New Cheap Drill Press

james terrio said:
Yikes, maybe I spoke too soon about it looking like my B&D. :( I haven't had any of those problems Mr.BadExample describes.
Click to expand...

The B&D units that show up on Google look much nicer (and also more money).

I forgot to mention that the table on mine does not crank up and down--it has a turn-lock thing so there is no way to make fine adjustments nor to move the table up/down without also possibly moving it left and right as it totally free-floats.

Oh, and the the crappy plastic travel stop thingy will easily flex at least a 1/16 of an inch when you hit the travel stop.

I know one can't expect the world for $60, but there are MUCH better units out there for only a few dollars more.
 
KB1SYV said:
You know, I was just thinking last night that maybe my karma had bottomed out and was starting an upswing...:(:(:( I'd be wrong, it's still in a steady nosedive. I guess I need to buy a quantity of glue now?:unsure:

Thanks for the advice everyone, good :D and bad :mad:, I truly appreciate it!

Jeff
Click to expand...

Jeff, maybe the unit you get will be different than mine, although the link you posted is it exactly.

Here is mine: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/WMR-W50005/

Probably not worth shipping back, depending upon the cost, and it DOES work after a fashion, but I was MOST dissapointed that I could not drill any
decent sized hole in even soft 1084.
 
Do you think that now that I know that and it is treated with a shred of the soft touch, I can avoid the breaking parts? Please tell me it can still drill bigger holes if you work up to it progressively? I have yet to figure out what I did in life, that I keep hitting these Murphy's law issues!!!

Jeff



Mr. Bad Example said:
Jeff, maybe the unit you get will be different than mine, although the link you posted is it exactly.

Here is mine: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/WMR-W50005/

Probably not worth shipping back, depending upon the cost, and it DOES work after a fashion, but I was MOST dissapointed that I could not drill any
decent sized hole in even soft 1084.
Click to expand...
 
KB1SYV said:
Do you think that now that I know that and it is treated with a shred of the soft touch, I can avoid the breaking parts? Please tell me it can still drill bigger holes if you work up to it progressively? I have yet to figure out what I did in life, that I keep hitting these Murphy's law issues!!!

Jeff
Click to expand...

Well, be REALLY careful with the red plastic depth-stop thingy. I broke it where the little bolt holds it together while removing the useless plastic guard. I think it was a very poor idea to make this piece from plastic.

I tried EVERYTHING to drill bigger holes--it just spins too fast. Yes, I tried going up in steps and had pretty much zero success at anything over 1/4", with or w/o lube--and this with Cobalt bits--I had even less success with regular steel bits. At slow speed my Dewalt cordless easily makes holes in the 1084 where the press just makes smoke. You are a bit limited as any more than modest pressure makes the table bend, as I mentioned.

It DOES seem to work OK with wood, however. I used it to mortise a hidden tang in some Ironwood and do the holes for the Corby bolt. On fast speed it does 3,000 so works OK with a sanding drum or buffer.

So, don't despair too much--you will get some use out of it.



PS: Going for my General Class license in a week or so :)
 
The plastic depth stops are pretty much standard on these low-cost units. If you are very careful, they can be used. Otherwise you use table height to limit your depth. Without a gear crank for the height you can set the table height roughly and fine tune by moving the bit up or down in the chuck. Once you figure out a few tricks for this it is just as fast and much more accurate than using the adjustable stop. BTW even with a gear crank the table will move sideways when you loosen the clamp. The pressure it takes to turn the crank will move it every time.
The quality control on these can be pretty random, so every one's mileage may vary. If it is that crappy, maybe you can return it. If the bearings are really sloppy this might make an acceptable excuse to do so if they have a return policy.
 
Jeez I feel like a moron. :eek: :( Can't even find a pic of my model B&D online and the point seems moot now. Apparently it is different because my table is fairly solid and cranks up/down pretty nicely, I can adjust it within fractions of an inch and it locks up pretty solid.

No plastic depth stop on mine, when I need a blind hole I measure from the tip of the bit and wrap a piece of tape around it where I need to stop. Sounds dumb but it works.

FWIW I've never tried to drill a hole larger than 1/4" with mine. *shrug*

Jeff, don't dispair! Sounds like you can use that press for the time being. Eventually you may be able to get a better one, and keep that one just for wood, etc. I've heard many experienced makers say they accumulated 3 or 4 cheap drill presses and leave them set up for different types of work or even different bits.
 
Last edited:
You have made a good move Jeff. You have to KNOW there's a trade off when you go low end. Drilling 1/8--1/4 holes in metal , easy now. Most will be 1/8 .Slowest speed and you'll be fine. You don't need better ------yet. Bill
 
It'll work -- just need to strengthen it up once it is squared. Especially if you're making folders. run a bolt through the head to secure it since it is probably just sitting there with a couple of set scews. Buy a cheap car jack and use it to help square your table and then leave it under it to eleviate table bend. I've got a 4x4 piece of wood wedged under mine. :D Then use 1-2-3 blocks to drill into and that will give you different heights.
 
burchtree said:
It'll work -- just need to strengthen it up once it is squared. Especially if you're making folders. run a bolt through the head to secure it since it is probably just sitting there with a couple of set scews. Buy a cheap car jack and use it to help square your table and then leave it under it to eleviate table bend. I've got a 4x4 piece of wood wedged under mine. :D Then use 1-2-3 blocks to drill into and that will give you different heights.
Click to expand...

Those are some great tips--I'm going to do that with mine. Does anyone know a way to slow these things down? I suppose one would need to add a step to the drive pulleys which seems difficult, at best.
 
I didn't want to admit this but even my Craftsman press has a weak, flexy drilling table. My friend who has a similar unit actually cracked his trying to use it as a pin press.
I made a pair of angle iron gussets to re-inforce mine. It was an annoying project to have to do to a brand-new piece of equipment but seems to have been worthwhile. This seems to be a common problem on newer budget drill presses. The older ones seem to have come with stouter tables, my ancient little HF press did not have this problem.
 
Mr. Bad Example said:
Those are some great tips--I'm going to do that with mine. Does anyone know a way to slow these things down? I suppose one would need to add a step to the drive pulleys which seems difficult, at best.
Click to expand...

You could try this. I'd try it but my import Delta has a weird 14mm motor shaft and a non-standard belt.
 
DrThunder88 said:
You could try this. I'd try it but my import Delta has a weird 14mm motor shaft and a non-standard belt.
Click to expand...

That looks complicated. How about somehow attaching one more layer of pulleys to the existing cone pulley stacks? IIRC (and I'll have to go check to make sure) the cone pulleys on this unit are flat-topped so it might be possible.
 
Hey, did you get your drill press? If so, what do you think?
 
No, not yet, somebody cancelled the order by mistake. I'm glad I caught it, they mistook me for another customer.

Jeff
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top