Drill Press, Craftsman, Ryobi, Delta, Garage Tools

While a drill press can be thought of as the stationary version of an ordinary handheld portable drill, there are important differences. Most portable drills these days have variable-speed, reversible motors and are designed for driving threaded fasteners as much as boring holes. And, while corded versions do have serious power, they don't approach the torque available in a drill press. On the other hand, except for occasional stints with a sanding drum, a drill press is exclusively designed for making holes. And, it handles this job with a level of repeatable accuracy and control that's impossible to maintain with a portable tool.

Drill presses come in two flavors: floor models and those designed to be mounted on a bench. While the floor models have greater capacity, most home shops will find a bench top press completely adequate--plus it's compact so it can be moved out of the way when necessary. Best of all, the bench top versions are easily affordable.

Drill Press Features
Drill presses are designated by the maximum-diameter work piece, in inches, that can be centered under the bit. To understand how much a drill press can handle, divide this number in half to get the throat depth, or distance from the bit to the support column at the back of the machine. This dimension indicates how far you can place a hole from the edge of your work.

Most machines come with induction motors and deliver power through a belt running around a pair of stepped pulleys. In most cases, this provides five speeds. There are some models that allow constant variable speeds.

Chuck size for typical bench top units is 1/2 in. Chucks are mounted on tapered spindles--a tap with a mallet keeps the chuck in place and the tapered fit guarantees accuracy.

Drill press spindles run in a quill, or hollow shaft, that's designed to move up and down in the housing. Quill travel determines the maximum hole depth. Most units have a depth stop so that you can bore holes or counterbores to a uniform depth. Some machines have a quill lock that allows you to lock the spindle at any position within its range.

Typically, drill press tables are small and reflect the machine's heritage as a metalworking tool that handles relatively small work pieces. The average table size is about 8-3/4 in. square, and the usual design features slots for attaching jigs, vises or the work itself to the table. Our larger Delta machine has T channels instead of slots, providing a place for lubricant to collect when working with metal. The slotted tables are handier for woodworkers because they make it easier to attach a large wooden table to better support bigger work.

All drill press tables can pivot at their connection to the support column to handle angled boring. This feature also allows the tables to be accurately squared with the bit. However, we found that most tables were slightly out of square on a plane viewed from the side of the tool, where there is no adjustment. Most of our test machines have a crank-operated table lifting mechanism.