I have a big heavy old pillar drill and it is sooo inconvenient for woodwork I am thinking of taking it to the scrap yard.
Where would I find a sensible benchtop machine for drilling? with a fence and end stops and support for longer and wider pieces, a better reach into the middle of a board, one where the drilling head was moved up and down and not the workpiece. Does it exist? or do I have to make it myself?
TW
I don't know of a drill press with those specs. I'd start with something like a Grizzly G7945 or Shop Fox W1669 and add my own make-it-yourself extended table, fence and end stops. That's what I did (my support table is 16"x27" melamine coated MDF with miter t-track inserts to hold the fence) and it works pretty well for me.
If you want a big table (and the price tag just as large):
You need to limit those goals. 'support' for long and wide pieces won't be possible on a benchtop unless the work is on the bench, in which case a Portalign jig with hand drill is more useful than a drill press.
Not sure what 'better reach' requires, but radial drill presses are pricey and that reach never did me much good when I had one... Grizzly offers one
Clones of the old Delta bench drill press models abound, have circa 6" throat which will get you to the middle of a 12" board... General plan is motor /belts-and-pulleys/ nontilting head, with tilting table clamped to a round column.
For preference, I'd want a 1/2" chuck and replaceable motor, and change-a-belt speeds (old school, but when something breaks, it's not a total-drillpress-replace).
This device seems to fulfill your requirements:
- a fence and end stops and support for longer and wider pieces
- a better reach into the middle of a board
- the drilling head is moved up and down and not the workpiece
You just need to supply the "drill head", although you'd be limited to
5/8", 1/2" and 5mm as your initial hole sizes.
Typo...make that 5/16", not 5/8"
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