Subject: Re: drill press

From: "David C. Hufford" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 02 Aug 1996 06:57:27 -0400 (EDT)

Cynthia:

The first drill press I bought was the little one from Harbor Freight.  
I've had it several years and done some heavy drilling with it; well 
beyond what it was intended to handle.  It has served well.  For the 
price, it's a good first buy.  I since have acquired a 15-inch Craftsman 
floor model, but have kept the HF unit and still use it occasionally.

D.C. Hufford

---

From: Jim McCarty <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 02 Aug 1996 11:37:47 -0500

> floor model, but have kept the HF unit and still use it occasionally.

I thnk most cheap drill presses do the job intended. The thing to 
consider is the distance from the chuck to the pipe supporting the 
head (this is how drill presses are measured, 15" means you can drill 
to the center of a 15 inch circle -- think that's right, correct me if 
I'm wrong). The bigger the better obviously. An 8 incher is too small. 
Delta makes something called a rotarty head drill press that lets you 
change the angle of the head (most just let you tilt the table). This 
one is mounted on an arm that moves in and out and gives you a huge 
distance to work with, something like 2 feet. Seems like Sears and 
others sell this one under their own name. I think it would be a good 
buy though accuracy probably suffers somewhat from the adjustable arm.

I have a Taiwanese drill press called a Rockall (knock off of a 
Rockwell!). It is clunky but does the job, I have run into problems 
hitting the center post -- think it's a 12inch.
-- 
Jim McCarty
Father Helias Forge
Taos, MO
Editor Rural Missouri Magazine
Newsletter editor, Blacksmiths Association of Missouri

³Foolish consistencies are the hobgoblins of little minds³