Drill press, engineer's pillar drill and mortiser

[butters]

Hi everyone.
I need to buy one of the tools listed in the subject but I don't really see the difference between them.
I know that I can use a mortising attachment to a drill press but the internet says that it's not a good solution. So if I want a mortising tool I should buy a proper mortiser. But will it handle with doing a job of a regular drill press (which is drilling precise circular holes with a standard drill bit)?
And what about the difference between drill press and engineer's drill (those are the categories from Axminster's page)?

 

[cerdeira]

I'll tell you my experience.

I use a morticer with an adapter chuck for drilling wood and it serves most of my purposes. There's a limitation in the torque the motor is able to deliver but I've successfuly used it with forstner bits with a diameter of up to 40mm on hardwoods. larger ones may stall the motor.
also rpm is low for some applications but that has never deterred me. another shortcoming is the working height above the morticer table.

so, consider carefully the type of work you intend to do and weigh these limitations in your decision

 

[heimlaga]

Most ordinary belt driven drill presses cannot convey enough torque to the spindle for drilling larger holes in metal. Most of them can hardly drill a hole over 16mm diameter in mild steel however tight you tension the belt. That is why metalworkers and engineers prefere a drill press equipped with a proper gear box. There are some bid old belt driven drill presses that are said to be better but I have never used one so I lack first hand knowledge.

Because I do quite a bit of metalworking I bought a secondhand Arboga G2508 drill press. It has a proper 4 speed gear box and two speed motor giving a speed range from 100 to 2900 rpm. The spindle has a mark 3 morse taper.
I am still in working on it and haven't used it yet but thay have a very good reputation.

If you only woodworking a belt driven drill press is good enough. The older ones had flat belts but theese days V-belts are standard. Mark 2 taper is the smallest size that is worth buying.

 

[butters]

Thank you for helpful answers.