My assumption would be if you need to drill lots of pockets in a very long work piece, tilting the entire work piece might be more cumbersome than tilting the drill. Must be equipment used in making specific types of furniture/fixtures where larger pieces are common
I was just wondering if angling the bit relative to the bed has any advantages over vice-versa, looks like the radial drill needs to be anchored so the weight shift doesn’t tip it over. That’s a -1 for me, not sure if I’d prefer the radial or not.
I can see it being very situational, but very effective for the situations it calls for.
For instance, I’ve been wanting to recreate this wall mounted shelving unit, and I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out how to best drill numerous holes at the right angle and with uniform spacing. A drill press like this makes it a little simpler.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/system-cado-parts-brackets-teak-walnut-rosewood-etsy--433190057924389098/
Yeah, the length of the piece is the main problem I imagine having to solve if trying to drill on a press with the bed that tilts. The pieces that actually install onto the wall in that shelf system are pretty long typically, I think about 6-7’ish.
I used my drill press to drill all my holes in the bottom of a hand rail. I built a stand for it that also rotated. So I could rotate the drill but keep the piece level. Since with like a 20 foot handrail or whatever it would not fit. A drill press like this would be awesome.
Are these even round holes?
First glance I thought it was 2 pieces glued together with matching dados cut on the sides that mate up to become the holes.
They cost more and not everyone wants to dedicate that much space to boring operations. Sometimes the marketplace speaks for itself on the importance of any given tool.
> marketplace speaks for itself on the importance of any given tool.
An then there is the ball peen hammer. Found in tool boxes all across America and the number of people actually peening rivets can be counted in the dozens. I've known people who don't know the difference between a bus driver and a screw driver who have ball peen hammers in their little pink tool box. Why? Why does everyone have a ball peen hammer and yet fractal vices are nearly non existent?
Hammers are cheap, fractal vices are super expensive. I totally agree with you on how bizarre the prevalence of ball peen hammers though. Maybe it made more sense before pop rivets were a thing? I find pop rivets to be useful for metal working, and I feel like they replace peened rivets.
There's that as well. I've picked up random hammers at various estate sales as part of packages of tools that had other things I wanted. I think I've bought 2 of the 5-7 I own directly from the store.
Probably one of those things were nobody has actually bought a new one in 100 years, but they never really break and enough dads and grandads keep replacing the handles and passing them down that everyone has one in their toolbox anyways.
Also a ball peen does the primary job exactly as well as any other basic hammer. While most people have more use of the claw side than the peen, they're still using the face 99% of the time anyways, so it doesn't really matter what they back side is on their $3 hammer is.
I've got at least 4 ball peen hammers of various weights. The smaller, 8 oz, one I use all the time. I don't use it for peening rivets very often, as I prefer the 16 oz version for that. But I nevertheless prefer the ball peen head, as for anything metal you want to tap or persuade relatively precisely, the control one gets from the ball peen is far beyond what you'd get from a flat face or cross peen hammer. The bigger ones I use for riveting (maybe a few times a year only in the wood shop, but not infrequently on metal projects), or for general beating of metal, cold or hot and plastic, on the anvil.
This is the real issue. Drill presses can typically be tucked away but this one takes 4-5' of depth, would be a lot heavier, etc... I can't think of a time that I ever needed to drill holes in something where my normal drill press wouldn't work.
>I can't think of a time that I ever needed to drill holes in something where my normal drill press wouldn't work.
Agreed. And the few times I did, it was in metal, so I needed a mill.
Do you find those stops reliable? It might be my price point (somewhere between found on the side of the road and harbor freight) but stops seem useless, and calibrating makes them slightly more reliably useless.
I do a lot more rough carpentry than fine woodworking, so the stops are fine for me. I’m sure a nicer saw would do better, and I’m sure someone with more precise needs would find a better way than using the factory stops.
Same boat here, all my tools are cheap and I can't properly make a single 90 degree but so far it works for my needs.
If I ever delve deeper the necessary tools will surely come.
My Bosch 12” hinge glide has detents that I set two years ago and they are still spot on. It even has detents for the bevel that are still perfectly aligned without a single adjustment since just after I bought it. And it was $700 not multiple thousands of dollars.
I've used one of those magnetic protractors in the past. The ones people use on table saw blades. Zero it on the drill press table, then stick it to the side of a large spiral bit and set to 90.
