Magnetic drill press alternative?

[Jay Pique]

I've been thinking of mounting a Milwaukee drill press with a magnetic base to a piece of steel plate so I could clamp it in the center of countertops, benches (for dog holes), etc... However, these run about $800, so I'm wondering if there's a cheaper alternative. Sort of like a drill guide that Rockler et al sell, but beefy - with a drill press type mechanism. Short of going to work on an old Craftsman bench top DP, anyone have any other ideas?

Thanks. JP

[J T]

Mon, Oct 22, 2007, 5:35pm (EDT-3) [e-mail] (Jay=A0Pique) doth wonder: I've been thinking of mounting a Milwaukee drill press with a magnetic base to a piece of steel plate so I could clamp it in the center of countertops, benches (for dog holes), etc... However, these run about $800, so I'm wondering if there's a cheaper alternative. Sort of like a drill guide that Rockler et al sell, but beefy - with a drill press type mechanism. Short of going to work on an old Craftsman bench top DP, anyone have any other ideas?

You can always get a long drill bit. Or make one. Then use a bench top drill press. If I was gonna drill holes every day tho, I might well eventually modify a bench drill press. Maybe. But probably just usa a long drill bit instead, so when I got tired of drilling holes I'd still have a usable drill press. Of course, if you did modify one, and quit drilling holes, you could always make a horizontal boring machine out of it.

JOAT "I'm an Igor, thur. We don't athk quethtionth." "Really? Why not?" "I don't know, thur. I didn't athk."

[J. Clarke]

You might want to take a look at

You should be able to pull the table off and _maybe_ saw the column shorter and use it pretty much like you propose to use the Milwaukee. With the table off the weight should be manageable if you're in good shape--if it's not then the head assembly should pull off with one screw and broken down into two pieces you should be able to handle it easily.

[Charley]

Get a table top style drill press and turn the base around so it faces backwards when you assemble it. Now bolt the base to a board or thick piece of sheet metal using flat head bolts with heads on the bottom and the nuts on top so the bottom surface is smooth. Now you have a non-magnetic version of the Milwaukee drill press at significantly less money. You can position it anywhere on the countertop and hold or clamp it in position. You could even put a gasket ring around the bottom and pull a vacuum between this board and the countertop using a small vacuum pump to hold it in position.

Charley