Tool advice

[Texaspilot]

Did you have to repair the chuck?

[Chris In Milwaukee]

I left it on there, but it’s a tiny bit off center. If I were drilling precision stuff, I’d replace the chuck. Standard taper chuck. Just the usual cheap stuff.

[S Lathrop]

My drill press has a Morris taper quill. I would place that feature at the top of my list for a drill press. You can use drills that are much larger that the chuck will handle and there are a bunch of other attachments that are very handy that will come with a Morris taper.

I have a Whitney Punch Junior set. I use it a lot.

[Chewie]

I found a great drill press on Craigslist. Worth a little drive.

[svyolo]

I went a little cheap on the drill press. Double the price of Harbor Freight and I wish I had spent more. I bought if for precision drilling. That costs money. I have several other HF tools and love them. The 6" belt sander is a smoking deal and eats aluminum with abandon.

[JimParker256]

I got my drill press from Harbor Freight as well. $160-ish for the full-sized one. The chuck was... err... suboptimal. But the drill and motor has been reliable and strong.

Chris, did you ever replace the chuck? I've been giving that some thought, since I bought the same Harbor Freight unit... My experience is similar - love the rest of it, but the chuck, well, the chuck sucks... LOL

[Chris In Milwaukee]

Chris, did you ever replace the chuck? I've been giving that some thought, since I bought the same Harbor Freight unit... My experience is similar - love the rest of it, but the chuck, well, the chuck sucks... LOL

Naw, not really. But it really is a horrible chuck! If I ever get to the point where I'm doing any seriously precision work, I'll replace it. But I will say that I've broken my share of drill bits with it while drilling through three or four layers of .125" aluminum. So I reckon there's a reason I should do it right there.

[way_up_north]

Naw, not really. But it really is a horrible chuck! If I ever get to the point where I'm doing any seriously precision work, I'll replace it. But I will say that I've broken my share of drill bits with it while drilling through three or four layers of .125" aluminum. So I reckon there's a reason I should do it right there.

As far as knowing if you’ve got a good chuck or not... if the tip of the drill bit is dead solid in one spot when spinning... does that mean it’s good to go? As in no wobble... or are there things to look for?

[Chris In Milwaukee]

As far as knowing if you’ve got a good chuck or not... if the tip of the drill bit is dead solid in one spot when spinning... does that mean it’s good to go? As in no wobble... or are there things to look for?

Sorta, but if the chuck is off center and the tip is right on, then it seems like it would be drilling in a cone shape. Doesn’t seem horribly plausible, but possible, I suppose. I should really replace the chuck.

[Texaspilot]

What is the speed range that would be helpful on this project for the drill press?

[Chris In Milwaukee]

The slower, the better, when it comes to steel. I think mine goes down to 200, which seemed to work just fine. I think you can get them slower.

[quadra]

there are lots of free speeds and feeds tables available online, print one off and post it near your drill storage/ drill press. I doubt that the morse taper or quill end of a chuck would be off axis and the drill tip be accurate.. this might happen in theory but only at one specific drill tip length. the best test would be to chuck a known good section of rod in the chuck and use a dial indicator to check for wobble as it revolves. you will also want to check for lateral play in the quill, fully retracted and fully extended... it will usually be much better retracted, which is why it is always better to bring your work up to the drill as much as you can when setting up. center punching and pilot holes will go a long way to helping with a poor drill, but why fight with a tool that is worn out or not up to the job? this seems like a good excuse to upgrade or buy new tools!!