Want to add a drill press to my reloading room

flashhole · December 27, 2009, 11:38 AM

All you machine shop gurus weigh in please. What should I be looking for in a drill press? What's the difference between radial and oscillating? I just want a bench mount press for light duty work but don't want a cheap (as in won't last) tool.

Peter M. Eick · December 27, 2009, 11:52 AM

I don't have mine in my gun room, but I have the biggest Delta they make in my garage and even it is small at times. Table mounted ones are somewhat worthless. Get a floor mounted one that has plenty of speeds available and easier change overs. Make sure you get a big check that is smooth operating and easy to use. I put magnets on the housing to hold the chuck and tools so they are easy to grab when i need to change them. Make sure you get spare tapers and checks. I have a big one on a number 2 morse taper if I remember right and then a middle sized chuck on another taper. The big one is in the press right now as I was using it this weekend.

Make sure the table is fully articulating and easy to move. Get a good table vice and keep it lubed.

Beyond that, recognize this is probably a once in a lifetime purchase so get a really good one that will last.

freakshow10mm · December 27, 2009, 11:57 AM

OK, for what purpose? Different drill presses will be used for different tasks.

flashhole · December 27, 2009, 12:00 PM

Mostly just odd jobs but I do a lot of brass processing in my DeWalt and I also am looking into roll crimping shotshells. I know those tasks don't require a super good drill press but I am kind of picky about tools and like good value.

freakshow10mm · December 27, 2009, 12:02 PM

I figured it was along those lines.

In that case I'd just get one of those baby benchtop ones for around $100 and call it a day.

flashhole · December 27, 2009, 12:06 PM

How does the Sears Craftsman stuff compare to other comparably priced brands?

wncchester · December 27, 2009, 01:36 PM

"How does the Sears Craftsman stuff compare to other comparably priced brands?"

Most of Sear's power tools are made in Ryobi's Anderson, S.C. plant. Don't know about the table top drill press tho. ?? In general, Sear's power tool quality runs okay for light to moderate home owner uses. I wouldn't want any of it for heavy duty work but that isn't what a table top tool of any type is for anyway.

I'm fortunate to have a reloading room large enough for two 7' benches on opposite walls. One has the loading gear. The other is a sorta general purpose work bench dedicated to reloading, guns and fishing tackle maintinance. It has a table top drill press on the right and a 4" swiveling machinest vise on the left end, leaving enough space between them to clean guns, mount scopes, etc. I have an outlet from my air compressor on it too, very useful to blow things dry and clean.

I use the table top drill press (about $50) much more than I ever thought; polishing scratchy sizing die innerds, uniform primer pockets/flash holes, using felt bobs and shaft mounted cloth wheels to polish stuff, etc. The modest size vise is really (about $25) handy. It also serves as a temp mount base for my case trimmer AND a little 3" double ended, variable speed grinder (about $30) with a two ft. rotary shaft for Dremel type tools. The drill, vise, grinder all came from Harbor Freight Tools; it's certainly not pro-grade stuff but it's plenty good enough for my uses and cheaper than Sear's.

snuffy · December 27, 2009, 04:29 PM

I bought that drill press for the specific purpose of roll crimping shot shells. I've ended up using it for much more than I ever thought I would. I got it on "special" at harbor freight for IIRC 80 bucks. Yes, it's crude, no spit and polish, but you know what? It works! Not very powerful, and only has four speeds set by moving the belt on 2-4 step pulleys. It still serves the purpose quite well.

Oh, the hull vise is from ballistic products.

http://www.ballisticproducts.com/

HiBC · December 27, 2009, 04:50 PM

While I have a large floor drill press out in the garage,in my loading room is a small,cheap benchtop.

