Staying for the end, always get extra smart staying till the end….

This press has worked like a charm for my projects kzfaq.infoUgkxajoEbapTfqWaadnqb04h6U576yxXp-FE . I didn't even secure it to my table top, mainly due to the fact that I was using a 15 lbs drill vise. It's not flimsy at all as to what others have claimed it to be. Make sure the locking nuts and levers are secured and there won't be any issues with light pressure and patience. I was able to drill through aluminum, plastic, and steel (steel took a while) with no problems at all. Yeah it took a little longer than a regular drill press, but I don't have the space OR the money for one.The instruction manual was worthless, but luckily assembling the press was intuitive. However, the manual would be good for ordering replacement parts if needed. There is a nice breakdown of the parts that are included in the kit. Before ordering, make sure it is compatible with your unit, it is clearly stated what models the press is compatible with.This was an excellent purchase for $40!!

Good to come home to a video after a day in the Salt mines. Thanks Lyle.

Thank You Lyle.... another GREAT "Wake Me Up" show... I still use a 1940's? Delta on the job. The large table 2 ' 1/2" square 1/2" steel is still untouched with holes drilled into it. A rack & pinion on the column for quick up & down movement. ... Also Lyle the quill is the style that protrudes down from the headstock with the morse taper and drift hole in easy access. .. Ten years ago it was showing slop from the all original headstock and quill. I dismantled, mounted it upside down on the Bridgeport and rebored and sleeved with Aluminum Bronze. Made a new quill and it is the most BEAUTIFUL hardworking drill press I have come to know. .... ( I LOVE all you do Lyle!!!!) ..... TM

I have always remembered, from my high school machine shop class, the little rule of thumb formula for spindle speed, “Cutting speed times four over the diameter”. Along with that, because they were the two materials that we most often used, that mild steel had a ballpark cutting speed of 90 fpm and aluminum, 200. A quick glance at the one chart in your Cleveland book pretty much verifies that formula. Thanks Mr. Don Sarlo, my high school shop teacher from 1971 to 1973 and thanks Mr. Pete, one of my present day shop teachers.

I just learned about the belt tension lever. Thanks for being the Best Shop Teacher ever!

50 years ago in high school, I worked in a shop drilling 1-1/2" holes in mounting plates (no pilot holes) using an ancient camelback drill press turning SLOW. It was mesmerizing watching the chips peel off; it never stalled.

Those are sharp bits too. Two solid chips are good signs. Thanks Mr Pete!

Keep in mind that speed and feed recommendations are for a production environment. The tooling engineer is looking for a balance between tool cost, metal removal rates, tool life, and downtime to renew cutting tools. The reference materials assume your machine has the horsepower, rigidity, and coolant to get the most out of the cutting tools. In the home shop I usually start at about 60-75% of the recommended speed and feed. I'm rarely in a hurry and longer tool life is more important than how fast I can make chips. Lyle isn't fooling when he says to have your work clamped down and backing for the work when possible. You don't want to have just your hand holding the work when the drill breaks through and the machine's quill backlash allows the drill to be pulled suddenly into the work. You can get away with that with a 3/8" drill, but with a 3/4" drill not so much. Cheers from NC/USA

I owned that exact drill press once, sold it when downsizing. Sears salesman tried to sell me a return on the floor. I asked for an extension cord to demo it and he said they didn't have one. I pointed to the shelf full of new cords, and he finally relented. Turning it on, I saw the chuck wobble, so I immediately went to catalog department and ordered a new one. Thanks, Mr. Pete!

you remind me of my father. a wealth of knowledge just didn't listen enough when he was around. thanks I'll be watching more.

I have that same drill press and I rigged up a footswitch to a GFCi outlet and another receptacle where one outlet is continuous power and the other is footswitch controlled. I use the continuous for an add on work light and the footswitch control for the drill press motor. Keeps both hands free for the work at hand and I think it is safer as well. Early on in my education I caused a drill press folly where the work spun on the bit. I was ordered to walk away, and others turned off the circuit breaker to stop the drill press safely. Ever since I try to avoid all drilling where the work is not solidly clamped to the table and the clamping is arranged to jam against the column in case it comes loose somehow. This is a case where life presents you with lessons that will be repeated until you learn them. Thanks Lyle for the great videos. I learn something from every one I view.

Color me gobsmacked...just checked my HF Central Machinery drill press and was surprised to find it has a taper shank quill on it. I don't have wedge for removing it (guess I'll have to make one) so I assume it is also an MT2 taper. Learned something new watching your video (again)...