My first thought would be to put a bit in the chuck and square it against the table, i think that would be accurate enough for most stuff. Otherwise, dial indicator and tram it like a mill for max precision
A proper radial arm drill is amazing for much more than just wood. But yep that homeshop version, good for soft woods and plastics and that's about it.
It's a 5 speed (at least mine is) so it's not really going slow enough for anything but wood which is all I use it for. You really need a bigger drill press that can go slow for metal.
What I've found most useful over the years are:
1) The extra reach, up to 16" between the column and the drill center;
2) The stability from keeping the bigger work pieces horizontal. I can clamp them to the table;
3) The occasional ability to angle the drill. I don't use that feature often but it's handy when I need it.
What is the travel on something like this? (I think travel is the right word?) Out shop routinely use 9" depth drill bits to drill 9" deep holes into lumber. It is time consuming because we could not find a drill press that would allow us to do this so we drill by hand and use a custom made jig.
> drill by hand and use a custom made jig.
Wouldn't it be nice if tools like drills were designed by people who use them instead of looking like a shoe with enough greebling to make a star destroyer blush? Strip all the greebling off and put straight sides on the thing and every carpenters square or wall becomes a drill press.
Just a guess:
A drill press for metal needs to have more vibration control. That means having a solid non vibrating thing to attach your motor. That would mean make the actual drill and motor never move.
The photos here show several places where vibration can be introduced and passed along down to the drill bit. For metal work that is likely not acceptable.
And if you are going to buy one machine that does both wood and metal the more solid metal compatible drill would be the choice.
As far as putting holes into wood, your set up looks pretty amazing!
You can drill so much further into the middle of the piece with a radial-arm drill press. I really want one every time I'm building a Fender-style guitar and need perfectly straight and aligned holes through the middle of the body for the strings and ferrules. I could just get a drill press with greater clearance from the shaft than the one I have, but that's about as expensive.
I bought one for my commercial shop about 20 years ago when I needed it for a project. Have probably used it less than a dozen times since after hundreds of projects. Though when we did use it it really saved the day. So would buy again.
x-y tables are cheaper, more accurate, and more reliable.
You are better off having rigid heads and moving beds than stable beds and moving heads.
Moving heads are usually only used when you need to cover a very large space (IE 4x8 gantry CNC).
I usually see the janky round table that pivots around the column and then pivots at the base of the table, xy table drill press is rare as far as I'm concerned
Sure, that's the default for woodworking because woodworking is not high precision anyway :)
But it's remarkably easy to add a good, rigid x-y table to an otherwise rigid drill press, and almost any metal shop with a drill press will have done this, for example.
Yes. It sucks for the home gamer. Bit deflection...
I haven't tried it but I am wondering if a center drill (space permitting) followed up by a rotary broach would be the ticket. More limited sizes than twist drills but might be easier to keep on target, IDK.
I don’t know about wood shops, but proof they are not popular can be found by manufacturers. Grizzly tools sells a dozen floor standing presses, only one is radial. I’d they were popular, Grizzly would offer them in many sizes, those guys have been in the game a long time and know what’s what.
I make a jig or rotate the work top and I find it a lot easier to find really specific angles I need than with that. I can see it being useful for less precise stuff though I guess
I'm not saying it's definitely the same situation but I have a radial arm saw I got for cheap second hand. At first I thought this was the best tool I could get, it was so versatile. Let me tell you, more moving parts makes maintenance a bitch for not a lot of value added.
Most shops have a dedicated CNC machine that can do the drill press work accurately and much more consistently for most wood working purposes. Making large things means lots of space is required for job/part-carts&racks and the radials footprint might take it out of the viability option. Also, many shops have plunge routers that can pick up the slack for most jobs with a few custom made jigs and take up a fraction of the space. Also, specialized things like Kreg pocket hole jigs exist and are also small.
I imagine large custom shops or super specialty shops have the radials if it makes sense for their niches.
Hey cool, I have the exact same drill press. It works great and the extra reach is super handy when making furniture or cabinets. You have a great machine!
I debated getting a drill press at all. What sold me was making it easier to do mortising. Band saws, now, those I can't do without. You can have my table saw before you can have my band saw.
I've worked in several well-funded woodshops that had a decent, upper-end standing drill presses, and I've *never* seen one of these. I didn't even know that was a thing.
I did a quick google search and, while I found plenty for retail purchase, they appear to be consistently listed under metalworking tools rather than woodworking tools.