If you make some metallic parts to replace the plastic ones in the spindle stop,the stop is repeatable enough for accurate case trimming.Lyman and Forster make a fixture to mount on the table,and with minor modification,the RCBS trimmer cutter head can be chucked up.Now it is a power case trimmer that chamfers and deburs the case mouth.

flashhole · December 27, 2009, 05:35 PM

This is all very helpful.

ballardw · December 28, 2009, 03:29 AM

You might want to examine how the depth stop works. The cheaper ones use jam nuts on a threaded rod that looks like it stops when the bit is pulled down and the nuts hit a hole in the frame. The threaded rod is often attached to the spindle by a piece of plastic that flexes a bit under pressure even after the nuts bottom out.

hickstick_10 · December 28, 2009, 05:59 AM

http://www.general.ca/index_en.html

Awesome drill presses, nice and tough. It will outlast you.

I'l charge up the digicam and show you my reloading room, youl have a good laugh at my drill press.

darkgael · December 28, 2009, 08:01 AM

I have a little bench top drill press that I use for just what you have described. Light duty polishing, roll crimping, etc.
Got it at Home Depot for less than $100. For those purposes, it is fine.
BTW - roll crimping - I get better crimps on my 12 ga. hulls from an antique roll crimping tool than I get from the bench press crimper (it works but the old one works better).
Pete

wncchester · December 28, 2009, 10:07 AM

Snuffy, that's a slick shotshell holding jig, good job!

A_Gamehog · December 28, 2009, 01:49 PM

Sears 10 speeds used 40.00$ on cragslist.

I use the Lee shell holders and "chuck the brass" in the lee holder. I then use steel wool to polish my expensive brass when Quality is more important than quanity. I also do the primer pocket cleaner in the press and just raise manually the brass into the brush. I also use the hornady primer hole deburing tool, remove the handle, chuck it in the press, set the depth of cut, run a batch.

When your search for accuracy includes this drill press try this, chuck 20 cases in the Lee shell holder (comes with the Lee trimmer unit) watch the necks wobble on the base axis. Those that have no wobble or those that run true are those I use for my accuracy loads. The base is parallel to the mouth.
Sizing in dies by rotating/turning the brass three times never gets this perfect. On those that are perfect 3-4% I only neck size. They are never sized any other way until they expire. This is as far as I go for perfection with brass.

You can also use the RCBS neck turner with a shell chucked in the Lee Holder in the press.

I love my press for Primer Pocket deburring with uniform metal removal on new brass.

mkl · December 28, 2009, 02:08 PM

I've got a large drill press in my garage that I use occasionally for reloading work (primer pocket uniforming mostly), and it works just fine. However, if I had room on my reloading bench which is indoors, I'd buy one of the small Harbor Freight presses for under $100 and set that up on my bench. A large drill press is 100X overkill for reloading purposes.

Sport45 · December 28, 2009, 08:41 PM

Harbor Freight happens to have one on sale right now.

December 27, 2009, 11:38 AM	#1
flashhole Senior Member Join Date: February 9, 2005 Location: Owego, NY Posts: 2,000	Want to add a drill press to my reloading room All you machine shop gurus weigh in please. What should I be looking for in a drill press? What's the difference between radial and oscillating? I just want a bench mount press for light duty work but don't want a cheap (as in won't last) tool. __________________ ,,, stupidity comes to some people very easily. 8/22/2017 my wife in a discussion about Liberals. Are you ready for civil war?

December 27, 2009, 11:52 AM	#2
Peter M. Eick Senior Member Join Date: August 3, 1999 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 2,991	I don't have mine in my gun room, but I have the biggest Delta they make in my garage and even it is small at times. Table mounted ones are somewhat worthless. Get a floor mounted one that has plenty of speeds available and easier change overs. Make sure you get a big check that is smooth operating and easy to use. I put magnets on the housing to hold the chuck and tools so they are easy to grab when i need to change them. Make sure you get spare tapers and checks. I have a big one on a number 2 morse taper if I remember right and then a middle sized chuck on another taper. The big one is in the press right now as I was using it this weekend. Make sure the table is fully articulating and easy to move. Get a good table vice and keep it lubed. Beyond that, recognize this is probably a once in a lifetime purchase so get a really good one that will last. __________________ 10mm and 357sig, the best things to come along since the 38 super!