Oh goodie! We get to stay after class for extra credit again. Yay!

Mr. Pete: I bought a used Craftsman drill press identical to the one in your video. The base in my opinion was worthless. My neighbor gave me an older Craftsman table saw that he thought might be able to rebuild. It was beyond rebuilding so I disassembled it and saved what I thought was salvageable. I remembered the heavy cast iron table that I had put in the scrap pile. Well, I dug it out and figured out the hole pattern and it came out nicely. It is a big improvement for a base on the press, so if you know if anyone scrapping out their old table saw jump on it. Really like your video's. I've learned a lot from watching them. Keep up the good work! Thanks: Jim Hutchison

Another solid video on cutting speeds and drilling larger diameter holes, Tubalcain. Also didn’t know about the tensioning lever on the head. My press was set at the slowest speed when I bought it and as you mentioned I have never changed it.😂

You could make a Movie with that board you are using as a backer, a real 'Holeywood Blockbuster'

thank you Mr Pete for this instructional video. If you save 1 person from getting injured with your preaching of safety it is a win.

I love the smell of hot cutting oil in the morning.

You drilled down into that subject quite well. Thanks for the video keep on keeping on.

I had a job that required 1000 or so 1\2" reamed holes, on a 38 degree pitch, in 3\8" x 2" mild steel bar. They could not vary in accuracy of placement, over 17' , spaced at 3.87" each. I used a flat bottom carbide drill bit, called a dream bit. The job came out perfect!! No deflection on entry, no pilot, even at that angle!

My engineers black book came in that mail yesterday. Awesome suggestion. Thank you. Those equations are invaluable.

Yet another fun and informative video! The Clevland Ready Reference is a gem (as are numerous old-time reference cards and books and booklets) for anyone who drills and taps in their home shop. While I continue looking for a nice copy to keep near my drill press/lathe, there are clean e-copies to be found online. Like you, my eyes have a hard time with small print, but my e-copy allows me to quickly zoom in and print off (for highlighting) just what I need with the added value of being expendable after getting soaked with cutting oil. I can watch content like this all day ... er, when not in my shop.

I have one just like the Sears drill press that I purchased back in the 1990s. It has worked well for me both for wood and metal.

Great video as always. My most important takeaway was the safety tip of butting the stock up against the column I’m case it grabs. 👍👍👍 Maybe saved me a good whack in the hip at some point 😁

It is amazing the games they play with HP markings on motors. That motor may develop 1 HP for a few seconds before the OL tripped, but that is a moot point because it is obvious the belt system cannot transfer even close to the motor's capability. Thanks for the videos--I look forward to getting your notifications. Keep 'em coming.

That round ceramic speaker magnet right behind the feed hub is not factory equipment! It's a thing old-school toolies did that provides a handy place to stick the chuck key. Sure beats tying a string on it, and you always know where the key is. IF you always put it back

Another lesson. Thanks, Mr Pete.

Hi Mr.Pete, I have a pile of morse taper drills all with twisted or broken tangs from getting stuck in the work on big powerful radial drill presses. Since the taper is soft, I just turn them down to straight shank drills. No belt slipping on a big radial!

Hi Mr. Pete. Just FYI, I find it easier to tighten the belts using a pry bar between the main housing and the motor bracket.

Fun video. I enjoyed watching the hole video from start to finish.

The drill press label stated 1HP Maximum Developed. Marketing to get people to feel the machine power is greater than it actually is. Reminds me of the marketing used by many shop vacuums which state ridiculously high maximum developed numbers. It would be interesting to know how many amps the motor is pulling when the belt slips. As you said the motor looks to be too small to be a real 1HP motor. Dave.

I have a drill press exactly like that except it has a different name on it. Bought it about 40 years ago. Has served me well.

Increasing the rpm would put the belt on a larger pulley thus decreasing belt slippage. The trade off would be a greater load on the motor thus possibly stalling it. It would be interesting to see the difference in time and how much grunt the motor has. Maybe a sequel is in order.? Art from Ohio

I have the same drill and belt tension definately needs to be tight for large holes. And I always have to put a cheater bar on the wimpy little lever arm. Mine doesn’t have that nifty chart though. I’m jealous.

You are absolutely right about adequate clamping. I have learned the hard way and wore the bruises for weeks.

