more tool questions... :)

[blkTJ]

thinking about a bench drill press , any thoughts on something like that one???

I guess my real question is... will it handle what the floor models do for general Jeep fab???

[Allen]

There's 2 things I don't like.....

Minimum speed is 200 rpm.....I'd like one that slows down to about 90 rpm. Finding this at a reasonable cost however.....

And the worktable has no channels for coolant provisions.

Setting up your drill press with coolant is THE way to go.

Allen

[blkTJ]

In what situation would 90rpm be more desireable than 200?

Coolant??? errr... the fact that I have no idea what your talking about makes me think I shoulda paid more attention in shop class.

[Joe Dillard]

Something along these lines to supply Kool Mist to the drill bit.

[Jerry Bransford]

What is a good lubricant to use?

[TObject]

Originally posted by Jerry Bransford
What is a good lubricant to use?

Vaseline

[Jeff Weston]

Brian,

How much drilling and how heavy duty does the machine have to be? I have a cheapo benchtop drillpress from Harbor Freight (insert snicker here) and it works absolutely great for my needs.

Unless you're planning on heavy or business use, I'd buy a Harbor Freight or even a Craftsman. I'm not trying to say that these are even in the same league as a professional grade drill, but for casual garage use they work just fine. With the money you'd save you could buy some other handy tools like a bench grinder, sawzall, compressor ... Your needs may differ from mine, but that is the approach I've taken and have [b]never had a HF power tool fail me (drill press, chop saw, sawzall, nailer, grinder).

Good luck!

[Paradiddle]

You need a drill press like your need a hole in the head...oh wait....

[Jerry Bransford]

Originally posted by TObject
Vaseline

Heh, it's apparent you still have Miss California firmly entrenched in your mind Sergey.

[Robert J. Yates]

His name was "Dustin", Jerry - so that would be "Mr. California".

A guy would definitely need vaseline on that date - not that there is anything wrong with that if you happen to swing that way

[Allen]

Originally posted by blkTJ
In what situation would 90rpm be more desireable than 200?

Coolant??? errr... the fact that I have no idea what your talking about makes me think I shoulda paid more attention in shop class.

Drilling with a 1/2" bit or larger.....

Coolant.

Sorry.

Cutting oil?

That better?

Allen

[Allen]

Originally posted by Jerry Bransford
What is a good lubricant to use?

Believe it or not I use a custom blend of ATF and WD-40 in a plastic container with a small pump.

Fluid pumps up to a flex nozzle on a magnetic base, onto the part I'm drilling, and out the drain in the worktable.

The worktable drain is threaded, and I've installed a nipple and return line back to the plastic container.

Northern Tool & Equipment sells the tub and pump.....but for the life of me I can't remember what they call it.

Allen

[Paradiddle]

Originally posted by Allen
and I've installed a nipple

He said nipple....

[chef]

i've got the floorstand craftsman with the laser crosshair on it...it's totally sweet. they make a benchtop model. i've seen the basic drill press all over, from jet, hf, ridgid...it's worked great for me, much better then trying to muscle a hand drill through a stack of plate in a vise....i've used rapid tap (i think that's what it's called) for cutting oil, and it seems to work pretty well also. haven't been able to afford to invest in a nice set of bits, right now i'm using some random kit from HF, i use lots of oil and they're still sharp. i do want to pick up a drill dr to keep 'em good. the laser part of the press is pretty nice for lining the tool up with the part. i think a bench top would be fine for you..so far the only time i've needed to drop the table real low is when i had to drill a couple holes on top of my new fuel cell.

vent holes. that's it.

[blkTJ]

yes allen, that makes much more sense.

Jeff and Jeff, I was giving this some thought all day... and your right. I don't need a drill press right now. drilling my body mounts and through a 1/2" chunck of steel this past weekend for Rick's CJ got me thinkin' about how great it would be to have one. Truth is, until I have cutting and welding equipment, my drilling will be minimal.

ofcourse when I do eventually get one, it'll be more drill than I need, I'm just like that.

FWIW, I've got a small bottle of cutting fluid I bought at lowes. not sure if it's any good but I use it.

[Allen]

Originally posted by Paradiddle
He said nipple....

Yes.

It screws in.

Allen