How much do you use your drill press?

[scorrpio]

I brought it home and set it up. Went to use it to do some doweling operations on a project, and was dismayed to find that the items I wanted to join did not fit in the DP.

There is a trick to setting up a benchtop DP. I bolted the base of my DP to my bench so that column is right at the edge. Both table and head are above the floor, projecting in front of the bench. Not only it means that I can drill rather long pieces, it also a lot more convenient to use.

In the end, I continue to reach for my super cheap, corded, high speed drill, which isn't really very good for drilling wood (tear out anyone?)

It is not the drill - it is the drill BITS. For wood, I use brad points and forstners - even in a hand drill, they can prosuce a very clean hole. I have a bunch of twist bits that I use for drilling everything else.

I also think that if I built a good table for it, I'd like it a lot more. But that means putting in more time and money into a fairly large power tool (space is at a premium too...) that I'm just not sure I really need. This is the first woodworking item I'm having buyer's remorse on...

Building a table is not going to take either much money or time - and both will be regained tenfold as it'll take you a lot less time to set up, and will produced desired results on the first try, minimizing waste. I built my table using some laminated pine - the table is roughly 2'x1' and 1.5" thick, bolted to DP table, and has T-track installed for the fence. I also went one further and made a detachable long stock support. Without this table, my DP probably would not have been one tenth as useful. With it, it's a machine. If I need to drill a hole in the end of a long piece, I rotate the table into vertical position, and clamp workpiece to the fence.

How often do you guys use your DP, and do you think it's something a hobbyist can't live without?

No project without it. Weather it's drilling or sanding curves (by chucking a drum), I turn to the DP. And working in combination with a hand drill, the limitations of a small DP are easily overcome.
Short quill travel? Drill the holes as deep as DP will allow, then chuck the bit into a hand drill and deepen the holes. Since they are started on DP, holes will be very accurate.
Not enough swing, and you need to drill in a large panel? Take a scrap block of wood, drill it on your DP - now you can use this block as a guide to drill perfectly vertical holes with a hand drill.
And so on.

Drill press is essential.

[Knottscott]

I don't use mine alot, and when I do it's more for sanding than drilling. Nice to have when I need one though.

[thestinker]

I don't have one in my shop....but I have access to one. I think its something I could sand to get. There has been more than once I wish I had one more handy than I do.

RS

[Garasaki]

Wow, talk about a lot of responses in a hurry.

Thanks for the input guys. I think I'll probably stick with it...

It occured to me very quickly after trying to use the DP a few times, how much...better? it would be to have a decent table and fence.

I know it's not a big venture to build one, but even at the ~4 hours I envision it taking, that's about a weeks worth of shop time to me, that I'd rather spend elsewhere. Well, anyway, thanks for the input!

[JSCOOK]

I had some insight before I bought mine ... my dad has a small bench Delta which has proven too small for some projects/repairs he's wanted to do ... if he was to do it again, he'd bought a larger DP

So knowing that, I saved up the $$$ and waited for a good deal to come up and bought a DP which was 17" and Floor standing (it also is a full 1HP and 16 speeds)

[leehljp]

Wow, talk about a lot of responses in a hurry.

Thanks for the input guys. I think I'll probably stick with it...

It occured to me very quickly after trying to use the DP a few times, how much...better? it would be to have a decent table and fence.

I know it's not a big venture to build one, but even at the ~4 hours I envision it taking, that's about a weeks worth of shop time to me, that I'd rather spend elsewhere. Well, anyway, thanks for the input!

It could be that your DP is too small for your needs. Keeping it and adjusting to it might be fine, but getting the right size sure makes for enjoyable work.

Also, you are on the right track with building a table and fence. A word of caution: don't build a table too big. I built a 24 in wide table initially and found that it didn't take much pressure to tilt the table even if the table bolt was very tight. I cut mine down to 16 inches and it holds it position much better now.

[MilDoc]

I started out with a table-top model, used it once, and gave it away. Bought the full size Ridgid. I use it much more than I thought i would!

[Sawatzky]

I also have the HF 8" bench top drill press. I bought it because it was cheap and I knew I did not need a big one. My building consists mostly of large box items such as desks, cabinets, bookshelves, entertainment centers, etc. So far I have not had much use for the drill press other than drilling a few forster bit holes and using some sanding drums. Your work may be quite different, however. If you can forsee a lot of projects that will need a drill press, or if you forsee projects that are going to require drilling a lot of straight, accurate holes, look into taking your current drill press back and getting a larger floor standing drill press. If not, keep it and you will still be amazed at the things it will allow you to do.

[Hoover]

[QUOTE=Garasaki;269028]
. It's extremely awkward to use, the table is so small that it seems only straight stock would conviently fit on it. Any sort of sheet or panel is nearly impossible to position on there. The fence it came with is a PIA to put on...and of course you have to take it off to drill on anything but straight stock. It's awkward to clamp items down. I could go on and on...


What is it that you are trying to do? Why are you trying to position a sheet or panel on a drill press? A drill press is designed to deal with dimensional sized objects not panels.

[Garasaki]

For instance, a 12"x8" panel for a stand I was building, or a 24"x16" panel for a miter sled I was building. Not a full size 4x8 sheet of plywood

[LCHIEN]

For instance, a 12"x8" panel for a stand I was building, or a 24"x16" panel for a miter sled I was building. Not a full size 4x8 sheet of plywood

Most add-on woodworking DP tables are much bigger than a usually 8x8 table that comes standard with the DP. You still need the raise/lower/lock/tilt features of the original table but the WW table adds to the mix a 24-30 by 16 to 20-inch surface plus hold down tracks plus an adjustable fence. It also adds a replaceable/sacrificial drill insert to back up your work and prevent tearout that won't dull your bit like a steel table.

Anyway the bigger table surface will support your 12 x 8 and 24x16 panels mostly.

[JR]

I have a small HF benchtop model. I'd love to have big floor-standing one, but hav no place to put it. So I soldier on.

When I first got into woodworking I made a little table for my DP. It's, I dunno, 6" x 14" or so. It has a fixed 2" fence. It's made of plywood. I have a couple of bolts recessed into slots in the table, with wing nuts down below, so I can move the table backwards and forwards.

I thought this was a temporary stand-in when I built it ~5 years ago. I'm still using it.

IMO, it's easy to get carried away buying the biggest and baddest tools. Among the things I've learned at BT3Central to value are ingenuity and frugality. Most times a simple piece of scrap wood and a pair of clamps serve perfectly as the fence, or stop block or guide or whatnot, necessary to get the deed done.

I've been known to loosen the post on my DP, turning the assy backward, clamp the base down, and drill over the side of my workbench. I've done the same with my mortiser.

Having said all that, a buddy of mine has floor-standing HF DP. In addition to the usual set of adjustments, the head moves forward and back is on a rack and pinion movement. I covet that tool. If I stole it, though, I'd have nowhere to put it.

Summary to my sermon (you thought I'd never get there!): do what you gotta do. If have to have a big dog DP, get one. Or solve the problem some other way. But get the job done.

JR