Radial drill press

[jeff oldham]

I noticed where grizzly was having a sale on their drill presses and I was wanting to know what the difference is between a radial drill press and a standard one....I was wanting to get a benchtop drill press ...anyone who can help me on this I really would appreciate it...and what is anyone's thoughts on buying a drill press from grizzly....

[Nike Nihiser]

the chuck ( working part of the drill ) is on a radial arm, similar to a radial arm saw. this would for instance allow you to drill holes much further in from the edge, like in plywood

[Jim Becker]

Radials typically have much deeper reach laterally than standard post drill presses. (throat depth) The tradeoff is that they may not be as stable/solid because of that extra flexibility.

[Joe Wood]

You can also tilt the heads to drill at an angle, at least mine does.

[Rick Potter]

At least 30 years ago, probably the '80's, I bought a new Delta Radial DP. After about a year I sold it and went back to a regular type.

I bought it because I wanted to occasionally drill holes farther from the post than a regular model, and it did do that, but if you set it very far from the post it would flex so badly that it was not drilling accurate holes.

If you angled the press to drill holes for a chair, it would flex sideways a bit also.

There are some old really HD models I sometimes see, and I assume they would be much better than the Delta I had, which I would call a DIY model. It cost about $250 back then, if I remember correctly.

[Curt Harms]

At least 30 years ago, probably the '80's, I bought a new Delta Radial DP. After about a year I sold it and went back to a regular type.

I bought it because I wanted to occasionally drill holes farther from the post than a regular model, and it did do that, but if you set it very far from the post it would flex so badly that it was not drilling accurate holes.

If you angled the press to drill holes for a chair, it would flex sideways a bit also.

There are some old really HD models I sometimes see, and I assume they would be much better than the Delta I had, which I would call a DIY model. It cost about $250 back then, if I remember correctly.

I may still have the Delta drill press that Rick had. I haven't used the radial feature like I expected to. It seems 'stiff' enough for wood, I doubt it'd be suitable for larger diameter holes (>3/8 or so) in steel. I'm sure it'd be pretty flexible with the arm fully extended. One problem with most of the small drill presses is minimum R.P.M. They're mostly around 550 R.P.M. which is too fast for larger diameter cutters like fly cutters and larger diameter forstner bits. I replaced the motor and stepped motor pulley with a 3 phase motor and VFD. Something to keep in mind when drill press shopping along with quill (chuck) extension/travel. More is better there.

[Bill Dufour]

Not to be confused with a real radial arm drill press. But both are top heavy and should be bolted to the floor so they do not fall over. Big ones have a separate motor to move the drillpress head in and out along the arm. Carlton is one brand. They are stiffer then a home drillpress but they start around one ton of weight for the smallest ones.
Bill D.

[Brian Backner]

True radial drills are massive, heavy machines with 9-15" diameter columns and a reach (throat depth) up to six feet or more. Larger ones can weigh well over 15 tons and are capable of drilling holes to 4" in steel. Meant for heavy machining applications, such beasts wouldn't fit in most woodworking shops lying on their sides (if the floor could support them!).

There are several small versions of these behemoths suitable for the woodworker, however. One of the more popular, and available at a reasonable cost if you patiently search sites like CraigsList, is the Walker Turner model RD1175 and its variations:



With the closed cast iron stand (there are other versions that can be bolted to an existing workbench as well as with four open legs), it weighs over 1,000#. The spindle is mounted at the the end of a ram that travels along an adjustable saddle (swings side to side and well as moving up and down with the column - yes, the column moves up and down). Intended for light metal working, the set up is more than rigid enough to drill accurate holes in wood from a minimum of 13" from the column out to the maximum of 32" - yes, it has a 64" swing (can drill the center of a 64" diameter circle).



I pulled these photos from vintagemachinery as mine is currently in pieces as I clean and refurbish it. Please note that the example in these photos is missing the belt guard.

This Walker Turner model dates to the 1940s and 50s and is true "old arn." An almost identical machine was produced by Delta in the 80s (model 15-126 and several variants).

Most of these old girls will come with 3-phase motors and controls, but the change over to single phase is simple. One hp should be more than sufficient for wood working.

Happy hunting!

[David Buchhauser]

I've got one from Grizzly. At around 500 lbs, it is a pretty substantial machine. It is meant for drilling into large objects, and the head can't be lowered enough to use as a conventional drill press without using a riser block to support the table. But a very nice unit. I paid around $800 about 2 years ago for mine.
David

https://www.grizzly.com/products/Gri...ll-Press/G9969

grizzly radial drill press.jpg

[Bill Dufour]

True radial drills are massive, heavy machines with 9-15" diameter columns and a reach (throat depth) up to six feet or more. Larger ones can weigh well over 15 tons and are capable of drilling holes to 4" in steel. Meant for heavy machining applications, such beasts wouldn't fit in most woodworking shops lying on their sides (if the floor could support them!).

