Looking to buy a used one. Something old and reliable. Maybe something I could still get parts for, but if its reliable that won't be needed. Thanks
Craftsman Craftsman Craftsman!!!!!!! I bought one off of Craigslist a decade ago. As I remember it was $125. Bought it from the original owner that was an older gentleman. He just didn’t use it anymore. (From it’s condition he didn’t use it a lot and took care of it) If you were running a business and using it for hours each day then you might look at some others but as a DIY’er or a hobbyist you can’t beat Craftsman. I’d bet owner manuals are available online, possibly free. Get a free standing model NOT a bench top (my opinion). I think everything you’d ever need to replace would be readily available for the rest of your life. Mark
Thanks Mark. You know the Standalone versus the bench models was something that was on my mind so thank you for letting me know. I also see some multi-tool function on some presses but it was on a bench model. Wonder what yours and others think. I like old craftsman stuff, i go kinda crazy when I see old craftsman tools at yard sales.
I’m not familiar with accessories for a drill press so I really can’t comment. One pic shows the size capacity etc of the drill press and the other shows the three spindles. Depending on what speed/rpm you want for the drill bit you just swap the two belts around. There’s a table that shows what spindle configuration is needed for each speed. Really straight forward. I’m guessing mine is from the 80’s. I would also guess you could get a nice used one for less than a new one at Harbor Freight and it’d be triple the machine. (Nothing against HF). For my needs I couldn’t be more pleased. Mark.
a real machine shop stand-alone will be heavy. the same token it probably will be old, so parts maybe hard to find. btw, get one with threaded holes or slots in the table so you can hold the part down. the c/man above has rpm's too high on the low end. won't be able to use a large hole size cutter or counterbore without eating it. the high rpm maybe could be used for sanding. now the next item to go with the machine is a set of cobalt drills, centerdrills, reamers. high speed tooling is ok for wood or plastic. part holding is critical for using carbide. vibrate and it will break. find your self a speed and feed chart to save on wearing/breaking your tooling. my dept at pratt & whitney was machine tool testing and standardization. we tested everything for production, screws, hacksaws, hammers..everything. we did machine cutting testing for everything. we built machines and processes. we wrote the standards for machines feeds and speeds. helps me with my engine work nowadays.....if I remember it. lol
