Delta 18-900L -- Any reason not to?

[Matt Meiser]

T-slots are handy for attaching home-made fences but the DP should include a couple T-nuts since they are a non-standard size & not available from Delta.

Based on data from McMaster Carr and measurements of the t-slots, it would appear that a 5/16" square nut would fit the slots nicely. I'm planning to stop by the hardware store today and pick a few up.

Unfortunately 9/16" x 1/4" bar stock isn't a readily available size because it would be quite easy to make nuts with any thread to fit if it were. I might have to order some 3/4"x1/4" and cut it down on a friend's mill. I'd like 1/4-20 nuts to fit.

[Tim Orr]

Page 11 of the manual claims:

T-SLOTS
The drill press table is fitted with two T-slots (HH) Fig. 20 for use with various drill press accessories (stop blocks, fences, or clamps). Use 5/16" T-bolts or 1/4-20 hex head bolts when attaching your accessory to the table.

[Matt Meiser]

Yeah...1/4-20 doesn't fit so well. I didn't have an T-bolts.

Edit: but a #10 washer has a 1/4" hole and is 9/16 OD so that should work on a 1/4 bolt as long as the head doesn't spin.

[Tim Orr]

Don't you love it when the manual and the tool don't match? Always adds to the fun of a new tool....

[Mark Burnette]

Page 11 of the manual claims:

T-SLOTS
The drill press table is fitted with two T-slots (HH) Fig. 20 for use with various drill press accessories (stop blocks, fences, or clamps). Use 5/16" T-bolts or 1/4-20 hex head bolts when attaching your accessory to the table.

I have used the square 5/16 nuts and they fit perfectly. I suspect the slots are designed for this nut--since it's a woodworkers DP rather than a machinist DP. I did buy some 5/16 T-nuts and was able to make them fit after a few minutes narrowing both the base width AND the web width on my grinder & sanding disk. Not worth the effort. Hex head bolts aren't very practical because in most cases there's no way to hold the head from spinning in the slot. For short attachments like a flat table you might use 5/16 steel toilet bolts. Use a magnet at the store to check--they look very similar to the brass ones and there's nothing on the packaging that describes what they're made of. They don't have as much strength at the head (thin) as a nut but are fine for light duty use.

[Todd Bin]

Just out of curiosity, what are the drill presses over $1000 to consider?

[John Coloccia]

Just out of curiosity, what are the drill presses over $1000 to consider?

Clausing, for example.

There's the Jet JDP20-EVS for another.

There's lots out there for industrial style drill presses. There's a lot of junk on the low end. There's very little in between in the new market. Most people will not have the will, nor really the need, to shell out $1500 on a drill press, but for those of use who do there is nothing really in that range to span the gap between poor and world class. The 18-900 isn't bad, but it's missing some key features that I'd like to see. Still, it's reasonable for the price.

[Van Huskey]

Buying new and money is no object I wouldn't look any farther than Clausing as John mentions, some truely great presses. Besides some of the larger Jets and maybe Ellis the PM 2800 in the only other one. The PM has a lot more bells and whistles than the Delta but the Delta is built heavier, as I mentioned with some additions the Delta can have all the bells and whistles of the PM for not much more money.

Quite frankly unless you are going to spend Clausing money NEW, the plan I outlined for "pinping" the Delta gives the "best" WWing press under $2,000 for significantly less than 2K.

[Will Overton]

My 18-900L is "Shipping Soon" from Amazon. The rebate and the fact that my CC is giving 5% rebate on Amazon purchases this quarter made it a decent deal. I couldn't think of any reason not to buy this one.

[Mark Burnette]

I wanted to measure the runout and I found what a slippery slope that can be. All readings were taken with the belt removed & spindle pulley rotated by hand.

