I just got my first drill press the other day as a Christmas gift. It's a Grizzly G7944 12-speed floor model drill press. To adjust the speed, you have to open the top and move the belts on the three pulleys, which seems like a big pain. Is there a "standard" speed I can set it on for drilling wood? I tend to work with softer woods, though it's not out of the question that I may drill some oak or other harder woods from time to time.
ksu asks:
Move the belts. It depends on the wood, and the type of drilling or cutting you're doing, so changes are needed from time to time. It really isn't that difficult.
Charlie Self
"Man is a reasoning rather than a reasonable animal." Alexander Hamilton
Contains a printable drill press speed chart.
Barry
If you're too lazy to change belts, you can almost never go wrong leaving it at the slowest setting for everything.
Changing belts isn't that hard though. We had some variable speed vs. standard debate a bit back, and I clocked myself changing speeds on a similar 12-speed drill press. I don't remember what the figure was off hand, but google does. I think it was 25 seconds, including time spent looking at the chart to pick a new speed.
I usually do change the speed to the slower end of the suggested range for the material and size of bit at hand. It bores faster when it turns faster, and the holes seem cleaner. Note that Forstner bits, hole saws, fly cutters and the like are an exception, and should be spun slowly no matter what size.
I keep mine set at 1440 rpm most of the time. This seems to be a good speed for using standard drill bits. If I use a larger size hole saw, forsnter or spade bit, I slow it down considerably.
Bob
It depends on what your goals are for your finished pieces. If you just want to get things completed quickly and are happy with how they come out, even if they have lots of small errors, then I would set the speed around
1500 rpm and leave it there. If your goal is to make the best possible pieces then get a drill speed chart, post it next to your drill press, and use the recommended speed for each task.I know that some people are going to say that the speed of the drill will have more effect on the life on the cutting tools than on the finished piece, but I have found that taking the time to do each step right is the only way to get consistent results. If you can't take the time to set the speed on your drill press, then I am sure that there are other more time consuming tasks that will also get skipped. Again, it depends on what your goals are. And yes, I have a drill press that I have to move the belts to set the appropriate speed, and I have the chart on the wall next to the drill press.
Bob McBreen - Yarrow Point Washington
"> I just got my first drill press the other day as a Christmas gift. It's a
You will probably find you need to change the speeds often if you are using different types of bits - twist, forstner, hole saws etc. or if drilling in different types of materials. I have the above mentioned downloadable Drill Press Speed Chart which is a good reference, however, I have found that sometimes those speeds mentioned in that chart are a touch too fast, and a slower speed works better for me, but its a personal thing. I also have a small magnetic speed chart attached to my drill press which comes in very handy and is hard to lose. Rockler sells them for $1.99.
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My "main" drill press gets used for drilling metal as much as it does for wood... and to be honest I have no clue what speed it is set up for at the moment... BUT it takes at most 30 seconds to change speeds.. it is not hard to do... and again honestly I I seem to change speeds without even thinking about it.... BUT I still refer to a guide like the downloadable one mentioned in another post... My guide is taped to the wall next to the drill press...been there for almost 30 years now
Bob Griffiths ...
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