Good to thin the web when drilling on a handicapped machine but in your example you had the pilot hole Keep up the good work! JIM ❤

Great video Mr. Pete. My mentor ( gone now unfortunately ) and I put surplus DC treadmill motors on our drill presses years ago. You can dial down the speed to a crawl, and the torque remains. Took some doing but a worthwhile modification. I once drilled a 3/4 inch hole in half inch armored steel plate. Brings a smile to my face every time I use it. Thanks again for all you do!!

Great video Pete; Here is what I did to improve my similar Impco. Make a bracket to bolt down and tension the center pulleys so you can use a 1/2" square drive to tighten the front belt separately. Mount a ball bearing on that bracket for a backside idler near the small pulley on the front belt. Then you can use the present tensioning system for only for the rear which needs less tension. This makes changing speeds a breeze, since you don't need all those fast speeds anyway. Thinking/planning 2 weeks, actual fabrication about an hour. If you like lathe work and have much time you could remake all 3 pulleys making the front larger, the bottom-middle smaller, the top of the middle and motor pulleys multiple step for 1/4 belt.

I have own one similar for years. They do ok you just have to baby them a little. For a home shop they do well. Thanks Mr Pete for the video.

Thanks for showing the speed charts and for making today’s content. I was aware of the charts, but I somehow got the idea to print and staple them to the wall behind the drill press for quick reference. This way they will be easily accessible.

Maybe a set of those cogged gator V belts will keep it from slipping at low speeds. Of course though, having the belt slip might be the only thing that keeps one of your students alive to see another day. Every drill press should have a board behind it with an assortment of clamps made to fit the table and ready to go, no rags, but maybe a small pouch of bandaids handy.

Your drill press is exactly like the JET model we have......great machine.....but I do like my Clausing from a gang drill that I found on a trailer at a friends that was going to the scraper..... As far as figuring drilling speed, I decided to come up with an easy way to figure out by taking a conservative speed and using 300 rpm for mild steel for a 1" bit, then just taking that number '300' and dividing the bit diameter into 300 to get the rpm for any bit size....example would be 300 divided by .250" [1/4"] equals 1200 rpm....works great, and is conservative too.....for aluminum I triple the speed and for austenitic stainless [304] I reduce by 1/2.......only one number to remember!!! 300......I just think of Snoop Dog and his Chrysler 300, not the avocado dip he sells with Martha Stewart,,,,.....never fails, I also use when milling and turning.....I hope this helps some one.....I burned up many endmills, lathe tools and drill bits in my former life......cheers Paul

good point about using the column as a material stop, sure beats you belly, ouch!

another wonderful Tubalcain Shop Teacher Video.....Bravo Mr Pete.......one can not have too many drill presses in my humble opinion, cheers from Orlando, Paul

Thank you Mr Pete. I get your drift on the subject. Great stuff sir.

Great video, I have a drill press designed the same but slightly newer. Thanks for the info. Have a great day, never stop learning

I always enjoy your tips videos!

Had a 5lb piece of cast iron go spinning around once with no clamps.... learned my lesson.

Good tutorial Mr. Pete Thanks for sharing.

Nice demonstration. One of the pet peeves I have with people is they lean on the handles like a guy using a jackhammer and then complain the drillpress is no good. They are the ones that cram the cutter way in on a lathe. You can't reason with them. The only thing you can do is not let them use your tools.

I have a 20” drill press thats rated for i think 7/8” without even a pilot hole. It was a lucky find that needed a lot of work. It came with a 1.5hp motor and weighs 500lb plus the quill feed has more leverage. It has a drive and I run it a lot slower than that for big bits, 100fpm would smoke like crazy. It’ll feed nice continuous chips chips anytime I see those dusty broken chips I know to feed harder or slow down. That little press put in the effort, at least it tried.

That's the same drill press I have too. I guess they sold a couple. I put belt dressing on mine a I get a little more ooomph.

I have the exact machine with porter cable's name on it. It's a nice press for this small tinker'er Want to make a mag table to it cause their super handy except for aluminum and most stainless... Love your vids Mr. Pete and have followed you for years... live long my friend

I sure would like to see Mr. Pete build more steam engines. Those are my favorite videos and I revisit them often.

Maybe call Fenner, have him sharpen up that drill bit for ya. 👍🏻🇺🇸

Great video Mr Pete, I am looking for a drill press for my shop. Thanks for the info.

sir we are all here for the punishment :). i have the need for very low speeds in the order of 60rpm achieved by a countershaft and a big washing machine pulley (260mm) paired with the cone pulleys give me 3000-60 range. it's a real pain but doable. the system been in place for 25 yrs now. only big problem was i had to machine the spindle pulley to fit two ball bearings to handle increased belt tension. take care. peter

Enjoyed this very much.

