Woodworker's Journal 2011-35-1, страница 57
r r, r- \ y -rj r?r. A Grueling Drilling Test % 1/ 7~hether you' % \ / hinge cup r ▼ T hogging oul re drilling recesses, out a mortise, cutting a batch of wood plugs or countersinking some pilot holes, a drill press makes easy work of it all. Here's a versatile, accurate tool every shop should have. The question is, how much drill press do you really need? After testing eight benchtop models, I'll argue that it's less than we may think. Case in point: 1 have a huge floorstanding drill press with a 3/4" chuck and a lhp motor. This behemoth drills to the center of a 20" workpiece (drill presses are sized by the distance from the column to the center of the chuck, times two). Its a tank of a tool. Even so, my drilling needs for projects are pretty typical. Rarely do I bore a hole larger than 2" or deeper than the thickness of 8/4 stock. Ordinary mortising and plug-cutting just don't require knuckle-dragging torque either. I've never chucked a bit shank larger than 5/8" in it — and even that size is unusual. Truthfully, aside from its nice big table, this drill press is just plain overkill. While my machine is extreme, there's still a need for larger machines sometimes. Big hole saws or rosette cutters would probably stop most tablctop drill presses dead in their tracks. Deeper reach (called 'swing") could be useful for centering holes on wide panels. If you want Woodworkers Journal February 2011 jMaaaa: & BMms® Among a variety of 'setup" tests, I measured flatness and front-to-back squareness of each machine's table. I also checked for runout (wobble) at the chuck by installing a orecision shaft and taking readings off of a dial Although obviously short in stature, a benchtop drill press can save you floor space and tool dollars while still delivering ample precision and power. indicator while slowly rotating the spindle. Runout varied from .001" to .011 \ but that range of deviation from a t» single axis of rotat on didn't to drill down into workpieces taller than about 14", you'll need a floor model's long column. But for most bread-and-butter shop tasks, I think a benchtop drill press is plenty. These tools can save you floor space and cash without sacrificing performance. Test Tool Playing Field When whittling down the list of possible test models, I asked for machines with at least l/3hp and 12" swing. Manufacturers made their choices. That helps explain our slew of sizing, pricing, horsepower and features. Still, every one of these drill presses endured a torturous battery of hole-drilling in hardwood with big bits (see sidebar at right). All eight tools delivered clean results without slalling. It impressed me, especially those with modest motor sizes. So, picking a "Best Bet" tool really came down to which model offers the best combination of helpful features and overall ease of use for the money. Here's how each tallied up for me and which one deserves our "top dog" billing. Craftsman 21914 Offering the second lowest price in this test group, Craltsmaifs 12" drill ."W* deep holes in white ash ' , £ with 1 /z'-diameterFreud ■ ^ ,<* • Forstner bits (a new bit for each machjne). I inspected the results for smoothness and consistent cutting depth. Then. I switched to V/z-diameter spade bits end bored another 50 holes 1" deep. That provided cood feedback about overall vibration and torque. Tough drilling chal enges, to be sure. I nade a LOT of hamster bedding drilling 800 holes! press comes well equipped. A digital readout on |
