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My drill press is junk
- Thread starter HighUintas
- Start date
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How did 18 century gunsmiths drill precise holes?
I had a drill press that dated to that time. I was a hand crank and ratchet advancing. I had to put a modern chuck on it but used it for years.
Crow#21957
50 Cal.
You need a good press for sure. I've got a Wen that works great 10 in is the size I believe. If you have the small 8 in ditch it. I looked at presses awhile and the smaller ones suck. You definitely need one that at least has the handle to crank the table up and down. $149 At our harbour freight.
At least you have one or did I say that already?
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I have the 10 inch Wen also. Pretty good, just changed the capacitor on it tonight. My Wen bench grinder and drill press were bought around the same time and both needed new capacitors at the same time.
Col. Batguano
75 Cal.
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I never thought I actually NEEDED a drill press until..... I got one.
bronko220002
45 Cal.
Not to sound like a wise a$$ but I have a Harbor Freight table top drill press and it works perfectly fine. But to solve your situation did you attempt to punch the location and just start the hole with a hand drill then put it in the press? Just throwing something out there
Um... I didn't read this entire thread, but did you attempt to use the warranty? It never hurts to ask, even if it is a used tool, some companies will stand behind it should it be an obvious manufacturer's defect. That said, most of the time, in my experience, a used tool is a package of somebody else's problems that you actually pay money to have.
I've purchased two Harbor Freight drill presses, one for the smithy and one for the woodshop... they were cheap enough that I could afford two of 'em. The first one, purchased about twenty years ago is in pretty rough shape, having done some duty on a farm where it got knocked off the bench by a skid steer, but the other one is still working fine, other than getting a little rusty out there in the shed.
I've sorta become a fan of Harbor Freight over the years. I think they are basically the same quality as the other brands you find in department stores, but at a fraction of the price. The really high quality tools are too expensive for individuals to buy any longer. Would have been nice to get a Craftsman metal lathe, but that boat has long since sailed off into the sunset and probably sunk.
I've purchased two Harbor Freight drill presses, one for the smithy and one for the woodshop... they were cheap enough that I could afford two of 'em. The first one, purchased about twenty years ago is in pretty rough shape, having done some duty on a farm where it got knocked off the bench by a skid steer, but the other one is still working fine, other than getting a little rusty out there in the shed.
I've sorta become a fan of Harbor Freight over the years. I think they are basically the same quality as the other brands you find in department stores, but at a fraction of the price. The really high quality tools are too expensive for individuals to buy any longer. Would have been nice to get a Craftsman metal lathe, but that boat has long since sailed off into the sunset and probably sunk.
HighUintas
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I bought the press used, very cheaply. I tried everything I could think of to get it to drill where I punched. The quill has a ton of play so it just likes to jump somewhere other than my mark when drilling.
I'll be replacing it sometime. Nearly anything would be a step up
I'll be replacing it sometime. Nearly anything would be a step up
The older presses I use, had ways to keep the quill from having play. And easy to replace bearings if needed. And a made in USA chuck helps too.
This one, I got from from guy too old to get around. He used it in his gunsmith shop. Delta, and Powermatic made great ones too.
This one, I got from from guy too old to get around. He used it in his gunsmith shop. Delta, and Powermatic made great ones too.
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user 34300
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There were a couple of posters who felt that power drills went to fast or made a mess and used hand crank drills instead. There is a solution. You need to touch up the cutting face of the bit and lessen the angle. Like this, Drilling Brass: the easy and safe way ⋆ handycrowd.com
Modern bits are often extremely aggressive and pull themselves into the work. That is not always good. For instance, when drilling brass on the lathe if I use a regular bit the chuck is often pulled out of the tailstock and then spins. Once the bit is modified, no problem. The modified bits work great or wood and cut clean. You will not blow out the back of the hole or have it dive in and bind up.
Modern bits are often extremely aggressive and pull themselves into the work. That is not always good. For instance, when drilling brass on the lathe if I use a regular bit the chuck is often pulled out of the tailstock and then spins. Once the bit is modified, no problem. The modified bits work great or wood and cut clean. You will not blow out the back of the hole or have it dive in and bind up.
Look the drill press over, there should be some adjustment to tighten things up. Many get the quill ruined by trying to use a drill press as a mill.
I did have a Shopsmith for a few years. Problem is, they have to be operated at 50 degrees or warmer, or the pot metal speed control is destroyed in short order. So here in Montana, you can only got out to the shop and do some quick work for about 4 months out of the year,.
I did have a Shopsmith for a few years. Problem is, they have to be operated at 50 degrees or warmer, or the pot metal speed control is destroyed in short order. So here in Montana, you can only got out to the shop and do some quick work for about 4 months out of the year,.
I made this very adjustment to my inexpensive Craigslist find drill press just the other day. Now it’s much smoother and removed most of the run out. Note it will help to not have your work so low that you have to fully extend it. That will cause the most deflection. Hopefully your press has this adjustment screw.
As for drilling pin holes, I made this out of a C clamp and it works flawlessly.
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