then when you switch it on the bearings have so much play, the ti pof the drillbit goes in circles around the spot you mark. I usualy use a pin vice to make some leadholes to give it something to catch on to.
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