Drill Press

I am about to buy a bench mounted drill press for my guitar building projects. I would appreciate recommendations for for an affordable, reliable model that has the features one would need to work on an electric guitar - large enough swing to get to the middle of the body; easily adjustable speeds, enough travel to get through a Tele body, etc.

I think you can find the Delta 12 in. benchtop drill press for around $179 at places like Lowes. That's what I have but I paid more and didn't get some of the extras they have now............. namely the light, the laser, and the tool tray. It should do just about any drill press work you need to do building electric guitars. Anything smaller that 12 in. won't. I added a laser to mine but find it to be rather useless. If you get it adjusted properly it will give you laser cross-hairs to show where the bit is going to go........... but you know, lowering the bit tells you the same and is more accurate.

......http://images.lowes.com/product/028877/028877552453.jpg

Holy crap:

I had no idea you could get something like this for just $179.

My mind is spinning with the possibilities.

Yes indeed you can and... if you make a habit of scouring the "Tools" section of your local craigslist you can run across some really great bargains. I'm on the lookout for a drillpress as well because my current 8" drillpress is too small to do string-thru holes. I just missed a Delta 15" benchtop drillpress that was nearly new for $90 - really bummed me out that someone snatched it up ahead of me :sad:

I just bought a new Delta 12" DP350 this week at Rockler's for $205.00.

It's very accurate with virtually no runout, and best of all, dial-adjustable speed! That to me is huge. When the DP350 first came out years ago there were some problems with the on-the-fly dial speed adjustment but the bugs have long since been worked out.

A very heavy machine for a benchtop but highly recommended. I put a Jacobs keyless chuck on mine before I ever fired it up and I'm pretty stoked.

I had a problem reaching the center of my guitar bodies just like you mentioned earlier. I bought a attachment for my dremal which mounts on the base. The base looks almost like a router base and you can adjust it at any angle. It keeps the drill angle true and is able to be taken anywhere which is great since sometimes I work in my dining room with smaller projects.

Whoa! Just checked the price of the Delta 12" DP300L at my local Lowes... $161.10

I was kinda leaning towards holding out for another 15" Delta (or similar) on craigslist but now... brand new... 2 year warranty... I gotta think about this.


BTW, and this is aimed at jwells393, any chance you could give some pointers on constructing an auxiliary drill press table like you made that's big enough to put a guitar body on and has the removable inserts with the centering pins? I know I should think it out for my self but since you've already done all the cyphering, I figured I would be lazy and ask :grin:

Get down there today and buy that drill press.

Can't do it now but I'll show how I built the auxillary table later.

I was just going to add that I completely agree with Jack that the laser is overrated. It seemed to shift aim with large movements of the table up and down, and was kind of a PITA to re-adjust on my last press. And just watching where the bit was going indeed seemed more accurate.

But that speed adjustment with a dial on the front of the press, now that's a whole different thing! No changing belts, nothing but just turning the dial handles to where you want it.

I've had my drill press for about five years. I normally operate on the slowest speed. I seldom change speeds. I do change to use the Wagner Safety Planer. Takes about a minute to change the belt to other pulleys ........ not a big deal.

Had to wait for a break in the rain we've been having all day but look what's sitting on my garage floor...

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm191/crowmag_123/Delta_DP300L_Boxed.jpg

:grin:

Here are some pictures of my auxilary drill press table. It measures ~ 31 in. x 16 in. It's made from two pieces of melamine. I laminated the pieces together with contact cement.

......http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v208/jwells393/Drill%20Press%20Table/DrillPressTable.jpg

Here's the bottom side. It's mounted with two carriage bolts, washers and wing nuts. The cut-outs on the back side are for the crank and access to the table lock.

......http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v208/jwells393/Drill%20Press%20Table/DSC04479.jpg

I've routed a 4 x 6 in. recess 1/2 in. deep to accept inserts made from 1/2 in. MDF. The holes in the corners are for removing the inserts.

......http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v208/jwells393/Drill%20Press%20Table/DSC04486.jpg

Here are my table inserts for various sized holes.

......http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v208/jwells393/Drill%20Press%20Table/DSC04487.jpg

A big THANKS Jack for taking the time to show me this! I'm certain that others will find this equally as useful as I do. Those inserts are pretty dang cool! :cool:

It looks like you have the luxury of having A/C in your shop, man I envy you. At this time of year down here, 2hrs is about all I can take in my garage before I'm feeling like the witch in the Wizard of Oz. I gotta get some bigger fans next so I can blow some of this hot air around...

Thanks again Jack, you are the man and The Doctor.