Small drill press

If it is for occasional use you can get a drill press attachment for a Dremel if you have one. As has been mentioned aluminium does run out so pin punch and pilot holes are a must. You will need to find a way of clamping the work piece.

1678139582090.png
 
My 3/4" pillar drill has three sets of pulleys, and a reduction gear, like a Jeep's high and low transfer case...some lathes also have that.
So total six speeds are possible.
Change is by gear in / out, or pulley belt changing.

The ideal cutting speed for different materials is given in feet or meters per minute, so depends both on drill diameter and material.
It is now commonly available information on the net, we had texts on 'Workshop Technology' in my Engineering course. with that in tables..
Feed rate also is important.

After some years, you get a pretty good idea for the required speed!

My new portable drill has forward / reverse. variable speed and impact / regular selection, handy.

If you need a VFD...se how much torque the motor gives over the range.

I would give the job out to a shop if I need many holes drilled, there are many Bridgeport type mills with digital scales available for doing that, they charge per hour or per hole.
 
Last edited:
Member
Joined 2022
Paid Member
Any recommendations for a [left/right, front/back] Vise - I don't know what the technical term is, cross-slide? Like on a lathe or vertical mill? I see some Wen products on Amazon, but I can't tell if they would be worth it given the discussion from folks who seem to be machinists about how much slop is in it.

I mostly work on wood with hand tools with the occasional lawn mower or kids ride on toy repair, so I don't want to sink $1,000 in tools to make 3 amp and two pre-amp enclosures. But it seems like it would be pretty handy. I already am debating if I want to invest in a real Jacobs 5/8" chuck or roll the dice on something else.
 
A drill is not strong enough for milling, you could break tools.
It is a stop gap solution to use a cross slide on a drill.
And a milling machine, or as the Americans say, 'mill', is quite heavy, starts about 1000 lb.
Those will work, but for short runs I prefer to get my work done by pros.
Longer runs go to the right set of machines...also outside, I do only molding and light drill / lathe work in house.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
If someone wants to mill/CNC then you need something with bearings that can take lateral force rather than drills that are for vertical force along the axis of the drill bit.

You can get mini mills for modelling (https://www.axminstertools.com/proxxon-mf-70-milling-machine-371104) for example but they’re mini and dor modelling.. rather than massive case work! You can even get automated tables too!
(I have no relationship with either company nor do I own any proxxon tools but in person they look interesting).
 
Member
Joined 2022
Paid Member
Er, I don't disagree that a drill press is not meant for side loads like milling. I don't intend on using a drill press for milling. I am not sure where that came from.

So, does anyone have any suggestions for a cross-slide [left/right, front/back] Vise for a drill press to be used as a drill press? Specifically, to make it easier to index, align, and accurately locate a series of holes, and hopefully easier to hold parts I find hard to clamp to my current cast iron bed.
 
Member
Joined 2022
Paid Member
any size requirements that it needs to clamp?
Thanks! For context, here are the two presses I have.

I don't have a project driving a firm size requirement right now, I expect 4" would be sufficient. I just misaligned some PCB mount holes that I could have swore were scribed and center-punched appropriately, pretty sure it's my ability to clamp it in the appropriate spot, even with a 4" flat drill press vice. So that brought back up thoughts that something like this would greatly help. While I would love a 6", that probably jumps up to a level where I have no justification. I expect anything that big falls into the agricultural area where I can probably get the required precision already.

I use the blue one mostly, the one labeled #2 had a 5/8" chuck with a lot of [runout?], I took it off but I was/am waiting on finishing out to retirement this fall and I didn't want to take a chance on a $30 chuck.

I expect there is some way to use the lathe, but while I used lathes at the machine shop (under supervision 30 years ago) this was my grandfathers, and I never actually set it up myself. And I am not sure I got all the equipment when we cleaned out the old shop a couple years ago. It's on my bucket list too.
 

