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harbor freight drill press

V

VegasAnthony

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Las Vegas
these things seem to be always on sale

I bought the cheapest one the had for like $50 one time and it was total garbage

I was wondering if anyone had used the $200-$300 dollar ones
and if they seem to do Ok with like .25 and .5 " metal
 
I would get the one that tractor supply sales, they are around $170 and def would be better than HF. I was looking at getting one and TS was better and more power than HF plus cost was less. Jeff
 
VegasAnthony said:
cause I am going to use the drill press to MODIFY something on my jeep


so any suggestions other than the the farm suppply place

sears ??
lowes?
Click to expand...

the Craftsman press (cheaper 4.5 hp one) doesnt get slow enough to drill 3/8" spring steel without burning bits up...

the slower the low speed - the better for drilling metal...
 
I AM NOT GOING TO TOUCH THIS ONE!

....I'd probably get more negative rock rash for making inarguably good points... :mad:
 
pbandj said:
I AM NOT GOING TO TOUCH THIS ONE!

....I'd probably get more negative rock rash for making inarguably good points... :mad:
Click to expand...
meh - coment away - the popular vote went to rid the systeom of rock-rash anyway...
 
I hae a 99.00 ryobi bench top drill press picked up at home depot, has pullys for 5 adjustments, works very well have drilled thousands of holes without any problems. slow speed for all the steel plate I drill.
 
xjnation said:
I hae a 99.00 ryobi bench top drill press picked up at home depot, has pullys for 5 adjustments, works very well have drilled thousands of holes without any problems. slow speed for all the steel plate I drill.
Click to expand...


Say it isn't so, your press didn't come from Habor Freight! :tears:

BTW, my dad gave me a HF drill (I mean let me borrow but have yet to return it) and I have drilled 3/4" holes in 3/8" FB. Just had to use the Drill doctor a couple of times. :rolleyes:
 
maybe start with smaller pilot holes and work your way bigger and as I've heard- too much lube is almost enough
 
VegasAnthony said:
this is the one I have collecting dust
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=38119
should I try it again to drill 1/4 plate with sharp drill bits or is it a mute point

I dint have any luck with it when I first bought it
but I knbow I had some pretty bad drill bits

it seemed like it dint have enough torque
the motor bit kept stopping in mid drill
Click to expand...


That looks like the junky one I have. Definitely slow it down as much as possible and are you using a good cut oil? Sharp bits are the key, just check out that Drill Doctor add. :d
 
I have had the 16 speed floor mount style for about 8yrs.It has worked fine for me. I use for my tubing notcher.It has notched a butt load of tube,mostly .120. Iam getting an other one for drill only.
 
The little table top drill presses from HF are ok.... I use one all the time for small jobs. I also do alot of work with titanium and it preforms just fine. Its got alot of runout on the chuck, but thats not a problem unless what your doing has to be exact.

Always run it on the slowest speed when drilling steel especially thick steel.

If your just going to be using it now and then your fine. If you want to step up into the $300 range wait for a sale at sears, You can usually get a floor mounted 1 1/2 hp version for around $250. (or get real lucky and get a display model for $200 :) )

BTW Another vegas guy here, shoot me a pm if ya ever need a hand or want to go out and do a run.
 
I have a floor model (not HF other no-name) when I was looking the HF top end one (normally 279 IIRC and goes on sale for 179) had a better feel to it than all the others I looked at , my dad had done the same thing about a year earlier and ended up buying the HF. The thing is alot of the "brand names" are using the same chinese motors and alot of the same cheap parts. I'd go look at them and see which you like best.

Bear in mind I am talking about the larger floor models, the table top cheapos seem much "junkier" than the brand names.
 
just a follow up on this
I pullled this drill out and dusted it off
I messed with one of the bolts on the chuck spindle

torqued the crap out of it
I tried it on 3/6" plate

107_0749.JPG


lots of oil and 3 steps up for pilot holes
up to 9/16" bit

not bad huh??

thanx to all that replied on this post
the responses made me wonder about this press
operator error ;)
 
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