Drill Press--New vs. Old

[Matt Lentzner]

Could you run a bandsaw with a VFD. Wouldn't that make it a metal cutting saw. As far as I can tell, variable speed is the only difference between a metal cutting bandsaw and a wood one.

Matt

[Bryan Rygiel]

I have an old floor standing Shopmaster, and it's awesome. It had a foot switch that broke, so I got a new one from McMaster.

Jacobs chuck needs a little attention, but other than that I'm still using the same belt in the same position.

Bryan

[Matt Meiser]

Could you run a bandsaw with a VFD. Wouldn't that make it a metal cutting saw. As far as I can tell, variable speed is the only difference between a metal cutting bandsaw and a wood one.

Matt

Yes, as long as you put a 3-phase motor in it. I wouldn't want to cut metal with my wood bandsaw though. I've got one of the Harbor Freight 4x6 bandsaws and a plasma cutter for that. The metal chips would get embedded in the tires very quickly. In fact, the drill press is about the only tool where I mix wood and metal working--and I use an auxillary table for woodworking. Oh, and my belt/disc sander.

[Jimmy Newman]

After having read some positive reviews and having heard some good things from folks, I purchased a Jet JDP-17MF about a week ago. The Jet is usually more expensive but MSRP has been dropped by Jet to 379 for the summer. I unfortunately have not had a chance to take mine out of its box yet, but I did get to play with one in the store, and it seems like a very solid machine. You might think about taking a look at it. It is sold by both Woodcraft and Rockler.

[Wilbur Pan]

I'll cast a vote for getting an old drill press over a newer one. The beefiness is certainly noticeable in how smoothly it runs. Plus, there's something cool about old machinery that the new stuff just doesn't have -- a certain je ne sais quoi, if you will.

Here's a Walker-Turner drill press I just got this weekend. If you want to read the whole saga, check out my story over on WoodCentral. It's a 15" drill press, with 4.25" spindle travel.



As you can see, even the "hat" is made of cast iron. On today's drill presses, this would be sheet metal, aluminum, or maybe even plastic.

There's not much that can go wrong on a drill press. In addition, the older machines were often really intended for production work, which explains their durability. There may be runout/alignment issues, but even today's drill presses often don't have adjustments for that. Bearings can go bad, but replacements can usually be found, although some old drill presses use bearings that may be hard to find. For the more common companies like Rockwell, parts are available, and may even still be in production.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I'll cast a vote for getting an old drill press over a newer one. The beefiness is certainly noticeable in how smoothly it runs. Plus, there's something cool about old machinery that the new stuff just doesn't have -- a certain je ne sais quoi, if you will.

Here's a Walker-Turner drill press I just got this weekend. If you want to read the whole saga, check out my story over on WoodCentral. It's a 15" drill press, with 4.25" spindle travel.



.

HEY~!!! That's my drill press.

Sweet ain't she?

[Matt Meiser]

Just got it home and assembled. Since this drill press is 4" larger than my old one, I'm going to use it as an excuse to build a new table. Probably won't be too different from my old one, but will have a couple improvements.

[Matt Meiser]

After having read some positive reviews and having heard some good things from folks, I purchased a Jet JDP-17MF about a week ago. The Jet is usually more expensive but MSRP has been dropped by Jet to 379 for the summer.

Hmmm--Woodcraft has 10% off on Saturday too.

I like the external depth adjuster (the threaded rod style) over the kind that goes on the quill lever. My current one is the latter and is untrustworthy. Maybe the better machines are better? Jet, Craftsman, and the oldies that I've seen have the external. Delta and Ridgid are the other style.

Rod, I hear you on the belt guard. I did see a cool looking retrofit on one while cruising ebay that was made of expanded metal and had a curve to match the "hat" on the top--I didn't think it distracted from that cool old drill press look.

[Wilbur Pan]

I haven't missed not having a rack and pinion system for raising/lowering my drill press able. It would be nice, but not vital.

The belt guard is usually the first thing to be missing from the older drill presses. Oftentimes, they were sold separately as an accessory. That was the case for my Walker-Turner drill press.

That said, if you wanted to, you could make one. It really just a matter of building a hinged shield that bolts onto the drill press. There are usually holes meant for mounting the belt guard accessory. We are woodworkers, after all, no?