Drill Press

I am looking to buy a benchtop drill press (not a floor standing model) but can not find any information on the maximum capacity to drill in wood. All the manufacturers quote chuck sizes either 13 or 16 mm and the capacity in metal normally either 13 or 16 mm. I will be using forstner bits up to a maximum of 35 mm. Could anyone please shed some light on this?

Jan HI

in my experience ( but dont quote me on it) is that if they quote 13mm in steel then you can expect about 26-30 in wood. I do think though that they tend to shy away from timber specification because of the vast array of large size bit avaiable, so good some bad. I only have a cheap 5 speed machine but it will sink 35mm kitchen cabinet hinges providing the bit is of quality of course HTH

Dave

Hi Dave

Thanks for the reply, I am after a machine able to drill 35 mm cabinet hinges most of the other drilling it will be required to do will be less than 20 mm. I basically need a machine to drill accurate and square. Could you tell me more about your machine and the bits you use?

Hello Jan

In another thread a while ago, someone else asked a similar question. I have the Jet JDP-15 bench mounted drill press from Axminster, which is 900W (the floor standing version is 1000W). I was looking for something with better accuracy than the normal DIY shed offerings, and this was it. Very well made, with a 16mm keyless chuck and almost zero run-out (i.e. how much wobble there is on the chuck) for high accuracy. It also has a "wet" table so you can use lubricants when drilling metal if you need to.

I have used this for drilling 2.5" holes in oak with a sawtooth bit without any problems at all. You just need to slow the speed and advance the cut more slowly, but other than that it's dead easy. If it's accuracy you want it's definitely worth paying a bit more.

HTH

Simon

Accuracy as Simon said is a key factor as well as a descent sized motor which is a factor in drilling larger holes

Jan

As I say I only have a cheapo machine that was donated to me a couple of years ago, in fact its a very old clarke but it does what I want it to do inncluding hinge sinking.

As for the bits I never use a fostner bit for hinges. I bought a 35mm Trend hinge sink router cutter and as the cutting edges sit well above the main body it is very easy to keep it sharp and trim, they are about 50 quid but well worth the money

HTH

Dave