mill or drill

bfullmer

Member
Looking to buy a drill press to drill larger holes , some one told me to get a mill , what can you do on a mill that makes it better than a drill press ?? bob
 
With a drill press all you can do it drill holes. With a mill you can make slotted holes and other such things. That said a mill will cost you probably 5 times that of a drill press
 
Short answer to your question is this. First with a mill you can also do milling work should the need ever arise, but that"s kind of obvious. The biggest difference your going to find is that with a mill your going to have a better rigidity than you"ll find with the majority of drill presses. Too you"ll have the ability to clamp the vice to the bed of the machine and have both an x and y axis of movement. Another thing is your spindle speeds. Most drill presses have step pulleys giving you a limited amount of speed selection. With some mills they will also have step pulleys, but most will also have a high and low gear which basically doubles the number or speeds available. Better yet if you find one that has a variable speed drive, it will typically have cone pulleys and a high/low range which will give you an infinite number of spindle speeds available.

Beyond that there are some drill presses made that offer basically the same features in the way of the spindle speeds. Some that are made nearly as heavy and rigid as a mill, and if you need the two axis movement you can buy a setup to give you that by just clamping it to the drill press"s table.

In the end, the biggest differences for what your wanting to do will all depend on the brand of press or mill you buy. However in general, the most critical difference, if you want to call it that, is the fact a mill is going to be built to tighter tolerances and allow you to do precision mill work that a standard drill press can"t.
 
i picked up a cincinati bickford radial drill a while back. works good weighs close to 3 tons. it'll drill holes

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With a boring head you can make holes six inches or larger on a mill as well as what others have said. I do large step holes with a boring head in plates that will not fit in any of my lathes. (Different diameters in the same hole)
 
Depends on what a "larger" hole is... If say over 2", then a radial drill press like Glens would be better.

But if you can get a mill, especially an old Bridgeport, get it.

If you can score some tooling with it, even better. You'll need a vice, drill chuck, collets, maybe some end mills to get started. Used, this stuff is pretty cheap, new, good stuff is costly.

A big plus would be a digital readout, measures the movement of your x and y axis.

Most mills and big drill presses are 3 phase electric, FYI.
 
I have one even an older one that I use for deep holes for water in mold plates. 26 inches deep in some plates. Takes some time as you have to run it up and down to clear the shavings. Something that is harder to do with a regular drill press.

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If you are looking at a mill, look at some of the smaller mill/lathe combo machines, like Enco sells. Think of a mill as a metal router. You can mill slots, resize wallowed out bolt holes, numerous other options, too. Your imagination is your limit.
 
Which ever route you go be damn certain to upgrade your work holding equipment AND habits. Only the unknowledgeable and fools hold the work in one hand and run the quill with the other when using machines like DickL and Glenster have pictured.
 
After having a mill there is no way I'd want to go back to a drill press !
If you can only have one get the mill. Even the small bench models are better then a drill press.
 
I would go to a machine shop and look at a Bridgeport Series 1 with a J-head. I bought one 35 years ago with the idea of using it as a drill press. Since then as I got more interested in doing more machining, I bought different cutters, end mills, rotary table, measuring tools, etc.
It has turned into one of my most versatile and valuable tools.
Around here you can pick one up from $1200 to $3500. Several things to check before buying. They can get expensive quick if too abused. Mine weighs about a ton and I run it with a homemade phase converter. email is open if you have any questions.
 
They taught us in navy machine shop school that a lathe with all it's attachments can duplicate itself.
A mill with all it's attachments can duplicate itself and a lathe.
A drill press can drill holes.
 
I have both a Bridgeport mill and a linely vertical mill/drill press along with a reg ridged drill press........If I was you I would buy a mill or a vertical mill and drill then you can use it for other things not just drill holes.....

Kelly
first pic my Bridgeport j head has anulam wizard 350 plus dro. The 2nd pic is when I was bringing home the vertical mill/drill press home....I picked it up for $100....I am going to go threw it this spring sometime and tighten it up and repaint it.....
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You have that nailed Butch. That is what alla those slots are for you see in the tables. The torque is unforgiving.
 
The best drill press you can buy is a Bridgeport mill. Passed up several nice ones for ~$1,500. And with all the cheap china tooling available you can get set up nicely.
 
We bought a big Do-All geared head drill press several years ago when both my sons were at the height of know it all time of life, ( H.S.) Told them both you are no longer fooling with child's toys. You bolt down or vise what you are drilling. One trip to the E.R. and one close call later they started doing what I told them to do,, when drilling anyway, LOL.
 
For large holes you need the slowest speed. Most drill presses in HD or hardware stores are way too fast. A mill can do all sorts of things, the least of which is take more of your money.
 
Bob,
If you are going to drill holes and that"s it, you could get by with a drill press, assuming smaller holes. Most drill presses don"t have a slow enough RPM for bigger bits.

If you need bigger holes and need to machine slots, mill flat/parallel/perpendicular surfaces a mill is the only way to go. Once you get a mill, you will wonder how you went so long without one.

I was looking for a Bridgeport but I fell into a deal I could not turn down, so I ended up with one of the Chinese style imports. Its maybe as good as a 30 year half worn out Bridgeport, but for what I paid I was happy. To be honest I didn"t pay anything, gave a guy a two hours of consulting on a job he was bidding and he said hey do you want this and we"ll call it even.

I am still looking for a big Bridgeport, but this one has done 99% of what I have needed so far. Plus if I need something big, a good friend owns a machine shop. It also helps to have a dad, uncle and grandpa that are all machinists, when a hack like me gets in a pinch.

Rick
 
There's currently a Cleveland brand mill on ebay. The seller relisted it as it didn't get any bids the first time. Don't know the seller or anything about the mill other than it seems cheap at $550.
 
well I got thinking if you wanted to just drill holes but wanted it portable why not buy a mag drill? then you can use it for all kinds of jobs....and you would be able to take it with you on site if you need to drill there.....rather than a drill press? if you want it stationary I would go mill or vertical mill/ drill press....you can mill stuff cut key ways. tap the sky is the limit...good luck with your purchase

kelly
 


You can do fun stuff like this on a milling machine...



A muzzle brake for a WW2 Mosin Nagant 7.62 makes a bit of a difference in shoulder shock after a couple hundred rounds.... Started out as a rusty chunk of round stock... (Awaiting delivery of shorter set screws).



The finished product is now blued and looks pretty good. (not in this pic). The first mill is a line shaft driven Kearney and Trecker horizontal mill from the 30's at the newest and possibly as old as the late teens. The vertical portion is an add on Rusnok vertical milling head.

The second is a smaller Clausing vertical mill. I wouldn't be without one. You are limited only by your imagination...and your ability to clamp wierd shaped pieces securely....
 
Frankly, if you have to ask what a mill can do that a drill press can't, you probably don't need a mill. Get a drill press.
 

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