Drill press advice? New maker.

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comet_sharp

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Aug 22, 2016
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Hey guys, been reading around here for a while and made a small fixed blade with a teacher in his shop. Now it's time to build my shop. I have build a solid 8ft long workbench and have mounted a Milawaukee portaband to it with a swag offroad table. Note I am extremely short on funds, I have a Harbor Freight 1x30 grinder (short on funds because I want to upgrade this as soon as possible) and now need advice on a cheap drill press that'll get the job done.
I have been looking at this one while it is on sale, if anyone has experience with it and can recommend or give me some specific specs I should look for that would be awesome.

http://www.sears.com/wen-10inch-dri...SellerId=Sears&prdNo=2&blockNo=2&blockType=G2

Soon as I get a drill press its time to start practice bevel grinding as so far I have been terrible at freehanding it on my 1x30 but I will continue until I'm not so bad anymore.
Any advice is appreciated and thank you guys for taking the time to read this.
Thanks,
Trey
 
I don't have experience with that specific press. I will tell you that I have a cheap Harbor Freight bench top model that was given to me. Even this cheap press has stepped pulleys to adjust speed, I keep mine on the slowest. Once I set the table level and removed, cleaned and reinstalled the chuck ( the run out was a little too much for knife making) it has been a very good tool for me. I think that most drill presses are going to give you a similar level of precision for what a knife maker needs. The early issues I had where a combination of the run out I mentioned, and operator error (I now use a #30 bit for 1/8" pins and an F bit for 1/4" pins). You also need to make sure you avoid what I call "lift off" when you are backing the bit out (usually from handle material) and the material comes off the table and eggs out the hole. I now firmly attached the scale to the rest when drilling. If you need more precision then what a press can offer, you are looking at a mill.
 
You might as well get a floor press, because that thing will take up exactly the same amount of room, and you will be carrying it all the time when you move it from the bench to wherever you keep it.

I found an old Rockwell on Craigslist. It originally came from a school auction. It has a special chuck with a threaded sleeve that prevents the chuck from coming off the taper when you use the drill press for sanding. Useful. I put a wheeled base and a VFD on it.
 
the drill press you linked to looks similar to the 5 speed Skil I got at Lowes. If you set it on the slowest speed, it will drill holes up to 3/8" diameter in high carbon steel and stainless like 304 without any trouble. just take it easy on feed rate and use cooling lube like Redi-Tap. Get some M35 or M42(High Cobalt HSS) screw length bits, shorter bits have less runout.
scott
 
600, 1100, 1700, 2400, 3100 RPM are its speeds. I was thinking 600 would be good for drilling through steel and I could speed it up for handle materials if needed. There is a harbor freight one for about $20 more that has 12 speeds. Bench vs floor doesn't really matter much to me as right now I have as much table space as I do floor space. Also does anyone know if the baron carries precision ground steel since I do not have a flat surface grinder? I e-mailed them last night but have not gotten a response yet. I wanted to start out with some cheaper steel like 1095 or 52100 for bevel practice and them maybe D2. I have a small sheet of precision ground d2 but don't want to waste it with my lack of experience.
 
I would start with 1080 steel. It is cheap and is forgiving with home heat treating. If you really just want to practice and not looking to make a blade with it, you can just buy welding steel from home depot. I dont recommend it though, since you may find you want a "practice" blade as a knife. Besides, if you plan to do your own heat treating, you will want to practice that as well.
 
I thought about welding steel but decided I would still be using my belts and the only way to get some real practice in making knives is to make knives, not letter openers :). I have a few people who offered to help me heat treat but knowing me I'm sure I'll try it myself with some sort of home made rig.
 
I'd get one that runs a lot slower. HF has some decent presses on a budget, if you get a bad one you can just return it... the tolerances on them vary wildly. Almost all Chinese drill presses are the same with just different paint, labels, etc.
 
What are you drilling that needs slower RPM than 600?

RPM is dependent on not only the material you're drilling but the diameter of the cutter. 4*CS/Diameter of the cutter. For a 1/4 HSS drill that's 960 RPM. For approximation, 1000 RPM. A 1/2" drill would then be 500 RPM, or 2000 RPM for 1/8". If you're drilling 1/2" holes or greater, I understand the desire for a slower machine, but I don't see where that is required in knifemaking (other than possibly blanking?)
 
I just need to drill holes for pins and hidden tang handles. The wood for the hidden tangs shouldnt be a problem so 600rpm is fine for drilling holes just for handles? I can only see myself using tiny 1/4 pins and maybe drilling a few extra holes in the tang to lighten it up
 
1/4" pins are on the large side for most knives. Common but large. 3/16" and 1/8" are common as well. So (in my opinion) a drill press that has a speed range of 600 to 2000 RPM will do everything you're asking of it to do.

If you're drilling 1/4" holes through annealed 1080 or 1084 at 1000 RPM and burning bits or work hardening the material etc, then your bit is dull or cheap junk and you're not using the correct cutting fluid. Going with slower RPM is a bandaid. Tool steel or the like, you would slow it down, but slower than 600 would be unlikely for the size holes you intend to drill.
 
Thank you kuraki, I think I'm going with the WEN while its on sale, seems like the best machine for the money I've found so far. Been looking at precision ground steel which is rather hard to find and is expensive, is the 1080 from baron pretty close to being flat where I could just flatten it carefully on my 1x30 or with some low grit paper on a granite block?
 
Congrats on your new journey! You've got the right idea with practice on the bevels. A light touch is good with those grinders as they're FAST.

I currently use an inexpensive ryobi 10" press. It has several speeds which I really helpful so make sure you get one that does. I have made 7 knives with it now and no issues.

Good luck!
 
kdogmcg said:
I don't have experience with that specific press. I will tell you that I have a cheap Harbor Freight bench top model that was given to me. Even this cheap press has stepped pulleys to adjust speed, I keep mine on the slowest. Once I set the table level and removed, cleaned and reinstalled the chuck ( the run out was a little too much for knife making) it has been a very good tool for me. I think that most drill presses are going to give you a similar level of precision for what a knife maker needs. The early issues I had where a combination of the run out I mentioned, and operator error (I now use a #30 bit for 1/8" pins and an F bit for 1/4" pins). You also need to make sure you avoid what I call "lift off" when you are backing the bit out (usually from handle material) and the material comes off the table and eggs out the hole. I now firmly attached the scale to the rest when drilling. If you need more precision then what a press can offer, you are looking at a mill.
Click to expand...

Why do you use different sized bits? Why would you not use a 1/8" bit for 1/8" pins?
 
Dave Hub said:
Why do you use different sized bits? Why would you not use a 1/8" bit for 1/8" pins?
Click to expand...

.125" pins will not fit through .125" holes without a hammer.



I say buy a used drill press on Craig's list or whatever

I also agree, go slower.

Those fast speeds are for woodworking.
Speed generates heat, which may workharden the material as you drill.
 
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