Drill press and table recommendations

[Brian Holcombe]

A sine plate is used for checking angles, it’s not a machining fixture.

[Steve Demuth]

A sine plate is used for checking angles, it’s not a machining fixture.

That's not how the industry sees it. From the Grainger catalogue:

Sine plates hold workpieces or fixtures at a specific angle to guide accurate machining of angles. Also called sine tables, they have a top plate that tilts out from the surface plate to set up an exact angle.

If you look at sine plates in almost any machine shop, they are highly likely to have holes tapped in the top surface, for attaching clamps to hold workpieces.

[Prashun Patel]

Brian, what are you drilling with these days?

[Brian Holcombe]

Brian, what are you drilling with these days?

I bought a Japanese made drill press for the workshop and for anything heavy duty I just use the mailing machine.

[Rod Dilyard]

I'm a little late to the party, but would encourage you to look at the Powermatic 2820EVR. I had the Delta drill press pictured below for nearly 40 years before I finally had enough of it's rattling lack of precision and overall poor build and decided to upgrade. I have to say that changing speeds by moving belts vs turning a dial is a lot like controlling the temperature in your car manually or with automatic climate control. Both get the job done, but once you've had climate control you find yourself annoyed at having to constantly fiddle with the temperature and fan speed. I looked at both the Nova and Powermatic and had the good fortune to be able to see both side-by-side at Keim Lumber. For the way I work the added electronic features of the Nova just wouldn't get used and I really like the depth stop design on the Powermatic. The more I use it the better I like it. The laser guides are easy to set up and have so far stayed dead-on accurate and just dialing in a speed is one of those little things that I never want to give up. The quill handles are very hefty which lends to a feeling of solid control while drilling which, again, I didn't realize how much of a difference that makes. Plan on replacing the chuck, but I think that's the case for almost any drill press. I bought mine right before the price jump last year so that would make the choice a little more difficult if I had to make it today.

Delta.jpg DrillPress04.jpg

[Maurice Mcmurry]

+1 for Powermatic. Like Jet they use ISO factory's in Taiwan rather than unregulated factories in China.

[Brian Holcombe]

That's not how the industry sees it. From the Grainger catalogue:

Sine plates hold workpieces or fixtures at a specific angle to guide accurate machining of angles. Also called sine tables, they have a top plate that tilts out from the surface plate to set up an exact angle.

If you look at sine plates in almost any machine shop, they are highly likely to have holes tapped in the top surface, for attaching clamps to hold workpieces.

That is definitely not how the industry sees it. The fixturing points are for clamping things but not to be machined, for setup and inspection.

I spoke with Suburban Tool about this a number of years ago and was warned that I would eventually get to enjoy a nice ride to the hospital if I made a habit of using a sine plate as a machining fixture. I bought some vise jaws that allowed me to clamp at many angles and use that.

[Prashun Patel]

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Up and running.

Getting the headstock onto the post alone was difficult. I used a block and tackle and relearned a lot of pulley math.

My shop made mobile base makes the press a tad tall. But it’s fine.

[Jim Becker]

Looks great! I think you're going to enjoy that DP, Prashun. It's certainly what I would buy if I were going to get a new one for sure.

I guess your big, strong son didn't volunteer to help with the lifting? Probably off doing important teen things. LOL

[Derek Cohen]

Prashun, unless you are 6 foot +, it will be too high. I am 5’ 10” and needed to drop it lower.

This generic steel mobile base lowers the drill press base to within 1/2” off the floor. It is also more stable.



Regards from Perth

Derek

[Prashun Patel]

Derek,

Thx. I will leave it as is. Before I made mine, I read your previous thread suggesting that the base made yours initially too tall. I too am 5'10" and I carefully considered making my base shorter.

However, it's fine. I can operate it just fine. I like the workpiece closer to my eyes without having to stoop.

It is plenty stable. My casters double lock and I've used these kinds of wheels on other equipment to my satisfaction.

If it's a problem, I'll convert to lower profile steel channel. Thx.

Jim,

It was too heavy for even my son and I to lift above shoulder height. It's an awkward shape, improperly distributed, and the hole has to line up perfectly with the post to slide on. The solution was a block and tackle. Even with the 3 pulleys in the included B&T, the load was still a little heavy for my puny arms, so I added 2 more.

I am sure you guys are way more experienced in this, but what I realized late is that the auxiliary pulley was installed to far from the B&T (Don't ask why I mounted them wide like a noob), which meant as the height was increased, the angle created by the headstock, and the two pulleys increased. Long story short, that meant the pulleys became less efficient as I got higher and I had to pull harder to raise it the same incremental distance. Regardless, it still worked surprisingly well.


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[Ron Selzer]

Enjoy that drill press!
Used one last week for the first time
Took a while to figure out how to turn it on and turn the speed down to less than 200, quit at 280?? might be all the slower it goes
Just needed a few seconds with a slow turning small bit to extract a broken bolt.
Nice smooth operation, definitely need to read the book before doing much with it.
Ron

[Larry Frank]

It would be nice if they designed lifting points on the drill press head. It is smooth and rounded a d heavy which makes it difficult to lift.

[Prashun Patel]

In fact, on the top of the head there is a rubber grommet that reveals a threaded hole. It’s probably for attaching an eye bolt so the machine to prevent tipping. I used that as a lifting point.

[Brian Tymchak]

In fact, on the top of the head there is a rubber grommet that reveals a threaded hole. It’s probably for attaching an eye bolt so the machine to prevent tipping. I used that as a lifting point.

Hmm, I think Nova added something new since I bought mine in November, 2019. I think if I described how I got the head onto the column you all would throw me off the Creek.