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Drill Press or Mill or Rotary 3 axis table

Submachine

Aluminum
Joined
Apr 23, 2013
Location
Cleveland
I do not have a Mill in my shop, only a floor drill press and a lathe. I have an x-y drill press table that sucks(cheap import), even for drilling holes. If my budget is a max of $500, what would you buy? Please be specific. I see some Atlas/craftsman 3 axis rotary tables. Those seem like a reasonable option that would allow drilling plus some occasional basic milling. The drill press is an old powermatic and I don’t want too much weight sitting on the table.
 
I think we need a little more info, what do you want to do and what material?
You pretty much live in the world Mecca of used machine tools. Even if you were to buy one of the better rotary cross slides like Advance or Troyke. You would still need to buy a mill to mount it on and use for milling. My 11" Advance is a load for a knee and turret mill. I wouldn't be surprised if it weighed as much as your drill press. They take up a lot of Z as well. If you get one of the rotary cross slides make sure you get one with the rotary on the bottom. The ones with the rotary on top seem useless for there purpose.
I would save up a little more money and watch for a good deal on a mill with some tooling.
 
I would respectfully suggest you not add more junk (Atlas/craftsman rotab) in an effort to destroy your drill press by using it as a mill. Save up more money and purchase an old knee mill or even a bench mill. Heck, maybe even sell off your drill press to help pay for it. ( I hate drill presses and unless you really need three feet of head space you won't need it once you have a mill.)

JMHO

-Ron

On edit, looks like Andy beat me to it. :D
 
I agree about not using it as a a mill, my first goal was to simply get something better than my current drill press x-y.

What do I use it for was asked? Mainly simple 1/2 inch holes or smaller in brass, aluminum and steel. Most of the time I could use the Lathe, but that is in a separate building. In other words, the drill press is more convenient and requires less setup time.
 
Sorry about the Atlas mention. I am not surprised that it is not allowed, only looking for a solution. I will start to look into getting an old mill.
 
I agree about not using it as a a mill, my first goal was to simply get something better than my current drill press x-y.

What do I use it for was asked? Mainly simple 1/2 inch holes or smaller in brass, aluminum and steel. Most of the time I could use the Lathe, but that is in a separate building. In other words, the drill press is more convenient and requires less setup time.

Not a lot wrong with an X-Y table on a DP. So long as used only for ease of pre-positioning AND NOT for movement in the cut. Even the very stoutest of drill presses are still engineered only for inline thrust, not for side thrust.

Mills are built to deal with BOTH. Have to be. No matter what type, brand, or shape, that is a primary distinction, always.

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A budget that low points you toward an old no-longer-wanted horizontal mill. No vertical in still-useful condition - nor even in need of rebuild - is likely to go for $500 or under, least of all one still easy to get parts for, even if used - Bridgeports are off the menu, for example. Too sought-after by too many people, even if they are rather badly thrashed.

So long as you still have a functional drillpress, you can do a great deal with even a very tiny horizontal. If in need of repair? Not much to them. Not much to have to fix.

2CW
 
A drill press, especially one like you describe, is not really made for milling. Milling puts a lot of radial stress on the quill bearings while drilling is mostly axial stress. So drill presses are not made for milling.

With your budget, you do not have too many choices. I was in a similar position with just a lathe and I decided to make some accessories to allow me to do some light milling in the lathe while I continued to save for a decent milling machine.

I have never been to Cleveland except to drive through on the interstate so I am not familiar with the used tool market there, but I think you could watch things like E-Bay and Crag's List for local bargains. Something like a mill can cost more to ship than to buy a used one so you should stick to the local offerings or at least within a reasonable driving range. I made a long, day trip to pick up my lathe from two states over. Of course you will need a truck.

The other choices are really not good, even for an amateur, garage shop. Even a small import mill plus shipping will cost more than your $500 budget. Save up, keep your eyes open, and jump when a good one comes along. You will be glad you did.
 
Save up some money, sell some stuff you don't need (that xy table would be a good start) and invest in a mill. Drill presses are for drilling. Putting a fancy table on one is a waste of time and money. You would be better off with a good vise than one of those xy tables on there. Search eBay and craigslist for deals on used vertical mills, you are bound to find something far superior for not a lot of money
 
I must be getting really old because I fail to see the need for a rotary table or positioning table on a drill press. Doesn't anybody layout parts anymore? Probably drilled thousands of holes with one of 2 Heinrich vises. That was one of the first things they taught us in trade school was how to layout and drill holes. You were expected to be within 1/64" (0.015"). I don't remember anybody that couldn't do that!

IMHO, all you need on a drill press is one of these Heinrich Company - Safety Drill Vise - Racine, Wisconsin
JR
 
I must be getting really old because I fail to see the need for a rotary table or positioning table on a drill press.

They can be handier than trying to maneuver what is to be drilled with a traveling crane, engine hoist, hydraulic jacks, pry bars, or sledge hammers.

Mind - some drill presses are a tad larger than others....

:)
 
Drill press table is nice for moving of drill holes but not that good for travel for milling much more than wood(if that).
A mill vise on a lathe makes a fair mill for smaller parts.
On a budget you can fudge up an angle plate to hold a vise on the lathe.

QR JR (Doesn't anybody layout parts anymore? ( good point ..one should get .010 or better location with measure /scribe/punch/check with a loop if eyes are getting poor. (JR points out we were expected to make 1/64 in high school}

Now with a digital bargain caliper for even 20 bucks close is easy.
Shop General Tools & Instruments 5.5-in Digital Caliper at Lowes.com
 
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OP - don't you live in the same town as HGR?
It sounds like you might not be aware of possible options for mills or even sometimes larger drills with built in X-Y tables. Start checking C-list and maybe make some field trips to HGR, I've only bought from them by email. Word is that prices on site are reduced week by week until the machine sells or is scrapped. Also that they can be hapazard about storage and keeping things (accessories, loose parts)together. But one of the remaining large scale dealers.

smt
 
Drill press table is nice for moving o drill holes but not that good for travel for milling much more than wood.
A mill vise on a lathe makes a fair mill for smaller parts.
On a budget you can fudge up an angle plate to hold a vise on the lathe.

For those with a really limited resource set, any horizontal mill is easier to do lathe work on - and with easier to cobble together parts - than the reverse. With a R/A head one can even get fairly useful long-axis travel.

Person with a decent mill can make a lathe far more easily than a person with a lathe can make a mill, too. Adept hand with a 3" "bar" or better can make "any of the above" - and a bit of money as well.
 
... needing a little more floor space than the drill press.
That can surely be deceptive, though. A "Quartet" looks to need the same space as a BirdPort. Thicker table but shorter. Weighs just short of twice as much. Has more power.

But... needs a NINE FOOT diameter circle to operate, what with the ~ 2 HP vertical head on one end of the dovetail ram, and the 5 HP horizontal spindle poking its 40-taper snout out the opposite end of the turret under it. One has to unlock turret, rotate 180 degrees to switch roles.

Rambaudi's combo mill - no turret - is far more space-efficient, if less flexible.
 








 
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