New drill press!

[Greg]

After years of working with a crappy Central Machinery / Harbor Freight drill press, I finally had a chance to upgrade! The new one is a Wilton A5816, which is a 15", 1 HP beast of a drill press! I know someone that works at a local school and the kids were scared to run this massive machine, so I traded my HF drill press straight across for the Wilton.

I'm looking forward to using this thing, it seems like a nice upgrade and is much more heavy duty. It was set to run at 5,000 RPM! Lowered it to 400 RPM and it seems to be a lot more manageable.

 

[bryson]

I'd love a nice drill press in my shop. That's a good score!

 

[Kevin B.]

I've been plotting on a new press too. Been kinda looking at a Wen 12 inch but I like yours better.

 

[Hickey]

At 5k rippems, I'd be scared of it too!

 

[Gravy]

Nice trade Greg

I've got that nice big floor drill press I got from Chance. I can say unequivocally it's the only floor drill press that has gone all the way up Rattlesnake. LoL.


Let's talk about machinists clamps.

I've been seeing @STAG use them on his press to hold some crazy stuff still to drill (like knuckles).
What one are you guys using? I'd like to get a set.

 

[Kevin B.]

@frieed has a nice set of clamps for his press, I don't know what brand they are but they work well.

 

[frieed]

@frieed has a nice set of clamps for his press, I don't know what brand they are but they work well.

Mine were just Grizzly brand off Amazon. They work great.
The best feature on my drill press, a Jet JDP-20MF, 20" Floor Drill Press, is the lowest spindle speed is 150 RPM. That coupled with a 1.5hp motor makes it a beast on large holes. You definitely don't want to get a shirtsleeve tangled in it.

 

[Greg]

Mine were just Grizzly brand off Amazon. They work great.
The best feature on my drill press, a Jet JDP-20MF, 20" Floor Drill Press, is the lowest spindle speed is 150 RPM. That coupled with a 1.5hp motor makes it a beast on large holes. You definitely don't want to get a shirtsleeve tangled in it.

This one? https://amzn.to/3mgBMmc

 

[frieed]

This one? https://amzn.to/3mgBMmc

yep. Good clamps will increase accuracy and safety.
Also remember my trick to square up the table with the spindle

Tricks to get a Job Done Easier

So I'd love to see if you have some tricks to make jobs easier. Having an old Land Rover, some things were cobbled together in the factory. On Fridays when Nigel came to work already drunk, things weren't done as good as they could have been. Normal for British cars. They were not very good...

www.rme4x4.com

 

[frieed]

also on that thread, the clamps in action

Tricks to get a Job Done Easier

So I'd love to see if you have some tricks to make jobs easier. Having an old Land Rover, some things were cobbled together in the factory. On Fridays when Nigel came to work already drunk, things weren't done as good as they could have been. Normal for British cars. They were not very good...

www.rme4x4.com

 

[Asbjorn]

Not as nice as yours Greg, but I picked up this today. Super excited to use it tomorrow. My drilling experiences have been somewhat sketchy as of late, so this should help tremendously.

 

[johngottfredson]

Mine’s better

 

[Kevin B.]

View attachment 144132
Mine’s better

Needs a Mohawk and a gold chain.

 

[zmotorsports]

Nice drill press Greg. I have a Jet that is nearly the same size with the larger table and love it over the smaller 12~ish or so inch table on my previous drill press. I like that yours is variable speed, I have the step pulley design on mine and although it isn't too bad to change speeds, I would really like the variable speed head. I also fabricated a 6" riser that goes between the column and the base for mine as I hated having to bend over slightly. If you experience that it may be an option for you.

 

[Greg]

I ended up adding 2 of these "vise grips" that use a T-Bolt's and they seem to be pretty handy for securing material for drilling!

Had to space up the back side to keep them straight.

 

[Mouse]

Where did you find those locking pliers? I need some more clamping options for my drill press

 

[Greg]

Where did you find those locking pliers? I need some more clamping options for my drill press

MacWork 9in Drill Press Clamp Woodworking Holding With Lock and Release Lever - - Amazon.com

MacWork 9in Drill Press Clamp Woodworking Holding With Lock and Release Lever - - Amazon.com

amzn.to

They're super handy and easy to adjust. You'll have to find the right T-nuts for your drill press, but the threads on the clamp are 12 mm.

 

[lhracing]

A new take on a set of drill bits. My son gave me this set, he said that they work great. No more 3 sided holes in sheet metal?

 

[Unimog]

Interesting! I would hate to try to sharpen them, but maybe they never need it!

 

[lhracing]

My dad has a set of those Matco bits ^

Being Matco they are “lifetime warrantied including dullness and breaks, as long as they aren’t blue” (from friction/heat).

They do cut very well.

The first 2 rows (17/64 thru 1/2) are warranted, the small bits (1/16 thru 1/4) are not.