Starting at the beginning so to speak I removed the chuck & taper & rigged up a dial indicator to measure the runout right on the spindle. Here it measured .0005" at quill zero & at 6" extended. Nice.
I put back the chuck & measured .0015 at the chuck nose.
I mounted a machined 1/2" rod in the chuck and got .003" there. Crummy jaws?
Not sure about the quality of the rod I chucked in a 3/8" deep socket and got .004".
Thinking about what must be the truest round shaft I grabbed a brand new 1/2" endmill and got <.0005"
Then I clocked it 90 deg. and measured .001".
Another 90 deg. and got .005"--so obviously the endmill isn't as straight as I thought and it's possible for the bend to cancel out the chuck error.

Here I gave up trying. It's good enough.

So...what's your runout? LOL

[Ryan Mooney]

Runout: similar on the business end. 0.001 retracted and 0.003 fully extended (no guarantee on the trueness of the shaft I was using..).

For interest sake can you measure how concentric the pulleys are? My front pulley is noticeably off center (0.008 or so? its been a while since I measured it.. the other two were about spot on) - this doesn't affect the operation at all and imho highlights another benefit of the floating tension system as it keeps the tension steady even with the slight variance on the front pulley.

Re mobile base: Just measured mine and its 25" front to back and 19" side to side inside the wheels. The wheels are on the sides, and add ~2" on either side. It seems to be quite stable and I'm not really worried about it at all. In my opinion its more stable than it was on the regular base without adding a wide plywood base under it or bolting it to the floor.

Re: Dream drill presses: The Ellis and Arboga (jet) do look pretty nice and the clausing is a no brainer.. In general those are a whole different class of machine than the Delta though, you're talking ~600+ lb and an extra $2000-4000 drill presses there so its not really a fair comparison. If I had room I'd have seriously considered the old camelback that showed up locally last month (it was pretty cherry looking; I didn't go to see it in person). What I really want now is a decent blacksmiths post drill. Having a tap head would be convenient as well...

When I was looking and bought the 18-900, the short list of comparable drill presses that weren't excluded for one reason or another was:

Optimum B28H aka grainger 5TPP7
Dayton 5PHC3
steel city 20520
palmgren 80174
general.ca 75-260
delta 18-900l
JET JDP-20MF
JET J-2550
Dayton 5PHC4

I haven't personally seen most of these, just adding the list for amusement sake.

[Mark Burnette]

For interest sake can you measure how concentric the pulleys are? My front pulley is noticeably off center (0.008 or so? its been a while since I measured it.. the other two were about spot on) - this doesn't affect the operation at all and imho highlights another benefit of the floating tension system as it keeps the tension steady even with the slight variance on the front pulley.

I hadn't put away the indicator, etc, so why not...
I got .001" on the bottom of the front pulley and .004" at the top edge.

[Matt Meiser]

Some updates. I was away for 10 days on a work trip but got an early start on the weekend.

First, I ordered a precision keyless chuck from Shars based on a recommendation from Van. I ordered a 1/2" chuck because I don't have any bits bigger than that and it allows me to use smaller bits than the 5/8" version would have gone to.

Second, I picked up a full-sheet baking sheet from a foodservice supply (GFS if you have one locally) for about $10 to use when I'm drilling metal and using oil to keep the mess off the table.

Third, I got the Biesemeyer fence. I have to say at this point I'm kind of regretting the purchase of the fence. I'm not real impressed with the lever locks which are really sensitive to the angle. I'm going try adding a washer or o-ring under the last washer to see if that makes it less sensitive since there will be some give. I'm also not real impressed that changing modes requires a screwdriver to move the mounts. At least they should have had socket heads so they'll last a little longer. Guess I can spend a few bucks on that too. But what could be the real deal-breaker is the flip stop. I frequently use my drill press to drill holes for door hinges. Having two flip stops allows setting the machine up for both the top and bottom hinge. The part system isn't even aware of the fence.

[Van Huskey]

Kinda ironic about the coolant tray, now folks like you need to be screaming for a "hybrid" with dual tables, one for metal and one for wood. I am beginning to realize why we complain about dril presses, they would have to make a different model for ever single one of us!

[Jerome Hanby]

Having two flip stops allows setting the machine up for both the top and bottom hinge. The part system isn't even aware of the fence.

hate to hear that. Tracking down another stop was on my to-do list.