I have one of these drill presses bought new 33 years ago, it has worked well for me. But I feel a heck of a lot better about it after watching your excellent video and knowing you own one. Nice work as always Mr Pete!

I would replace the V belts, they are old and dried out. New belts have better traction in the pulley. Drills love horsepower, they will take all you can give to a point. To get long life from a bit it needs to cut a full chip, if it slips on the work or chatters it will dull faster. I would always adjust the speed based on the chips, you should get two nice curls. If you get small bits or "needles" you are to fast or not enough feed, and long streamers are too slow. Like most jobs, you'll have it figured out after the last cut... oh, and drilling metal thinner than the depth of the drill point is always awful and often gives poor holes.

I had a drill press like yours i drill alot of 1" holes it did the trick but i bought a big old camel back drill press its great . There are several ways to make holes a video compering drill bits to hole saws and rotabroach bits would be interesting.

Very good demonstration - thanks for sharing

This is a good lesson, Mr. Pete. Thanks. My grandfather, a lifelong machinist and mechanic, gave me his Atlas drill press shortly before he died. It's probably 80 years old. Anyway, I'll try drilling some larger diameter holes, hoping to get results as good as yours.

For large holes over 1/2 inch I prefer to use hole saws. Safer, as they don't grab, there is less torque required so easy to use on underpowered drill presses or battery or powered hand drills. + I can also usually find something useful to do with the circle I cut out - eg washers, etc. There is a need to use lots of coolant to flush out the chips. For this I use a squirt bottle - water works OK but I prefer a water mix coolant else it causes rust. Or use kero, deisel or WD40 but I'm too cheap for that. Holes deeper than 1/2 inch is about the limit but it's pretty rare I need to drill anything that thick. I use hole saws in the lathe too. You can buy asian carbide hole saws pretty cheap but run them slow if they get hot the teeth fall off. I prefer a set of bimetal type myself.

Thanks for another great video. I just don't understand why manufacturers wouldn't make drill presses that will turn at 100 rpm or so. Even my 1940s Delta (beast) runs more like 250 rpm on its slowest speed. So it has huge castings, large motor, high quality spindle, and yet it wants to burn the cutting edges off of a 1" drill bit (in steel) purely from excess speed. Seems odd to have over-built the structure but not addressed the excess speed. Thanks for continuing to stress these basics that are too often forgotten.

The definitive guide to belt slippage. Your belts shineth, thou shouldst procure belt dressing

I have exactly the same, or rather, a similar drill press here in the UK, albeit under the name AJAX...on mine, and it looks like yours, the table is flexed down when pressure is applied, sometimes I use a jack underneath. This video is helpful to me as I don't have a speed chart inside the cover, also the charts at the end were helpful, thanks, Dave

As I've mentioned before I have the very same exact drill press, but it was branded as Central Machinery and I bought it on sale 20 years ago at Harbour Freight. Mine came with a slightly different motor. It's sealed and does use a start capacitor. About a year ago the contacts on the switch welded.. The amp draw on the motor slightly exceeded the contact rating on the switch. Since I had all the parts laying around I changed out the switch for a magnetic motor starter, took off that plastic cover on the front of the Drill press replacing it with small box that fit nicely that holds two industrial type round push buttons. I put in a mushroom red button switch for the stop and a green button for start and I cut out a slot near the bottom for the original small rocker switch that controls internal lightbulb that lights the work. I like it because it's a lot safer. There was plenty of room to mount the small hinged covered box that holds the contactor on the left side of the drill press. I always thought this drill press was a good value.

Tough drill press.Thank you.

I have virtually the same drill press. I have cut or sawed 3/4 inch hot rolled steel 5 inch diameter holes with a bi- metal hole saw. Sears claim 1.5 hp. I modified the drill press with a reduction shaft and pully setup copied from a commercially available system. The three to one reduction allows slow enough speeds but still causes belt slippage. Drilling a small hole on the waste side of the part helps chip clearing. At the start if your video I thought you might be going for test to destruction being a Tiawanisium drill press. 😆 lol!

I use a float-lock vise along with a vise-grip type hold-down clamp. I had a 'learning experience' a few years ago where I was lucky not to be too badly injured when a workpiece climbed up the drill bit - ever since then, I've stayed with the belt and suspenders approach. It's safer and it also gives better results.

At 13:35 in your video,why don't you use a smaller drill drift? Just my $.02 worth coming from a retired machinist of 40+ years in the trade. Keep the videos coming to Pittsburgh Pa. I always enjoy watching them. God bless 🙏 to you and yours.

