Silly Question About Drill Presses

[ian maybury]

Here's a his and hers model for Jerome:

http://classified.directindustry.com...150a-2302.html

[Drew Eckhardt]

The other useful feature would be electronically variable speed. Changing belts and washing your hands to get rid of the resulting black dirt which will spoil your workpiece wears thin pretty quickly.

Link belts are clean and do wonders absorbing the vibration from cheap motors (my first Delta motor was so bad wood walked off the table, and the warranty replacement was just a hair better) and perhaps badly manufactured sheaves.

[Van Huskey]

Here's a his and hers model for Jerome:

http://classified.directindustry.com...150a-2302.html

That may be the cleanest gang of PM 1150 DPs I have seen in a LONG time. The multi gang drilling setups usually are really abused. The Powermatic 1150 and 1200 are two of THE presses to own. I have been looking for a excellent PM1200VS for a while now. Unfortunately, everyone I have seen for sale the owner really knows what they have and holds it VERY dear.

[Rich Engelhardt]

If you don't even know, buy a small one and upgrade if you find it's holding you back.

+1.

I bought a POS benchtop GMC from Lowes about 6 years ago. Since I was a "newbie", I didn't know how inadequate it was.
The only real gripe I have about it is that it's so difficult to change speeds, I have to keep it set on the middle speed.
I honestly can't even tell you how much quill travel it has, 3", 3.5",4" or whatever, because that aspect is such a non issue for the things I use it for.

In retropect, my only mistake was not looking at ease of speed changes & being lured by "the more speeds the better", the DP has to be.
To get those "more speeds", a middle set of pullyes is added. It's that middle set that maks the thing such a bear to change speeds.

One of these days I may get around to replacing it, but, in the meantime it's better than not having a drill press at all.
I use my drill press quite a bit and consider it an essential.

[Kent A Bathurst]

I have two issues with buying old-school big iron machines, and neither is a deal-breaker. The first is that my shop is a one-car garage so space can be kind of tight.

FWIW - My PM1150A fits in the same space formerly occupied by its predecessor - the generic Delta 14-1/2". The production table is certainly bigger than the tilt table that was on the Delta - and bigger than the tilt table that is the other style available on the PM1150 - but that is a moot point, because I took my shop-made table off the Delta and put it on the PM, and it overhangs the production table by 10" each side and 4" in front.

To be honest - the PM fits even better, solely due to the easy of unlocking and rotating the table, cranking the table height, and the ease of unlocking and rotating the swing head. Getting to the Delta's table crank was a major pain with my large table on it......the previous owner of the PM had put a 12" section of pipe on the crank arm, to extend it out from under the OEM table.....clever fellow.

The thing to be most concerned with: the PM weighs a LOT more than the Delta. I got mine in far north WVa, and had to get it into a BMW 5x. The head went in the trunk [ everything else into the flight deck], and had to come out of the trunk in Atlanta - the issue, of course, is how much grovelling you have to do with your friends and neighbors to help. That head is one big chunk of cast iron, which is one of its attractions, of course.

Double pulley bolted to the joists, double pulley strapped on the head, come-along strapped to a column 20 feet away. Jack. Brace. Jack. Brace. Rinse. Repeat. Set the DP post under the head, and let it down slowly. The living room stayed right where it was, so everything was OK. Pulley still bolted to the joists.........might need it some day.

[Kent A Bathurst]

That may be the cleanest gang of PM 1150 DPs I have seen in a LONG time.

Now we're talking........get that setup with two VFD's.............set belt on one for a moderate low speed and on the other for a moderate high speed. Hmmmmm..........nahhhh - not enough room, darnit.

Or - buy the pair, and sell off one and the table. A new floor post is a simple thing to come by..............

[Jerome Hanby]

Wow! 6" travel too <g>

Here's a his and hers model for Jerome:

http://classified.directindustry.com...150a-2302.html

[Jim German]

Maybe it's as simple as cost/benefit not paying off to tighten up QC.

Bingo.

Too many people buy purely based on price or specs, there are a few companies (Apple, Festool) that have been able to carve out a business niche by offering higher qualitly products, but they costs significantly more, and those companies are continually hounded by people saying to just get another brand that is cheaper because since it has the same specs its 'just as good'.

[Rod Sheridan]

Bingo.

Too many people buy purely based on price or specs, there are a few companies (Apple, Festool) that have been able to carve out a business niche by offering higher qualitly products, but they costs significantly more, and those companies are continually hounded by people saying to just get another brand that is cheaper because since it has the same specs its 'just as good'.

How true........................Rod.

[Jared McMahon]

Just to give this dead horse one last soft kick, I've been surfing info about vintage machinery and I think I've fallen in love:

52338.jpg

Pretty much all the drill presses I've ever seen have been consumer-grade and oriented towards woodworking. My recent surfing has been a real revelation, and as far as I'm concerned this Cincinnati-Bickford is the prettiest filly in the pasture.

[CPeter James]

If you are looking for a drill press with all those features and more, how about one of these?
IMG_7135.JPG
It has 6" of spindle travel, 16 speeds from 175 rpm to 8200 rpm (actually indefinite speed selection with the VFD), heavy cast iron construction (about 900 pounds), up to 32" from the column to the spindle, spindle lock and also quill wear adjustment, rotates 360º, and tilts 45º left and right. Cost new is $11,400, but they show up on E*** and CL quite frequently for well under $1,000. This is my second one that I have picked up in three years. There are a couple on E*** right now.

CPeter
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