December 27, 2009, 12:00 PM	#4
flashhole Senior Member Join Date: February 9, 2005 Location: Owego, NY Posts: 2,000	Mostly just odd jobs but I do a lot of brass processing in my DeWalt and I also am looking into roll crimping shotshells. I know those tasks don't require a super good drill press but I am kind of picky about tools and like good value. __________________ ,,, stupidity comes to some people very easily. 8/22/2017 my wife in a discussion about Liberals. Are you ready for civil war?

December 27, 2009, 12:06 PM	#6
flashhole Senior Member Join Date: February 9, 2005 Location: Owego, NY Posts: 2,000	How does the Sears Craftsman stuff compare to other comparably priced brands? __________________ ,,, stupidity comes to some people very easily. 8/22/2017 my wife in a discussion about Liberals. Are you ready for civil war?

December 27, 2009, 04:29 PM	#8
snuffy Senior Member Join Date: May 20, 2001 Location: Oshkosh wi. Posts: 3,055	I bought that drill press for the specific purpose of roll crimping shot shells. I've ended up using it for much more than I ever thought I would. I got it on "special" at harbor freight for IIRC 80 bucks. Yes, it's crude, no spit and polish, but you know what? It works! Not very powerful, and only has four speeds set by moving the belt on 2-4 step pulleys. It still serves the purpose quite well. Oh, the hull vise is from ballistic products. http://www.ballisticproducts.com/ __________________ The more people I meet, the more I love my dog They're going to get their butts kicked over there this election. How come people can't spell and use words correctly?

December 27, 2009, 11:57 AM	#3
freakshow10mm Junior member Join Date: January 23, 2008 Location: MI Posts: 1,398	OK, for what purpose? Different drill presses will be used for different tasks.

December 27, 2009, 12:02 PM	#5
freakshow10mm Junior member Join Date: January 23, 2008 Location: MI Posts: 1,398	I figured it was along those lines. In that case I'd just get one of those baby benchtop ones for around $100 and call it a day.

December 27, 2009, 01:36 PM	#7
wncchester Senior Member Join Date: December 1, 2002 Posts: 2,832	"How does the Sears Craftsman stuff compare to other comparably priced brands?" Most of Sear's power tools are made in Ryobi's Anderson, S.C. plant. Don't know about the table top drill press tho. ?? In general, Sear's power tool quality runs okay for light to moderate home owner uses. I wouldn't want any of it for heavy duty work but that isn't what a table top tool of any type is for anyway. I'm fortunate to have a reloading room large enough for two 7' benches on opposite walls. One has the loading gear. The other is a sorta general purpose work bench dedicated to reloading, guns and fishing tackle maintinance. It has a table top drill press on the right and a 4" swiveling machinest vise on the left end, leaving enough space between them to clean guns, mount scopes, etc. I have an outlet from my air compressor on it too, very useful to blow things dry and clean. I use the table top drill press (about $50) much more than I ever thought; polishing scratchy sizing die innerds, uniform primer pockets/flash holes, using felt bobs and shaft mounted cloth wheels to polish stuff, etc. The modest size vise is really (about $25) handy. It also serves as a temp mount base for my case trimmer AND a little 3" double ended, variable speed grinder (about $30) with a two ft. rotary shaft for Dremel type tools. The drill, vise, grinder all came from Harbor Freight Tools; it's certainly not pro-grade stuff but it's plenty good enough for my uses and cheaper than Sear's.

December 27, 2009, 04:50 PM	#9
HiBC Senior Member Join Date: November 13, 2006 Posts: 8,288	While I have a large floor drill press out in the garage,in my loading room is a small,cheap benchtop. If you make some metallic parts to replace the plastic ones in the spindle stop,the stop is repeatable enough for accurate case trimming.Lyman and Forster make a fixture to mount on the table,and with minor modification,the RCBS trimmer cutter head can be chucked up.Now it is a power case trimmer that chamfers and deburs the case mouth.

