I've been considering purchasing a radial drill press, in particular
the Busy Bee/Craftex floor model, I believe this is the same as the
Grizzly. It contains some interesting features i.e. tilting head and
huge 34" diameter swing.
When compared, however, to a typical fixed 13"/14" model in the same
price range the radial model appears somewhat flimsy especially when
fully extended and I fear continual alignment, adjustment and general
accuracy problems.
Does anyone have any advice, experience or comments on this type of
drill press.
Thanks,
Dave
DaveH asks:
>'ve been considering purchasing a radial drill press, in particular
>the Busy Bee/Craftex floor model, I believe this is the same as the
>Grizzly. It contains some interesting features i.e. tilting head and
>huge 34" diameter swing.
>
>When compared, however, to a typical fixed 13"/14" model in the same
>price range the radial model appears somewhat flimsy especially when
>fully extended and I fear continual alignment, adjustment and general
>accuracy problems.
>
>Does anyone have any advice, experience or comments on this type of
>drill press.
>
I've used them, tested them, etc. If you absolutely HAVE to have the extra
size, see if you can't work out some kind of holder for your portable drill.
That's about as accurate.
Short of immovable industrial models, all the radial drill presses I've seen
will give you just what you fear: alignment, adjustment and accuracy problems.
Charlie Self
"Health food makes me sick." Calvin Trillin
http://hometown.aol.com/charliediy/myhomepage/business.html
DaveH wrote:
>
> I've been considering purchasing a radial drill press, in particular
> the Busy Bee/Craftex floor model, I believe this is the same as the
> Grizzly. It contains some interesting features i.e. tilting head and
> huge 34" diameter swing.
>
> When compared, however, to a typical fixed 13"/14" model in the same
> price range the radial model appears somewhat flimsy especially when
> fully extended and I fear continual alignment, adjustment and general
> accuracy problems.
>
> Does anyone have any advice, experience or comments on this type of
> drill press.
>
> Thanks,
> Dave
A friend bought one a LONG time ago and the problem he had was flexing
of
the arm when puting any pressure on the drill. ie. drilling metal or
even hard wood requires some downward pressure and the arm deflects
upward.
Unless you talk about a machine shop radial drill ( with column and arm
of 8 to 10 inches diameter or biger ) I think they are a disaster.
...lew...
I looked for a long time before buying a radial drill press. I finally
settled on the floor mounted ShopFox. It's similar to the Grizzly,
although not identical. Delta couldn't tell me the diameter and
thickness of the tube used to form the arm or the vertical support.
ShopFox could. They don't seem to deflect. I'm drilling a number of
1-3/16" holes at 35 degrees in birch. The Morse taper used to mount the
chuck is not appropriate for an application that is going to see lateral
force and chattering such as I get when I'm starting to enter the work.
I have just noticed some noticeable deflection of the quill as I enter
the work in a direction that causes the bit to move away from the
vertical support. I have yet to have time to measure it or see what is
causing it.
All in all I'm satisfied with the drill press. It's not a vertical
milling machine but it does what I need now.
RB
DaveH wrote:
> I've been considering purchasing a radial drill press, in particular
> the Busy Bee/Craftex floor model, I believe this is the same as the
> Grizzly. It contains some interesting features i.e. tilting head and
> huge 34" diameter swing.
>
> When compared, however, to a typical fixed 13"/14" model in the same
> price range the radial model appears somewhat flimsy especially when
> fully extended and I fear continual alignment, adjustment and general
> accuracy problems.
>
> Does anyone have any advice, experience or comments on this type of
> drill press.
>
> Thanks,
> Dave
"DaveH" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I've been considering purchasing a radial drill press, in particular
> the Busy Bee/Craftex floor model, I believe this is the same as the
> Grizzly. It contains some interesting features i.e. tilting head and
> huge 34" diameter swing.
>
> When compared, however, to a typical fixed 13"/14" model in the same
> price range the radial model appears somewhat flimsy especially when
> fully extended and I fear continual alignment, adjustment and general
> accuracy problems.
>
> Does anyone have any advice, experience or comments on this type of
> drill press.
>
> Thanks,
> Dave
I've got an old Rockwell that's similar to the Grizzly. When extended
far from the vertical column, it's not going to be as accurate as a
standard press, but, on the other hand, the standard press isn't going
to drill *anything* at that distance, either.
For what it's worth, I've found mine to be useful for woodworking
regardless of the degree of horizontal extension, and useful for light
metalworking with the head retracted (which gives it a swing similar
to astandard press). And, the head tilts, which can sometimes be
useful.
The biggest downside to it is the usual price one pays for versatility.
Everytime I move the ram in or out, I find I need to recheck the
orientation of the bit relative to the table, just to be sure it's exactly
90 degrees. Got a little engineers square to do that with, and it's
become somewhat automatic. Don't have to do that on a regular
press, so if that matters to you, take it into account.