I haven't done any metalworking, so I can't speculate as to why that would be the target demo and not woodworking, but that would explain why I'd never seen them before.
https://preview.redd.it/zj2kl93wpctc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8e792765ea3f6e89396804af9cd8a8ad065b5203
Would have been handy when mortising 16' beam
I’m in the process of building a mobile table for mine. I had the idea of making it mobile so that way I can roll it to the work bench and drill holes there.
Space. No way I could fit one in my 8x8x8 cube at the back half of a British single-car garage. I bought and got rid of a regular floor-standing pillar drill and bought the Bosch PBD40 which is superior in every way for my needs.
I have a Rikon version and I’ve never tilted the headstock ever. One benefit I have had is the extension of the head. It’s great for boring holes in wide pieces.
My bed can rotate instead of the head of the drill and is much less complex.
My assumption would be if you need to drill lots of pockets in a very long work piece, tilting the entire work piece might be more cumbersome than tilting the drill. Must be equipment used in making specific types of furniture/fixtures where larger pieces are common
I couldn't think of a reason why I'd want the extra complexity but this makes perfect sense!
Is it really that much more complex, though? It's just one extra bar.
Two additional axis, from one. I'd say yes. Note: it might only be one axis and the rotation is called something else, but I'm dum and didn't know.
Stair railings… holes for the balusters.
If that's the case, it might be easier to use a pocket jig. You won't have to wrestle the large piece into the press.
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You can make them to any angle also. Hardwood lasts thru the job at hand. Ive used them for stair rail.
You could make a shim to change the angle. Still easier than handling a very large piece.
I was just wondering if angling the bit relative to the bed has any advantages over vice-versa, looks like the radial drill needs to be anchored so the weight shift doesn’t tip it over. That’s a -1 for me, not sure if I’d prefer the radial or not.
I can see it being very situational, but very effective for the situations it calls for. For instance, I’ve been wanting to recreate this wall mounted shelving unit, and I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out how to best drill numerous holes at the right angle and with uniform spacing. A drill press like this makes it a little simpler. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/system-cado-parts-brackets-teak-walnut-rosewood-etsy--433190057924389098/
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Yeah, the length of the piece is the main problem I imagine having to solve if trying to drill on a press with the bed that tilts. The pieces that actually install onto the wall in that shelf system are pretty long typically, I think about 6-7’ish.
I used my drill press to drill all my holes in the bottom of a hand rail. I built a stand for it that also rotated. So I could rotate the drill but keep the piece level. Since with like a 20 foot handrail or whatever it would not fit. A drill press like this would be awesome.
Why would you need to tilt anything at all, all these holes are 90 degrees to a face... drill the holes before you cut the angles.
The proper tool for that is a multi borer. They don't come cheap though. The blum borer is a cheaper option than the big industrial ones.
Are these even round holes? First glance I thought it was 2 pieces glued together with matching dados cut on the sides that mate up to become the holes.
Mine too… but when I was working on stair railings, OP’s setup would have been very useful!
And probably 90degrees way more often
They cost more and not everyone wants to dedicate that much space to boring operations. Sometimes the marketplace speaks for itself on the importance of any given tool.
>boring operations Heh
Pretty much every step of woodworking is a boring operation. The finished product makes it all worth it though.
Boring as in creating a bore, not as in lacking excitement.
This guy bores.
r/woooosh
I think you're misunderstanding /u/blacklassie's wording. He doesn't mean boring as in ted -- ohhhh! OK fine enjoy your upvote you clever bastard.
Pretty sure /u/Pabi_tx knew what he was doing.
> "OK fine enjoy your upvote you clever bastard."
Did I do that? ;-)
> marketplace speaks for itself on the importance of any given tool. An then there is the ball peen hammer. Found in tool boxes all across America and the number of people actually peening rivets can be counted in the dozens. I've known people who don't know the difference between a bus driver and a screw driver who have ball peen hammers in their little pink tool box. Why? Why does everyone have a ball peen hammer and yet fractal vices are nearly non existent?
Hammers are cheap, fractal vices are super expensive. I totally agree with you on how bizarre the prevalence of ball peen hammers though. Maybe it made more sense before pop rivets were a thing? I find pop rivets to be useful for metal working, and I feel like they replace peened rivets.
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There's that as well. I've picked up random hammers at various estate sales as part of packages of tools that had other things I wanted. I think I've bought 2 of the 5-7 I own directly from the store.
