Drill Press Quill Play

savarin

savarin

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I need to get a new drill press and obviously the budget is very tight.
In searching the differing prices from ultra cheap to a respectable $1200 I found they all had side or fore/aft play in the quill.
How much play here is too much?
In my naivety I assumed the expensive ones would have zero play but such was not the case although it was less than the cheapest.
 
I haven't noticed this problem before. Drill presses usually ,more like always,have a slit in the housing where the hole for the quill is bored. Is there a nut at the bottom of the slit that you can tighten up a little to shrink the hole around the quill a bit?

Please reply after you've had a look.

If there is none,I'd start looking for an old drill press that DOES have the slit. I have not seen an older one that does not.
 
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There doesnt appear to be a slit in any of the new ones.
If there is more play when the quill is extended than when fully retracted where does this indicate the wear is?
 
I find newer drill presses to be mostly garbage. Most older ones do have the slit to tighten up the quill, but some do not, ie atlas 42b.

I have about 10thou play on my atlas and don't have a problem with that, I always center punch and use good bits, so as long as it tracks right when you start you shouldn't have too much of a problem.
 
I looked at a few new ones just a few months ago and they all seemed worse then my 50+ year old one. If I do buy another it will be a good used one. They cost alot less too.
 
I had a new jet Dp, vs , laser, it was terrible, it did have the slot but adjustment did not help, the spindle was sloppy regardless , put that on Craigslist and it's gone . I then found a old craftsman cone head on Craig's list he wanted $75. For it ,the quill return was broken I told him I didn't want it, he was moving and didn't have room for it, he sold it to me for $50 and thru in two bench grinders .
I found the parts on eBay to fix it , it is 70 yrs old and has no slopp in spindle I like it !.
 
Get used to it.

Drill presses are NOT precision machines.

They are a heck-of-alot-better than hand holding an electric drill. But don't expect anything like a vertical mill's near-zero quill movement.
 
savarin said:
I need to get a new drill press and obviously the budget is very tight.
In searching the differing prices from ultra cheap to a respectable $1200 I found they all had side or fore/aft play in the quill.
How much play here is too much?
In my naivety I assumed the expensive ones would have zero play but such was not the case although it was less than the cheapest.
Click to expand...


What size drill press do you have in mind?
 
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