Attachments

  • Drill_Press_2.jpg
    Drill_Press_2.jpg
    587.4 KB · Views: 76
  • Drill_Press_1.jpg
    Drill_Press_1.jpg
    581.1 KB · Views: 80
I was shopping for a drill press a couple of years back, and found out there's no relationship between precision and price. The only way to know is to go to the shop, grab the chuck and attempt to wiggle it. I bought the Einhell (house brand, made in China) with absolutely no play for about $100, after rejecting the Bosch at 2-3x the price and wobble like hell. Sadly, no spec. sheet will reveal this, so you have to go and figure out for yourself.
 

Attachments

  • 1679685047266.png
    1679685047266.png
    289.3 KB · Views: 81
Member
Joined 2004
Paid Member
I bought one of the "cross slide" vises. I would not recommend it. The mechanism is sloppy and seems crude. But worse its really too big for a table top drill press. And probably not much better on a floor press.
I had really good result in the past with a cheap Chinese drill press. The key was weight. Lots of cast iron. Reasonable bearings (I changed the motor for a good US motor) and swapped the chuck for a keyless Albrecht chuck. It was around $80 then. I see they are now $500. I never should have let that machine go.
 
Disabled Account
Joined 2002
These are excellent and true German industrial quality. I used them but don't have one myself. 3 phase 400V but also available with frequency controller and 230V single phase.

My cheap Chinese drill press broke down (as usual) and I thought to be smart and ordered the Einhell BT-TB13E as it is very cheap (below 90 Euro). What a piece of crap! Unusable. For a very short moment I thought to replace the bearings to reduce the play but new devices should be OK out of the box. The VFD is a very useful addition and way more convenient than having to change the v belt. IMHO not many take the time/effort to change rpm with the v belt in classic drill presses. Yeah admit it!
 

Attachments

  • bt-13.jpg
    bt-13.jpg
    237.3 KB · Views: 88
  • BT-TB 13 E Digital; Ex; UK.jpg
    BT-TB 13 E Digital; Ex; UK.jpg
    46 KB · Views: 90
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Thanks! For context, here are the two presses I have.

I don't have a project driving a firm size requirement right now, I expect 4" would be sufficient. I just misaligned some PCB mount holes that I could have swore were scribed and center-punched appropriately, pretty sure it's my ability to clamp it in the appropriate spot, even with a 4" flat drill press vice. So that brought back up thoughts that something like this would greatly help. While I would love a 6", that probably jumps up to a level where I have no justification. I expect anything that big falls into the agricultural area where I can probably get the required precision already.

I use the blue one mostly, the one labeled #2 had a 5/8" chuck with a lot of [runout?], I took it off but I was/am waiting on finishing out to retirement this fall and I didn't want to take a chance on a $30 chuck.

I expect there is some way to use the lathe, but while I used lathes at the machine shop (under supervision 30 years ago) this was my grandfathers, and I never actually set it up myself. And I am not sure I got all the equipment when we cleaned out the old shop a couple years ago. It's on my bucket list too.

To me this sort of thing would be what I would be interested in if I had to buy a vice: https://www.uktoolbox.com/product/s...XxU57FikB3V4X4-IHYPU69ubsOcq11-IaAsgJEALw_wcB

I quickly get annoyed with the lack of accuracy when tightening up bolts etc. My drill press is a floor mount but it's about 1/2 to 3/4 size so it can fit on a table (made that table heavy duty enough to take an engine block :D) with space for a wood vice too. It's a chinesium brand (Titan) but it's not accurate enough for the small stuff but can do case stuff at a push so a vice like the above would be my next step for that.

I have a couple of Einhell - a wet tile cutter saw and a 25Kg class breaker. Both simple and excellent but for everything else I seem to end up with Bosch so good to know about their drill press not being the best!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Member
Joined 2022
Paid Member
... The mechanism is sloppy and seems crude ...
... lack of accuracy when tightening up bolts etc. ...
Thanks! That's what I was worried about, reading the Amazon reviews, there are simple fixes that experienced machinists (with a lathe and vertical mill) can do to make some of them nice, but I am not an experienced machinist.

... IMHO not many take the time/effort to change rpm with the v belt in classic drill presses. Yeah admit it!
I already did. :p I don't do a lot of metal work, most of my wood work is for screws and dowels, so it's not been an issue.