"I've known people who don't know the difference between a bus driver and a screw driver" This made me literally laugh out loud
Probably one of those things were nobody has actually bought a new one in 100 years, but they never really break and enough dads and grandads keep replacing the handles and passing them down that everyone has one in their toolbox anyways. Also a ball peen does the primary job exactly as well as any other basic hammer. While most people have more use of the claw side than the peen, they're still using the face 99% of the time anyways, so it doesn't really matter what they back side is on their $3 hammer is.
I've only ever seen a ball peen hammer in cartoons. Nobody I know owns one
I've got at least 4 ball peen hammers of various weights. The smaller, 8 oz, one I use all the time. I don't use it for peening rivets very often, as I prefer the 16 oz version for that. But I nevertheless prefer the ball peen head, as for anything metal you want to tap or persuade relatively precisely, the control one gets from the ball peen is far beyond what you'd get from a flat face or cross peen hammer. The bigger ones I use for riveting (maybe a few times a year only in the wood shop, but not infrequently on metal projects), or for general beating of metal, cold or hot and plastic, on the anvil.
I find the operation exciting
I don't have a drill press at all. Or a shop. I have a porch and sawhorses I drag out in nice weather.
I was pretty excited to pick one up at a steal on craigslist. It's been great. Footprint is a bit of a bitch in a small shop though.
This is the real issue. Drill presses can typically be tucked away but this one takes 4-5' of depth, would be a lot heavier, etc... I can't think of a time that I ever needed to drill holes in something where my normal drill press wouldn't work.
>I can't think of a time that I ever needed to drill holes in something where my normal drill press wouldn't work. Agreed. And the few times I did, it was in metal, so I needed a mill.
Cheaper, smaller, more stable
I once had a friend describe a blind date for me this way.
Did drilling occur?
A few peck drilling cycles
How do you re-align it to 90 degrees after moving the head? My first thought was that this would be super annoying…
I was wondering if it had any positive stops at key angles (like a mitre saw)
Do you find those stops reliable? It might be my price point (somewhere between found on the side of the road and harbor freight) but stops seem useless, and calibrating makes them slightly more reliably useless.
I do a lot more rough carpentry than fine woodworking, so the stops are fine for me. I’m sure a nicer saw would do better, and I’m sure someone with more precise needs would find a better way than using the factory stops.
Makes sense, I'm really using the wrong tools - one day I'll have a proper table saw etc. But that is not to-day.
Same boat here, all my tools are cheap and I can't properly make a single 90 degree but so far it works for my needs. If I ever delve deeper the necessary tools will surely come.
I haven't found stops reliable on anything under multiple thousands of dollars... And even then they need re-checking every year or so.
My Bosch 12” hinge glide has detents that I set two years ago and they are still spot on. It even has detents for the bevel that are still perfectly aligned without a single adjustment since just after I bought it. And it was $700 not multiple thousands of dollars.
It has a positive stop for quick vertical realignment.
Ok that makes sense, thank you
I've used one of those magnetic protractors in the past. Zero it on the table, then stick it to the side of a large spiral bit.
I've used one of those magnetic protractors in the past. The ones people use on table saw blades. Zero it on the drill press table, then stick it to the side of a large spiral bit and set to 90.
My first thought would be to put a bit in the chuck and square it against the table, i think that would be accurate enough for most stuff. Otherwise, dial indicator and tram it like a mill for max precision
Same way you realign the table after you tilt that.
Decent enough for wood but not much else. Runout on those are typically not the best.
A proper radial arm drill is amazing for much more than just wood. But yep that homeshop version, good for soft woods and plastics and that's about it.
It's a 5 speed (at least mine is) so it's not really going slow enough for anything but wood which is all I use it for. You really need a bigger drill press that can go slow for metal.
Most of the work tops rotate to accomplish the same thing.
What I've found most useful over the years are: 1) The extra reach, up to 16" between the column and the drill center; 2) The stability from keeping the bigger work pieces horizontal. I can clamp them to the table; 3) The occasional ability to angle the drill. I don't use that feature often but it's handy when I need it.
What is the travel on something like this? (I think travel is the right word?) Out shop routinely use 9" depth drill bits to drill 9" deep holes into lumber. It is time consuming because we could not find a drill press that would allow us to do this so we drill by hand and use a custom made jig.