I am a little jealous, the Craftsman I bought and showed (same model) has a plastic belt guard, and a treaded collar coupling. But the Big Gaurdian ( Large 1hp capacitor start) & the Powermatic 1200 (2 hp 3ph) both have morris taper #3, big plus for my shop. I am looking for my Craftsman a new home, 5 drill press's and a Mill makes a small shop tiny (@@)! I will be on the hunt for some morris taper drill bits, but my 3/4 /19mm chuck seems to hold my large 1in & 1 1/2in with turned down 1/2 shanks well, just can't crowd them. Thx for the tid bits, have a great wk end, Bear

Studio B what a great place to be.

Good morning! Got my cup of joe - i'm ready.

I use ready reference all the time for determining to rpm for drills. The layout of that page is excelent. I found mine at an estate sale hanging by a lathe. I bought the book and hung it up by my lathe.

Impressed by the drills performance, although not a top of the range machine,my machine has another set of speeds due to a train of gears between the two main pulleys, it’s a Meddings machine,with a 3/4 HP motor so can drill large holes easily. The use of a lubricant is always a great help!

I always watch the extra credit portion for I keep hoping Mr.Pete reveals where the key to get into the teachers lounge is hid.

Great demonstration Mr. Pete. It looks like you might have a keeper with that press and Jordan may need to keep looking for one in his garage.

I have a similar machine branded JET but I think it has a slightly heavier base and table. When the belts start to slip I replace them. Makes a big difference. I am using 3/4 hp motor 1750 rpm.

The formula I was told years ago was. Pi multiplied by the cutting speed, divided by diameter = RPM 1" drill at 100 cs = 314 rpm

I’m glad you used your drill press to test these techniques and not mine. Now I know not to attempt them. While my press is fairly new and direct drive I’m sure I would gall the spindle and spend the rest of the year on KZfaq looking for procedures to replace the spindle. That’s why I come here. To absorb your knowledge while I drink a cup of coffee.

Lyle, I prefer the imported TCT carbide hole saws for making large holes. I bought 13 for $26 on eBay, and they are similar to annular cutters, but less expensive. They cut faster than a drill bits, and leave a clean hole.

Thanks for sharing 👍

As always informative

A little web thinning on that drill bit in the end picture would go a long way! Just my 2 cents worth! Lol! Take care Mr Pete and looking forward to your next video, and thanks for your time and sharing! 👍😎✌️

For large holes in flat stock, a hole saw or annular cutter works better. For cylindrical stock, the lathe is ideal.

Thank you for showing the drill tip so one could see if it was sharpened correctly for it can be sharpened specifically for the job, though I would like to see a clearer picture of the longitudinal relief of the drill. I saw no helix chips a sign the drill might have been a bit dull or need a different sharpening.

Thanks for the video. It just happens I bought the very same model a month ago.

I have an import drill press that seems to be modeled pretty much exactly off the Sears drill press you used in the video, it only has a 1/2hp motor if i remember correctly but it is good enough for most work i do. I'd have to check if it has a mt2 spindle, that would be interesting to find out. I never took out the chuck so I'm not too sure. Your drill press seemed to handle drilling such large holes pretty well. I doubt I'd be able to do that with mine. Like you said i usually need to work up by going in 1/4" increments at a time or close to that. Great video as always Mr. Pete.

Thank you 😊👍👍👍

A right hand thumbs up, drill table flexed (slight tilt) under pressure.

Thanks again

I'm amazed that worked. Not possessing tubalcain's biblical arm strength, any tapered drills, or a Taiwanesium drill press, I think if I ever need a hole that big I'll run a pilot hole first though...

I have a 20 inch Craftsman drill press and after replacing the cheap belts it came with the new belts are a lot less prone to slip.

You need a fan on Bro to blow the oil smoke away! Cancer causing you know. Safety first!

Did you notice that when you put sufficient pressure for the drill bit to cut into the work that the table deflected downward? I had the same problem with a newer Delta drill press. I made a jack with a length of 1" Acme threaded rod, some pipe, and an Acme wingnut. Bracing the table made a BIG difference. I love my Morse flip book; I call it "My little book of everything I know." I'll have to see if I can find a copy of the Cleveland book.

Another great video… another nice shirt!!! 👔👍🇺🇸 The Tennessee Mole Man PS: Taiwanesium??? 🤣

Very seldom do I NOT use a stop block, clamp or vice (sometimes a combination) on the drill press. There are times when I didn't and was reminded why.