I've had a floor stand and bench model HF.

For most stuff, bench is okay. Floor stand doesn't have much larger shop footprint, but can give extra throat and drilling reach. Probably one of the best tool/floorspace ratios I can think of (compared to planer/table saw/ etc) I think floor model has larger chuck diameter. Both worked okay. Only complaint would be the clamps (press vice) that hold pieces still. They are pretty rudimentary, and not precise enough to do any milling to any real accuracy. I do enjoy the control the presses give over choosing different pulley combos to determine drill speed. I like to really slow the bit down on metal. Nice long curly fries of metal shaving off. Cool smoke coming from the cutting oil. Makes life nice.

Step bits are expensive and can't be re-sharpened.
If the company's paying for them who cares but not for a home hobbyist IMHO.

I have one of the cheap bench mounted drill presses. It is OK for a lot of projects, and has fixed many projects that just not would have been possible to drill by hand.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1603209964.JPG

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1603210008.JPG

Very easy with a the drill press, but a chore to do by hand. All to hold the plastic 2x4 of this compost rig my master gardener wife bought from the city, and she "let" me put it together.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1603210149.JPG

The barrel rotates to stir up the contents, and I can compost the grass clippings and not have to put it in the trash. I had to reinforce the legs to withstand the torque of the heave barrel rotating.

Stepped drill bits work exceptionally well on thin stock. Using one repeatedly in 1/4" steel and it will get hot. If you use a stepped DB use the stop on the quill to stop at the correct depth.

I'd drill an 1/8th" pilot hole and then use a high quality HSS bit. Coated ones are nice but having the core material of highest quality makes drilling mild steel like buttering bread.

Cutting fluids are more important than you think. Most use any old oil they have. What you are doing there is lubricating the friction which is what oil is supposed to do. The worst oil is a good synthetic because it really 'prevents' friction. Use cutting oil instead

Step drills are really for sheet metal. How good is your hand drill? If you do a pilot hole with 3/16 (5mm) and grind the outer tip of the cutting lip angle a little flatter so it does not cork screw in as it breaks through it should be pretty quick to do 100 holes. I have a nice 2hp geared head drill press in the garage you can use, but you are a long ways away.

Zeke posts faster than I do.

Agree that step bits are for sheetmetal. The HVAC guys love them because of no changing bits for different size holes.

Yes cutting oil is well worth it. Getting harder to find, chain stores and big box places don't always have it. Bought my last bottle at Granger.

I can remember as a kid I thought it'd be cool to oil the freewheel on my ten spd bike. Went out to the garage and grabbed the oil can and had at it. Dad happened by and asked what I was doing. He'd noticed I had grabbed the cutting oil can, not the old OIL can.
That's when I learned there are a lot of TINY ball bearing inside one of those freewheels and it's a PIA to get them to stay in place AND get the spring loaded (I don't know the correct word for them) pieces in too when putting it all back together.
Finally got it all cleaned up and back together and boy was it quiet too.
So yes, there is a difference between cutting oil and lube oil. Choose wisely and the job will go much smoother.

When I drill holes, I start with a center drill, then a small cobalt drill to drill a pilot hole for the tip of the bigger drill, then I use the bigger drill. I use a speed appropriate for the size of the drill and the material and in things like steel, I use a proper lubricant. I also use adequate pressure on the drill, which is indicated by the chips that I'm making.

The pilot hole makes it a lot easier for the big drill to proceed (the point of a drill doesn't cut well) and the feeds and speeds are important.

Use a good quality HSS drill.

In other news, I broke the table off of my drill press over the weekend, so there's that. A drill press shouldn't be used as a large arbor press. I know this, but....

HF probably sells several different models. The one I got is a Delta brand and it is a cheap POS with a truly crappy chuck. I'm still torn between spending the bucks on a decent chuck or just Craig's Listing this turd and spending a grand on a decent drill press.

My method too. I start with 1/8" and step up to the next size bit with a 1/8" web. Keep stepping up by the diameter that equals the length of the web until you gots the hole you want.

Interesting stuff guys - thanks.

What sort of speeds are you using for certain thicknesses?

It’s not so much the thickness, it’s the size of the hole and the metal you’re drilling. Get on the Internet and look for a chart of drill speeds for different materials.

...that's what she said...

Word to the wise.

Buy a cookie sheet, Place the Drill Press on top of the cookie sheet prior to bolting the drill press to the work bench. It helps with the clean up and chip and oil management

Phew, I just finished a major project with my drill press.

My wife came to me with the cap from a 2 liter soda bottle. She wants to use the bottle as a watering bottle for cuttings she is doing. She tried to poke holes with a ice pick. So out came the tiny drill bits, and the hardest part was getting the little bugger centered in the drill press. Six tiny holes later she tested it with water and gave the two thumps up. I did not bother with cutting oil drilling .060 holes in a plastic bottle cap. Clean up was real easy as well. ;)

I used the drill press mostly because I could clamp down the cap and NOT use my fingers to hold it.

^^^ Nicely done. ;)

The chuck is the last element in the equation. if you want accuracy you need an excellent quill and no vibration. Lots of speeds or variable speed is high on the list.

A tilting and rotating table is desirable and for me it has to have a rack and crank table height adjustment, but you can add one made from a cheap trailer tongue jack attached to the column. So don't let the lack of that feature stop you from buying a good unit.

I ran radial arm drill presses as a kid before college. You would think I'd know drills.

(45 years later) Customer comes over from his machine shop employer across the street for some work on his old truck and we snap a bolt. He helps using my gold colored $13 drill set from Harbor Freight. He shakes his head and says I'll be back in the morning on my break.

Brings me a baggie full of goodness in the form of about ten quality sub-half inch drill bits. They are still my go to as I can grind them by hand. The steel makes all the difference.

Their second tier up for $140 looks like a decent handy man tool.

https://www.harborfreight.com/10-in-12-speed-bench-drill-press-63471.html

Adding on to what Zeke says, the chucks can be swapped out for a higher quality one. I like Jacobs chucks. You have to match the taper of the original, but that’s not hard to do.