There are several small versions of these behemoths suitable for the woodworker, however. One of the more popular, and available at a reasonable cost if you patiently search sites like CraigsList, is the Walker Turner model RD1175 and its variations:



With the closed cast iron stand (there are other versions that can be bolted to an existing workbench as well as with four open legs), it weighs over 1,000#. The spindle is mounted at the the end of a ram that travels along an adjustable saddle (swings side to side and well as moving up and down with the column - yes, the column moves up and down). Intended for light metal working, the set up is more than rigid enough to drill accurate holes in wood from a minimum of 13" from the column out to the maximum of 32" - yes, it has a 64" swing (can drill the center of a 64" diameter circle).



I pulled these photos from vintagemachinery as mine is currently in pieces as I clean and refurbish it. Please note that the example in these photos is missing the belt guard.

This Walker Turner model dates to the 1940s and 50s and is true "old arn." An almost identical machine was produced by Delta in the 80s (model 15-126 and several variants).

Most of these old girls will come with 3-phase motors and controls, but the change over to single phase is simple. One hp should be more than sufficient for wood working.

Happy hunting!

Where did you find the bearings for the pulley? They use an extended race and were custom made for WT. I heard a japanese bearing company had something that might work. It was over 15 years ago but my father bored out one mount for the next size up outer race and some kind of inner sleeve. I think that was the top bearing. I think the lower bearing only needed a sleeve to get a standard one to work.
Bil lD

[Ted Baxter]

I bought the Grizzly G7945 - 34" Benchtop Radial Drill Press recently while it was on sale. The head can be extended out 17" and can also rotate to drill holes at an angle.

Since I am a hobby wood worker mostly turning I will most likely not use those two features but the option is there if I wanted to.

As a standard drill press so far it' has done a good job and at a price that I was comfortable with. It replaced a drill press from Harbor Freight that would not drill stright holes no mater what I tried.

I have been happy with how quiet and smooth running it is as drill presses go.

[Brian Backner]

Where did you find the bearings for the pulley? They use an extended race and were custom made for WT. I heard a japanese bearing company had something that might work. It was over 15 years ago but my father bored out one mount for the next size up outer race and some kind of inner sleeve. I think that was the top bearing. I think the lower bearing only needed a sleeve to get a standard one to work.
Bil lD

Call and speak to Lynne at Accurate Bearing in Chicago:

Accuratebearing.com
Toll Free 800-323-6548 or 630-543-2100
Fax Toll Free 800-323-3116 or 630-543-2116
E-mail: sales@accuratebearing.com

I called her, several years ago now, and she was able to find a replacement. Took her a couple of days, however.

I no longer have the paperwork for it and I'm not going to remove it to take measurements or photos.If anyone can find weird bearings, it's Lynne. All of us old arn nuts swear by her!

[Chris Fournier]

If you are thinking about this route you may take a look at metal milling machines as an alternative. A used Bridgeport type mill can be had in good condition for very little $$$ these days. I have gone this route and of course there's the usual figuring out how best to use a new machine process but what the Bridgeport brings to the party is worth it to me. On a side note I used a 16 1/2" Delta drill press for over 25 years and I rarely was limited by it's capacity although guitar making pushed it to the outer limits at times.

[Curt Harms]

True radial drills are massive, heavy machines with 9-15" diameter columns and a reach (throat depth) up to six feet or more. Larger ones can weigh well over 15 tons and are capable of drilling holes to 4" in steel. Meant for heavy machining applications, such beasts wouldn't fit in most woodworking shops lying on their sides (if the floor could support them!).

There are several small versions of these behemoths suitable for the woodworker, however. One of the more popular, and available at a reasonable cost if you patiently search sites like CraigsList, is the Walker Turner model RD1175 and its variations:



With the closed cast iron stand (there are other versions that can be bolted to an existing workbench as well as with four open legs), it weighs over 1,000#. The spindle is mounted at the the end of a ram that travels along an adjustable saddle (swings side to side and well as moving up and down with the column - yes, the column moves up and down). Intended for light metal working, the set up is more than rigid enough to drill accurate holes in wood from a minimum of 13" from the column out to the maximum of 32" - yes, it has a 64" swing (can drill the center of a 64" diameter circle).



I pulled these photos from vintagemachinery as mine is currently in pieces as I clean and refurbish it. Please note that the example in these photos is missing the belt guard.

This Walker Turner model dates to the 1940s and 50s and is true "old arn." An almost identical machine was produced by Delta in the 80s (model 15-126 and several variants).

Most of these old girls will come with 3-phase motors and controls, but the change over to single phase is simple. One hp should be more than sufficient for wood working.

Happy hunting!

A drill press is not a machine I'd convert to single phase. A suitable VFD and you have a nice wide range of speeds available. Woodworking cutters often work best at low speeds.

[Bill Dufour]

If you really need more throat depth Walker turner and I believe Clausing and others made ceiling mount drill presses. They were designed to clamp to a horizontal I-beam roof support and hang down to a comfortable working height. You had to provide the work table under the head. Depth of throat only limited by size of the building if the doors are closed.
Similar jig saws used a spring tied to the ceiling for the upstroke.
Bill D

Invalid file? so i added a link
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthoped...-hp-1872158117