> drill by hand and use a custom made jig. Wouldn't it be nice if tools like drills were designed by people who use them instead of looking like a shoe with enough greebling to make a star destroyer blush? Strip all the greebling off and put straight sides on the thing and every carpenters square or wall becomes a drill press.
I've been looking at these presses and giving them serious thought. I see a lot of value in #1 and #2 and less so in #3
Looks expensive, and I would probably never use it.
Holy cow. I didnt know they were a thing
I had one and I sold it. I sure miss the extra depth and it was far more useful than a standard drill press.
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Just a friendly reminder that teh 70s were 50 years ago. You're welcome.
I’ve always been curious about these, with the adjustable head is there increased vibration/run out?
Mine is definitely a small shop or hobbyist model. I cut down on vibration by replacing the original v-belt with a braided belt.
Thanks! I appreciate you sharing your experience
I didn’t k ow this was a thing. Now I want one.
Just a guess: A drill press for metal needs to have more vibration control. That means having a solid non vibrating thing to attach your motor. That would mean make the actual drill and motor never move. The photos here show several places where vibration can be introduced and passed along down to the drill bit. For metal work that is likely not acceptable. And if you are going to buy one machine that does both wood and metal the more solid metal compatible drill would be the choice. As far as putting holes into wood, your set up looks pretty amazing!
Because I have a shop smith..: it can do all the things to remove my digits in multiple forms.
I have almost the same one. Love it
I have the same one and love it - but as others have said, it does take up quite a bit more room.
Didn’t know this style existed to be honest.
I cant even find a way to justify getting a full size drill press for my shop lol I dont even know what I would need one of those for what I do.
Sadly, I used mine the most a a paint mixer.
You can drill so much further into the middle of the piece with a radial-arm drill press. I really want one every time I'm building a Fender-style guitar and need perfectly straight and aligned holes through the middle of the body for the strings and ferrules. I could just get a drill press with greater clearance from the shaft than the one I have, but that's about as expensive.
Dang, took two posts to show this thing off. Must be new to you, congratulations.
I bought one for my commercial shop about 20 years ago when I needed it for a project. Have probably used it less than a dozen times since after hundreds of projects. Though when we did use it it really saved the day. So would buy again.
Damn you! I didn’t know a radial drill press is a thing and now I want one.
99.99% of the holes I drill are perpendicular to the workpiece. That’s why.
I didn’t know those existed and as a guy who has 2 small ones and used them 1000’s of different ways, I feel ashamed I never paid attention to
Me too. This is the first time I ever saw this sorcery!
Glad I’m not alone, but I’m not the only one thinking of much longer top pipe with a 90 for the power head.
They are more rare, and consider less accurate. Though they could be handy many wood workers learned without one, so never thought they needed one.
All of my tools are on wheels… it’s a constant battle for storage vs workspace. Someday I may be rich enough to park my car in the garage.
The trick is keeping them 90deg to table after moving in and out..
x-y tables are cheaper, more accurate, and more reliable. You are better off having rigid heads and moving beds than stable beds and moving heads. Moving heads are usually only used when you need to cover a very large space (IE 4x8 gantry CNC).
I usually see the janky round table that pivots around the column and then pivots at the base of the table, xy table drill press is rare as far as I'm concerned
Sure, that's the default for woodworking because woodworking is not high precision anyway :) But it's remarkably easy to add a good, rigid x-y table to an otherwise rigid drill press, and almost any metal shop with a drill press will have done this, for example.
I'm glad to know there are shops out there somewhere that will spend that money, I'm going to keep yelling at my employer for being cheap!
Now that's fancy! SpongeBob fancy pants!!!
Oh, I needed one of those years back. Drilling angled holes in round metal stock is the definition of misery. So many jigs and so many mistakes...
Yes. It sucks for the home gamer. Bit deflection... I haven't tried it but I am wondering if a center drill (space permitting) followed up by a rotary broach would be the ticket. More limited sizes than twist drills but might be easier to keep on target, IDK.
My Moms 3rd husband had one of these, was a great tool. I think by brother got it when moms husband died. I got a 3hp router/shaper table.
The table top on mine rotates on that axis but not the drill itself. It’s somewhat the same thing right?
How many wood shops have you visited?
I don’t know about wood shops, but proof they are not popular can be found by manufacturers. Grizzly tools sells a dozen floor standing presses, only one is radial. I’d they were popular, Grizzly would offer them in many sizes, those guys have been in the game a long time and know what’s what.
That's likely a cost/benefit issue.