December 27, 2009, 05:35 PM	#10
flashhole Senior Member Join Date: February 9, 2005 Location: Owego, NY Posts: 2,000	This is all very helpful. __________________ ,,, stupidity comes to some people very easily. 8/22/2017 my wife in a discussion about Liberals. Are you ready for civil war?

December 28, 2009, 03:29 AM	#11
ballardw Senior Member Join Date: September 19, 2008 Posts: 1,411	You might want to examine how the depth stop works. The cheaper ones use jam nuts on a threaded rod that looks like it stops when the bit is pulled down and the nuts hit a hole in the frame. The threaded rod is often attached to the spindle by a piece of plastic that flexes a bit under pressure even after the nuts bottom out.

December 28, 2009, 05:59 AM	#12
hickstick_10 Senior Member Join Date: August 8, 2009 Posts: 477	http://www.general.ca/index_en.html Awesome drill presses, nice and tough. It will outlast you. I'l charge up the digicam and show you my reloading room, youl have a good laugh at my drill press.

December 28, 2009, 08:01 AM	#13
darkgael Senior Member Join Date: February 9, 2006 Location: Homes in Brooklyn, NY and in Pennsylvania. Posts: 5,473	DP I have a little bench top drill press that I use for just what you have described. Light duty polishing, roll crimping, etc. Got it at Home Depot for less than $100. For those purposes, it is fine. BTW - roll crimping - I get better crimps on my 12 ga. hulls from an antique roll crimping tool than I get from the bench press crimper (it works but the old one works better). Pete __________________ “Auto racing, bull fighting, and mountain climbing are the only real sports ... all others are games.” Ernest Hemingway ... NRA Life Member

December 28, 2009, 10:07 AM	#14
wncchester Senior Member Join Date: December 1, 2002 Posts: 2,832	Snuffy, that's a slick shotshell holding jig, good job!

December 28, 2009, 01:49 PM	#15
A_Gamehog Senior Member Join Date: February 9, 2009 Location: Central Oregun Posts: 563	Tabletop drillpress is what I use Sears 10 speeds used 40.00$ on cragslist. I use the Lee shell holders and "chuck the brass" in the lee holder. I then use steel wool to polish my expensive brass when Quality is more important than quanity. I also do the primer pocket cleaner in the press and just raise manually the brass into the brush. I also use the hornady primer hole deburing tool, remove the handle, chuck it in the press, set the depth of cut, run a batch. When your search for accuracy includes this drill press try this, chuck 20 cases in the Lee shell holder (comes with the Lee trimmer unit) watch the necks wobble on the base axis. Those that have no wobble or those that run true are those I use for my accuracy loads. The base is parallel to the mouth. Sizing in dies by rotating/turning the brass three times never gets this perfect. On those that are perfect 3-4% I only neck size. They are never sized any other way until they expire. This is as far as I go for perfection with brass. You can also use the RCBS neck turner with a shell chucked in the Lee Holder in the press. I love my press for Primer Pocket deburring with uniform metal removal on new brass. __________________ "Happiness is knowing the Barred Owl is Eating the Spotted Owl and environmentalists are watching Nature take it's course"

December 28, 2009, 02:08 PM	#16
mkl Senior Member Join Date: April 25, 2008 Location: DFW area, Texas Posts: 494	I've got a large drill press in my garage that I use occasionally for reloading work (primer pocket uniforming mostly), and it works just fine. However, if I had room on my reloading bench which is indoors, I'd buy one of the small Harbor Freight presses for under $100 and set that up on my bench. A large drill press is 100X overkill for reloading purposes.

December 28, 2009, 08:41 PM	#17
Sport45 Senior Member Join Date: May 25, 1999 Location: Too close to Houston Posts: 4,196	Harbor Freight happens to have one on sale right now. __________________ Proud member of the NRA and Texas State Rifle Association. Registered and active voter.