first drillpress looking at one from screwfix

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What are you planning on drilling- I would be hesitant with this one but if you are using it to drill for scroll saw cutting it is different to using large Forsner bits or making things to tight tolerances
 
good question, I want it for making krenov style planes, and making wood plugs, also some metal working like drilling accurate holes into mild steel and brass and countersinking both wood and metal.
 
I have a Startrite Mercury Pillar drill for sale that is in excellent condition, but at this moment I have no idea as to its true value and I have put a request on here asking for advise.
 
I'm looking at getting my first drill press, I found this one: Scheppach DP13 215mm Brushless Electric Bench Pillar Drill 230V

anyone here had experience with this model? is it worth looking into getting a vintage one instead?

cheers,

Tyreman.

I think it's probably like the planes that come from India they mostly come from the same factory but the quality control varies according to price. So an axininster rider is at the top with faithful in the middle and silverline at the bottom.

The quality of finish is the main difference.

Same with pillar drills they all come from China but the QC levels are different between titan sheppach or record power....

Some might be better than others....

Cheers James
 
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Worth looking for vintage, but don’t stress too much, they’re simple things.
 
Last year my drill stand that I used with my 1970-something Wolf gave up the ghost so I went looking. I ended up with the cheapest pillar drill from screwfix - its £50 now but was closer to £40 then. It's noisy, casing vibrates no end, the angle setting on the table (pressed steel not cast iron) is far from accurate so you need to set it up with a square, took a while to adjust the spindle play so it ran straight, its horrible to change speeds because the belt cover is made of nasty thin stuff and the pressure you need move the motor almost rocks the bench, the slightly recessed start button round the side is awkward - stop button much better - and its BRILLIANT. For £40, less than most drill stands, I can get decent enough results for the small amount of pillar drill work that I do. Including biggish forstner bits as long as you feed slowly and give it the odd rest. I knew it would be a bit rubbish for that money but its less rubbish than I thought.

The Scheppach one you linked to seems to have some better bits, a brushless motor, switch on the front not the side, keyless chuck and cast table. I wonder though if its much better in practice, it looks very similar. Not seen one so can't comment but wonder if it takes a bigger leap in price to get a better piece of kit. The spec says 40mm spindle travel which might be a bit limiting, I find my 50mm marginal for some jobs.

I'm pleased with my £40 worth for occasional non-precision use, main thing is I can drill a wood turning blank for a screw chuck straight not 'almost straight', but if buying again I would look at the £199 Scheppach with pinion table adjustment which would save a lot of faffing about - for instance easy to crank it down to change drill bits and crank it back up in the same alignment. I'd be more likely to go for a Record Power - something like the DP25, but it is about double what you were planning to spend.
 
I have that model you linked to.
It's good enough for some woodworking - like cutting holes for a euro hinge, but it's not a precision tool. There is quill play/wobble when extended, but drilling at shallow depths is quite stable and accurate.

It's also not very easy to adjust the table height, especially micro-adjustments.
Also, the drill depth guide is quite weak - it flexes if you press down too hard.

Overall - a basic machine. The weakness is in the table and depth adjustments.
Strengths are that it has good power and accuracy at shallow depths.
 
Regarding rack and pinion letting you wind up and down in the same alignment- usually unlocking it to allow up and down movement also unlocks the left to right movement, so in practice you still need to reposition carefully after any adjustment
 
13mm chuck will soon be limiting, you will likely want at least a 5/8(16mm). That can be easily done later if price is a consideration, but at aditional cost. You might want to check out the run-out with a dial indicator, but don't hold yer breath hoping for pristine accuracy A similar unit is what I started out with many years ago, so it's not a bad startoff point. No hand crank on the table though. That can be a PITA

Eric in the colonies
 

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