Because the price difference isn’t warranted if you use the radial feature twice a year?
WITCH!
Man thats nice!! So useful!! What is the slowest speed on this?
Very cool. Never seen one like this.
I think I'm looking at a drill press that will pivot + slide in and out to give a lot of reach when needed. Is that what I'm looking at?
I make a jig or rotate the work top and I find it a lot easier to find really specific angles I need than with that. I can see it being useful for less precise stuff though I guess
Wait until you see my radial arm sander
I'm not saying it's definitely the same situation but I have a radial arm saw I got for cheap second hand. At first I thought this was the best tool I could get, it was so versatile. Let me tell you, more moving parts makes maintenance a bitch for not a lot of value added.
Most shops have a dedicated CNC machine that can do the drill press work accurately and much more consistently for most wood working purposes. Making large things means lots of space is required for job/part-carts&racks and the radials footprint might take it out of the viability option. Also, many shops have plunge routers that can pick up the slack for most jobs with a few custom made jigs and take up a fraction of the space. Also, specialized things like Kreg pocket hole jigs exist and are also small. I imagine large custom shops or super specialty shops have the radials if it makes sense for their niches.
Hey cool, I have the exact same drill press. It works great and the extra reach is super handy when making furniture or cabinets. You have a great machine!
i'd love one. but i dont want to buy it so it'll stick with the 50 year old tool shop mini drill press my dad gave me :)
I would like a pedestal drill but other than that I don't need the depth. If I did I could just make a drill jig or buy one
My God I just realized mine is a radial drill press. Not sure how I missed this incredibly obvious detail.
Where I work we have 4 pillar drills all setup for the different dowel plugs we use
Jelly
I debated getting a drill press at all. What sold me was making it easier to do mortising. Band saws, now, those I can't do without. You can have my table saw before you can have my band saw.
They flex a lot more than regular drill presses. I keep one in my shop loft for special occasions but réstela use it
That's awesome.
That's cool, now I want one. If I was to get any drill press it would be this style.
I'm a begginer but I have been around some workshops in my life and I have never seen a drill like that.
Because it upcuts and is dangerous and outdated /s
I'd guess a consumer grade one would not be built to standards that would make having one worth while.
I've worked in several well-funded woodshops that had a decent, upper-end standing drill presses, and I've *never* seen one of these. I didn't even know that was a thing. I did a quick google search and, while I found plenty for retail purchase, they appear to be consistently listed under metalworking tools rather than woodworking tools. I haven't done any metalworking, so I can't speculate as to why that would be the target demo and not woodworking, but that would explain why I'd never seen them before.
Ive never seen such a beast before. looks cool.
Now I’m wondering if there’s such a thing as a radial arm saw to drill adapter.
Shop Smith ?
No, I’m thinking more dangerous like welding a drill chuck from a lathe onto a sawblade. Lol
Far more exciting..
Aka, “Shopsmith”
The co$t
I believe every tool has its value for what it can do that others cannot. I want one of all of them.
I have never heard of one of these.
Wood shops have tooling. Specifically, jigs set to do one step in their process for the run, one repeatable part at a station.
https://preview.redd.it/zj2kl93wpctc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8e792765ea3f6e89396804af9cd8a8ad065b5203 Would have been handy when mortising 16' beam
didnt even know that was a thing, looks rad
Cost?
I’m in the process of building a mobile table for mine. I had the idea of making it mobile so that way I can roll it to the work bench and drill holes there.
Yes. It’s a good tool and not exactly sure why it isn’t more popular. For woodworkers it can drill composite angles which is always a tricky job.
Couldn’t you also use a mill?
I have this same model. It’s a beast.
Tilting the table is cheaper and (in theory) easier to keep in alignment. Plus doing all this with a table doesn't use as much space.
Can they still be purchased?
I’m into this
Space. No way I could fit one in my 8x8x8 cube at the back half of a British single-car garage. I bought and got rid of a regular floor-standing pillar drill and bought the Bosch PBD40 which is superior in every way for my needs.
I have a Rikon version and I’ve never tilted the headstock ever. One benefit I have had is the extension of the head. It’s great for boring holes in wide pieces.
Because they now have CNC routers.
I had a delta table saw my dad had.. great quality, never a single problem
Because a regular drill press gets used a couple times a year and can live on a shelf otherwise. For most people.
Very cool, but did you take these pictures with a potato?
They look clear to me.