Best bang for the buck drill press - I could use a good recommendation.

Diomedes Industries

Diomedes Industries

Joined
Mar 19, 2007
Messages
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I have fought quite a few drill presses over the years. I want to get a good drill press that drills straight holes, works well for scales and steel, doesn't have a bending table when under pressure - and doesn't have runout.

I don't mind spending a little money - but need it to do essentially one thing - drill holes for handles, pins, and other knife making jobs.

Thank you.
 
lets sget a background on what drill presses you have used. in y shop i dont have a drill press. whaat i do have is a mini mill and a bridgeport. i went with the mini mill back in the day cause it was dual use in the knife shop have had it around 15 years now. the belt drive mod was worth every penny
 
If you can afford it, get a mill. Otherwise the Porter Cable mentioned earlier or you can get a Grizzly
I have the desktop version of the Grizzly and I'm quite happy with it.
 
Look for older drill presses on Craigslist and Facebook market place. I have a 1940s buffalo forge press I have used to make folders. Older units are solid, easy to service, and cheap.
 
I am also upgrading my drill press for the exact same reasons. I want a heavy duty, straight drilling machine that is meant to handle steel and won't flex and wobble at all. I have my eyes set on the Strands S25. In the US it is branded as the Jet A2608.
 
Kevin McGovern said:
Look for older drill presses on Craigslist and Facebook market place. I have a 1940s buffalo forge press I have used to make folders. Older units are solid, easy to service, and cheap.
Click to expand...

I'm following this thread because this advice, doesn't work for me. Around here everyone wants a premium for old tools. A drill press like that sells for 1,000 here.
Same reason I bought a new anvil.
 
Fallbrook Forge said:
I'm following this thread because this advice, doesn't work for me. Around here everyone wants a premium for old tools. A drill press like that sells for 1,000 here.
Same reason I bought a new anvil.
Click to expand...

I hear you. Same here. I was recently looking at a 20 year old version of the Strands S25 drill press I want to buy, that had been in daily production use in a machine shop. It sold for 2/3 of the price of a brand new one!
This is what happens, all the time. Ridiculous.
So I am going with a new one for sure.
 
First thing what will work for you floor mod. or bench mod. Drilling metal and wood,fiber.Look for the slowest speed. Number of speeds 5,12,15, slowest is best. Weight matters ,the more the better. A good ball bearing chuck can cost as much as in import drill press. Drilling a hole with a drill bit always gives you an egg shaped hole. reamers give a round hole.I had guys by a import drill press from me and and put a good chuck on it and were very happy.Some guys put side thrust bearing in them and did light mill work.A small mill/drill will do most knife work better the a drill press. I hope this helps. WB
 
I have a grizzly G0704 mill. I changed it from R8 to ER25 collets. I use the collets instead of a drill chuck. I rarely use my drill presses (2) for knives anymore.
 
I have one of the old models as shown on FB but a bench model. It's an Atlas. Real tank in great shape with 0 slop in the chuck. Two people or a dolly to move it. Easy to work on and change speeds/pulleys. I rescued it out an old house demo. Probably from the '40's.
I'm downsizing to move and don't really need it anymore
If anybody is within driving distance of west central CT and wants to load it, its yours.--KV
 
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I'll 2nd looking for used. Old American steel is still better than most anything you'll find in a big box store. You may have to rebuild/replace a chuck down the line, or possibly some spindle bearings, but those really aren't the worst jobs in the world, and many of the more popular machinist and garage shop forums will likely have a detailed write up on basic maintenance and rebuilds for the more popular machines.

That said, a mill is also a really good option, though it may cost a bit more up front.
 
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