|
I'll second the suggestion of more power. Get the biggest motor you can, especially if you are going to be boring big holes. Most belt drive cheapo drill presses won't pull a 3/4" bit very well, and that even goes for the big 1 1/2hp 20" I just got from Wilton. Don't buy one of those either. It is identical to the same size press at HF, costs almost three times as much and is even worse as far as quality goes. Buy the cheapo HF press. It is the same one sold by Crafstman, Wilton, Grizzly, Jet, etc... Just different paint jobs. Drill presses are a lot like air compressors as far as ratings are concerned. The manufacturers can pretty much put anything they want on there for capacity. They usually rate the drill press at the largest size bit that will go in the chuck they supply with it. That doesn't mean the press will actually pull that bit in most materials short of balsa wood or styrofoam. Another thing to be aware of is the speed range of the press. For big holes in steel, low rpms are a must. High speed and hp rules for aluminum. A good rule of thumb for drilling in steel is 500rpm for a 1/2" drill bit (60-70sfpm). Conversely 1000rpm for a 1/4" bit and 250 for a 1" bit. This will keep you from blueing the lips due to overspeed or wringing off a bit at too low a speed. These speeds should be quadrupled for aluminum (around 300sfpm). As you see, a 12spd 1hp press with a speed range of 375-2500 is good for 5/8-1/8" holes in steel and pretty much useless in aluminum as it is not fast enough for reasonable sized bits and doesn't have the power to pull a large bit at the required high speeds. My cheapo chinese special is a benchtop 16spd, 3/4hp with a range from 340-4290rpm. It is good enough for poking holes. I use a mill for precise work. Buy good drill bits. An index set of good ones may run you $100, but as long as they are in your shop and not exposed to a bunch of monkeys who don't care whether they get ruined, they will last for dozens of years. Buy a real Jacob's chuck so you don't ruin the bits due to a slipping chuck. Chinese chucks are awful and will burr up your bits in short order. Get a vise and use it so you don't break your bits when they break though the work and beat the part all over the column. Keep an eye on Ebay and try to pick up Morse taper drill bits in the larger sizes you want. You can get these for a couple of bucks apiece or less. A drill chuck just can't hold on very well when the bits get bigger and you can get bits larger than your chuck will hold. You should get a MT wedge in the box with the machine to drive them and/or your chuck out of the spindle. You may need an adapter to reduce the taper, which you can also pick up on Ebay for nearly nothing. One last thing... make SURE to clamp the table to the column after raising or lowering it with the handle. The racks on these are so soft and crappy that they will bow out and break if left with the clamp loose. Ask me how I know.
| 
