Recommend a good drill press?

[birdman86]

Our current one is about 60 years old, belt drive, gutless and can’t find spare parts so in the market for a replacement. Looking for as close to a ‘buy once’ drill press as we can get for say $1000-1500. Drilling everything from small holes in wood to >1” through 2” chunks of steel. Recommendations?

[blitz]

Nova 58000 Voyager DVR

I don’t have one, but Tons of woodworkers rave about it.

[tirebob]

I have a 1hp porter cable 15 inch floor stand model I like a lot and well under budget...

https://www.lowes.ca/product/drill-p...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Darell_n]

Craftex brand are very good medium priced tools at Busy Bee. Check out their website, they sell premium hobby grade up to pro industrial tools.

[BerserkerCatSplat]

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Drilling everything from small holes in wood to >1” through 2” chunks of steel. Recommendations?

1" unpiloted holes in 2" steel is a big job. I'd be looking at a 1HP+ unit like a Craftex CX610.... or a used Bridgeport.

[birdman86]

Thanks for the pointers so far, it's primarily a farm drill press (lots of metal fabwork) so heavier duty is better. Unless someone says otherwise CX610 might be the winner so far.

Is there such a thing as gear-drive drill presses? I was specifically asked not to find a belt drive..

[Darell_n]

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Thanks for the pointers so far, it's primarily a farm drill press (lots of metal fabwork) so heavier duty is better. Unless someone says otherwise CX610 might be the winner so far.

Is there such a thing as gear-drive drill presses? I was specifically asked not to find a belt drive..

Direct drive with a speed controller will be quite spendy to start with, or you can convert a normal belt drive drill press later on. Belt saves you breaking things but is not the quickest for changing speeds often.

[Darell_n]

.

[blitz]

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Thanks for the pointers so far, it's primarily a farm drill press (lots of metal fabwork) so heavier duty is better. Unless someone says otherwise CX610 might be the winner so far.

Is there such a thing as gear-drive drill presses? I was specifically asked not to find a belt drive..

The Nova is gear drive, digital variable speed and 1.75 HP...

[BerserkerCatSplat]

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The Nova is gear drive, digital variable speed and 1.75 HP...

The Nova is direct-drive, not gear drive - very different things. I'm sure it's nice for wood and thinner metalwork, but it can't hold a candle to a gear-drive press. 1.75HP motor is nice, but being direct drive it lacks the torque multiplication you get from a conventional belt/gear system, so at low speeds (which is what you're generally using for metal) it's quite a bit less powerful than the conventional units.

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Thanks for the pointers so far, it's primarily a farm drill press (lots of metal fabwork) so heavier duty is better. Unless someone says otherwise CX610 might be the winner so far.

Is there such a thing as gear-drive drill presses? I was specifically asked not to find a belt drive..

Yes, gear-drive is available and would suit your application better than belt drive, but may be outside your price range. A Grizzly G0779 is about as cheap as gear-heads get and it starts at $2K USD.

[birdman86]

Good to know, didn't think about direct vs gear drive difference. Also aeems like Craftex has some mixed reviews based on web searches.

What about a mill? If we're upgrading equipment its good a time as any...

[Maxt]

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Our current one is about 60 years old, belt drive, gutless and can’t find spare parts so in the market for a replacement. Looking for as close to a ‘buy once’ drill press as we can get for say $1000-1500. Drilling everything from small holes in wood to >1” through 2” chunks of steel. Recommendations?

Honestly most of the older ones have way less play in the quill than the newer stuff that is made U KNOW WHERE. When I wanted to upgrade I was going around to all the tool stores and checking the quiils, and they all were pretty crappy with most having almost a 1/16th at extension.
I got given an old Japanese made Jet brand that is pretty old, the quill is tight with no play. I repowered it with a 1.5 hp 3 phase motor and ran it from a VFD, so it will run in reverse as well. I've run a 6" holesaw through 1/2" steel plate with it.

[BerserkerCatSplat]

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Good to know, didn't think about direct vs gear drive difference. Also aeems like Craftex has some mixed reviews based on web searches.

What about a mill? If we're upgrading equipment its good a time as any...

A used mill would be a very good choice in my opinion (hence my earlier Bridgeport comment). What power options do you have at your farm? If you have 3-phase power you can pick up used mills for dirt cheap ($3-5K).