The Drill Press thread.
 

Seeing Tom's Delta drill press has made me realize how much I need one.

I'll be drilling about 100 13mm holes in 7mm mild steel. And other uses always come along. But I won't be doing a huge amount wit it so don't need an engineering quality one.

I was thinking of a 390W Ryobi such as this one https://www.ryobi.co.nz/products/details/390w-bench-drill-press-rdp102l It has a three year warranty so of I kill it they will give me another one. And it's a manageable size so I can shove it under the work bench when I want the space. it can go as slow as 510rpm.

What are your thoughts?

I've heard the HF ones are ok - dunno if you can get something like that.


I shoulda spent $50 on a cheap HF one instead of futzing around with the old Port-align I have...

Hopefully somebody on Pelican has one and can confirm but at 13mm dia through steel you are probably near the limits of that machine, can possibly grind a flatter angle on the drill bit to avoid having it grab and smoke the belt.

Unfortunately we don't get HF out here. We have some amazingly cheap stuff, brand name Ozito. But the drill press felt just a bit too cheap.

Oh, I don't know about this :( I've drilled 10mm steel with the 13mm bit, using my makita hand drill and lots of cutting oil. It worked OK but tough the body.

Check marketplace, I just did in my area and 25 of the first 30 where under 200bills and 3/4 of them under 150.

I’ll have to check that out. I’ve been looking on Craigslist and 99.9999% of the listed items are garbage.

Basically that's 1/2 home through 1/4 thick steel. Hundred holes is a lot of holes. That lil' thing will do it, but slowly. I think you might have to start with a small 1/4 holes and drill twice to get to 1/2" on that. Are they all the same location? Make a jig with some scrap plywood and a hold down or clamp os some type to speed things up. Holding with your hand it aint gonna cut it after 5-8 holes.

I drill a 1/4" hole with a hand drill. Half way through, I already cuss more then I would normally have in two month and I normal cuss more then a drunken sailor:mad:. If you have the space, a floor model with a larger motor will help a lot.

https://www.grizzly.com/products/Grizzly-34-Floor-Radial-Drill-Press/G7946?iparcelcountry=US&gclid=Cj0KCQjw8rT8BRCbARIs ALWiOvTVpRTC7jsf-9a-m9tRF2YscqUx8qu6dYwgawptQX-oy9aAylUHPKAaAoo7EALw_wcB

You guy got Grizzly down there in OZ? They make a pretty ok product. I have one in my garage and an old industrial Powermatic in our shop.

Damn. Hand drills and drill press are some of my most used power tools. I have grandpas cheap azz Taiwan special. Garbage when new, just as great today. But, it works. I think it is a delta knock-off.

No, I'm New Zealand, we're Australia's poor cousins.

We have all sorts of re-branded Chinese made stuff here too. A popular place is called the toolshed where they source really good Chinese products and put their name and warranty behind it.

And yes, they are in the same location. I'm making about a dozen angle brackets so I'll make a serious sort of jig for it.

Oh, ok. Same thing:D toilet flushes run the other way:D

100 pcs, need nothing serious but a couple sticks of lumber, 4 screws and a piece of plywood platform to keep drill bit from drilling into your brand new table

And things fall upwards if you drop them.

I recently bought the Ryobi DP103L. It's similar to what you linked. 10 inch press (5 inch clearance bit to upright). The DP103L is famous for being speced at 3 amps/120V (360 Watts) but the motor itself is labeled as 6.2 amp 120V (750 Watts). It's one of the better/best of the ~120-150 USD drill presses.

If I had to drill 100 13mm holes with it, I'd use a step drill bit.

My opinion - Bench-top drill presses are OK for light work. A free-standing full size drill press is usually not much more money but has more versatility and is probably more "heavy-duty".

I bought a Ryobi unit about 2 years ago. Finish on non-essential parts of it are rough, but it has done the job nicely. The laser target came from the factory spot on, and has been very useful. That said, I have used it for much lighter weight materials.

thanks for the good advice guys.

Step drill. I've never used one but they sure look good.

I think I like the idea of the 390W Ryobi, and I'll just take it easy with speed and pressure. I also like the idea of the 3 year warranty.

A bigger, maybe floor standing, one would be nice but I've got very limited space so it needs to easily disappear when it's not in use.

Definitely the way to go.

What is the advantage of a step drill? I see guys on tv all the time and I think it’s lazy way to drill a larger hole. Also, wouldn’t it chamfer the hole, depending on the thickness of the metal being drilled?

A step drill is fast, no changing bits. And the chamfer is usually a good thing.

Down side is, slip up and you have an oversized hole.

I'm all for the lazy way of doing things. That's why I have electricity.