25 March 2002, 11:11
Fred Bouwmanneed a drill press
It's time to buy a drill press for my 9.3x62 Mauser project, for mounting sights, etc. My question is, how good of a press do I need for work like that? Appreciate any advice on brands, price, etc. Thanks.
When you are finished with your project will you still use it frequently? With most tools like this it pays to get more rather than less, but if all you want to do is use it a couple of times a year most any small drill press will work, save your money for buying good drill bits. But before I tell you to do that, if you plan on using it frequently then I'd suggest something floor mounted in the $200-$300 range. It is easy to spend a -lot- more than that on a press but unless you are earning a living with it they can be kind of hard to justify.
26 March 2002, 03:14
Bill SovernsI bought a Jet floor mounted model and have been very happy with it. It has 12 speeds. If you can afford it I would recommend getting a small x-y table to mount on it. Makes life a whole lot easier sometimes. You will find all kinds of things to do with a drill press.
26 March 2002, 03:55
dan belisleDefinately go with a floor model. I got the bench size first and it really restricts what you can do with it. - Dan
26 March 2002, 04:11
wallywquote:
Originally posted by Fred Bouwman:
It's time to buy a drill press for my 9.3x62 Mauser project, for mounting sights, etc. My question is, how good of a press do I need for work like that? Appreciate any advice on brands, price, etc. Thanks.
Figure $15 per hole these days. Is this likely to be your last project? Take a look at the mini-mill at grizzly.com.
25 years ago I drilled and tapped my first mauser with a Sears "press" (anyone remember the little contraption that held a 3/8 Sears drill?) Used Devcon steel to secure weaver mounts as guides and carefully drilled my holes with a carbide bit from Brownell's.
Wally
26 March 2002, 07:14
Paul HI have one of Grizzly's 12 speed bench drill presses that run $180. It has worked well for me for the few years I have it, and it has much more uses then just d/t ing for scope bases. I would recomend the drill press, but would suggest ordering a 1/2" keyless chuck. The keyed chuck that comes with the press is a 1/8-5/8", and often times you want to use smaller bits. The 1/2" keyless chucks go down to 1/16 and the import ones can be had for $50-60.
I'll go against the grain and suggest a bench mount model. The less exspensive floor models are notorius for the racks getting bent and hung up. In occasions a floor model would be nice, but you can swing the table out of the way or turn it 90 degrees.
I'd also recomend getting a jig for drilling the holes and tapping, I have one of the midway ones, and it works well.
What Paul H says about the racks on floor mounted presses is true, they do not hold up well as they come from the factory. If you get one though I had very good luck epoxying it to the column, but I picked up another one once that the rack was bent so I just removed it and just move the table up and down by hand, which is just as convenient and much quicker so that is my preferred way now.
04 April 2002, 11:30
RogerKBuy a floor model. Stay away from anything built in China. I bought one. Saves a few bucks. And it fell apart. I took it back and the dealer replaced it. And the new one fell apart. Literally. Parts fell off. The dealer stopped carrying them so I was stuck.
04 April 2002, 18:04
downwindtracker2I have a Jet,it's OK,but I got lucky.Most imported drill presses,have sloppy bores for the quil and no ajustment to take it up.The many speeds sound nice but they are all about the same,like having a 270,280,7.08,308,and a 30.06 when you need a 375 and a 22.250.Look for a older Delta ,General,or Buffalo.
[This message has been edited by downwindtracker2 (edited 04-04-2002).]
05 April 2002, 15:38
TGetzenI have used a Ryobi tabletop drill press for drilling scope and sight mounting holes, with a home-made jig. This drill press is also pretty handy for woodworking, with a square chisel mortising attachment available. $100 at Home Depot; undoubtedly the Delta, Jet, and Grizzly models are nicer, but if you don't need it, why spend that much? My own experience with woodworking (probably not generalizable to gunsmithing) is that you can do accurate, nice work with incredibly cheap tools, as long as you take the time to set up the job correctly.
Good luck,
Todd