Drill press recommendations

[tjdracz]

Hi guys! I hate drilling enclosures. I really do. My least favourite part, beating offboard wiring.
I use a pretty crappy Bosch cordless drill which seen better days and the battery life is a serious problem.
Thought about getting drill press and fighting my drilling blues, have you got any recommendations? Looking at £100 max. It's not going to be used for mass production, just occasional drilling couple times a year so don't need superb machine

[Beaker]

I have had one of these for over ten years, and still going strong. The combination guard and depth stop is a shonky plastic affair which fell apart after a couple of years, but otherwise a great choice.

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/cdp101b-drill-press

Any of the Clarke or Record brand drills are a good choice for hobby, up to very light industrial use.

[dexxyy]

yeah, I second Beakers choice, perfect for your needs and probably more. However if you really want to cure the enclosure drilling blues you really need to pair it up with a step drill bit. As much as a drill press makes drilling easier, constantly changing bits is a pain in the arse, add the step bit and the whole job is a skoosh.

[Marbles]

+1 on the Step-drillbit (in case you don't have one already).

It's not cheap, but man, the first time i used it, I hit myself for not buying it sooner.

[tjdracz]

dexxyy wrote

yeah, I second Beakers choice, perfect for your needs and probably more. However if you really want to cure the enclosure drilling blues you really need to pair it up with a step drill bit. As much as a drill press makes drilling easier, constantly changing bits is a pain in the arse, add the step bit and the whole job is a skoosh.

Got unibit already and love it ;) anybody know what's the difference between the drill press Beaker has posted and the silverline/no name amazon stuff out there? All seems equally good/bad.

What's the max drilling depth? How do you handle drilling top sides of 1590BB for example?

[rocket88]

I've got some that I picked up Black Friday this year for like $12. I have extra sets that I can send if you want for like the a as price I paid plus shipping. I think I have 3 or 4 sets left.

[bogey]

This could be a cheap alternative if your not going to use it much

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PLUNGE-POWER-DRILLING-STAND-BENCH-PILLAR-PEDESTAL-CLAMP-63mm-DRILL-PRESS-VICE-/381141865379?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item58bdd353a3

maybe save a bit of space too

oops maybe not if your drill's knackered

[Beaker]

"What's the max drilling depth?"

On mine 50mm - doesn't sound a lot, but trust me, it's more than enough.


"How do you handle drilling top sides of 1590BB for example?"

Use something like this - look at the photos down the left.


http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-3-way-unigrip-vertical-horizontal-drill-vice

Or something like this:

http://www.toolandfix.com/silverline-380956-quick-release-drill-vice-100mm.html?utm_source=google_shopping&gclid=CKTD9b_UpsYCFcvItAoda4ECEQ


Cheaper vices are easily available - under a tenner for aluminium ones. just make sure you get one big enough for a BB box - 100mm (4inches) will do.

I'm pretty sure sure the Silverline drills are essentially the same as the Clarke ones.

[tjdracz]

Thanks guys :) Silverline it is probably. Hell, I need a garage or some proper workspace first!