All in all, I'm happy with it; if I did any serious metalworking, I'd get
another conventional press to do that, and keep this one for wood.
Hope that helps,
Henry Bibb
two words there- "drill" and "press". Anything with that long of an arm
will make a lousy press.
Go for a regular floor drill press, and use your handheld drill when
needed.
[email protected] (DaveH) wrote in news:20f6deac.0402170619.2f3c5447
@posting.google.com:
> I've been considering purchasing a radial drill press, in particular
> the Busy Bee/Craftex floor model, I believe this is the same as the
> Grizzly. It contains some interesting features i.e. tilting head and
> huge 34" diameter swing.
>
> When compared, however, to a typical fixed 13"/14" model in the same
> price range the radial model appears somewhat flimsy especially when
> fully extended and I fear continual alignment, adjustment and general
> accuracy problems.
>
> Does anyone have any advice, experience or comments on this type of
> drill press.
>
> Thanks,
> Dave
Dave,
I don't think of a drill press as a 'high-tech precision instrument'.
Especially if it is in the price range of what most of us can afford. {I
used to work in the printed circuit manufacturing business - THERE were some
*really* precision, 12 head {and up}, programmable drill presses - About
$50, 000 and up !!}
99.5 percent of the time I use a 'starter/locator' hole so that adds to the
accuracy of the hole placement . . . the most critical time, in my opinion.
Because I try to have every tool capable of doing multiple tasks {comes
either from being cheap, or a small boat sailor}, I agonized over this same
question. What I opted for was the Grizzly 'Table Top' Radial Press. For
stability it is BOLTED to the CORNER of a 'small' but HEAVY bench that is in
the corner of the shop. It is secured to TWO cinder block walls, and has 4x4
front legs.
The 'upright' of the press, and the 'arm' are both about 4 inches in
diameter. The 'corner' mounting gives me the ability to swing the head
around to give an additional 30 inches of available height, from the floor.
The arm 'extension' gives me the ability to reach into a large panel, or
other awkward piece. The entire arrangement doesn't seem 'flimsy' at all.
Just from the standpoint of 'good engineering practices', I don't store the
'arm' in the extended position. I always leave it in a 'balanced' stance. It
is also the only tool that is 'permanently' fixed in position in my shop.
Everything else is, in some way or another, mobile.
For me, the 'trade off' wasn't so much Radial vs. Fixed, as it was the lower
end speeds. Large bits, 'fly-cutters', and 'saw bits' typically have
recommended speeds of 250-300 rpm. The slowest speed on my unit is 500 rpm.
Therefore I have to be careful and use different 'tricks' to avoid burning,
etc. HOWEVER, the choice was MY decision based on MY type of usage. {I also
have an OLD 'Port-Align' that is fixed to an OLD Rockwell portable drill for
that 'odd job' or 'aboard' use that occasionally comes up}.
YOU have to decide which features/abilities are *most important* to what
type of work you do. Then select the tool that gives you the most
'operations'.
Regards & Good Luck,
Ron Magen
Backyard Boatshop
"Dan Valleskey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> two words there- "drill" and "press". Anything with that long of an arm
> will make a lousy press.
>
> Go for a regular floor drill press, and use your handheld drill when
> needed.
>
> [email protected] (DaveH) wrote in news:20f6deac.0402170619.2f3c5447
> @posting.google.com:
>
> > I've been considering purchasing a radial drill press, in particular
> > the Busy Bee/Craftex floor model, I believe this is the same as the
> > Grizzly. It contains some interesting features i.e. tilting head and
> > huge 34" diameter swing.
> >
> > When compared, however, to a typical fixed 13"/14" model in the same
> > price range the radial model appears somewhat flimsy especially when
> > fully extended and I fear continual alignment, adjustment and general
> > accuracy problems.
> >
> > Does anyone have any advice, experience or comments on this type of
> > drill press.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Dave
>
"DaveH" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I've been considering purchasing a radial drill press, in particular
> the Busy Bee/Craftex floor model, I believe this is the same as the
> Grizzly. It contains some interesting features i.e. tilting head and
> huge 34" diameter swing.
>
> When compared, however, to a typical fixed 13"/14" model in the same
> price range the radial model appears somewhat flimsy especially when
> fully extended and I fear continual alignment, adjustment and general
> accuracy problems.
>
> Does anyone have any advice, experience or comments on this type of
> drill press.
>
> Thanks,
> Dave
>>>>At least for me, the joy of woodworking is in the challenge of doing a
job for which you might not have the exact tool to work with. I do a wide
range of jobs which require holes in large panels or holes drilled to
various angles. I find that with a decent standard drill press that has a
good table with angle capabilities, you can build a fixture or jig to bore
any type of hole with great accuracy. The secret is having the proper tools
to put the hole in the right place and the patience to accomplish the task.
I often have jobs from one client that require stepped holes in multiple
locations on 4 X 8 sheets and I have only a 14" clausing drill press.