Pm 25 Mill As A Drill Press

[rwm]

I am considering a PM 25 mill however space is a big issue for me. If I could get rid of my drill press that would open up an appropriate space. The question is, could the PM 25 substitute for the drill press? I know it can make holes but would it be as easy to set up and use and would I be happy with this situation? What is the down feed like? Do those of you with mills handy still use the drill press a lot? Any thoughts invited.
Robert

 

[maker of things]

My experience with my G0704 (similar machine) is that it works pretty good in the upper speed ranges of hi and low gear. I tried drilling steel with a 3/4" bit and the speed controller just doesn't output enough or consistent torques at low speeds. IMO if you are drilling 3/8 and smaller bits it works pretty good. The quill feed is pretty good and it has a lock.

 

[T Bredehoft]

I have both a drill press and a PM25, the PM25 has only 1 3/4 in stroke in the quill, fine for small holes in small pieces, (no power downfeed) but it does have in excess of 6 inches head travel. Run the crank, one rev per .100. ten revs per inch, for a while and your rotator cuff starts to complain. I installed a motor on the head so I don't have to crank it, but it isn't 'quick.'

I would not expect to use drills larger than 3/8 without drilling a small hole first, and this involves running the head up and down.

I would hate to loose my drill press, expecting to use my PM25 as a drill press, although it could be made to do the work.

Under no circumstances should this be considered to be criticism of the PM25, it's very good at what it was designed for.

 

[wrmiller]

I had no drill press when I had my PM25 (still don't), but I was mostly drilling small stuff of 1/2" or less. The one time I had to do a larger hole, I did it in steps to keep the stresses on the mill down.

 

[Enderw88]

I don't yet have a mill, and this question was going through my mind recently. I decide the answer is decidedly, "no, a mill does not make a substitute good drill press" for two big reasons: the first you mentioned, set up time. Setup can be darn near zero for a drill press especially if drilling softer materials, like wood. The second reason is the big hole in the middle of the drill press table. There is no equivalent on a mill table which means through holes require a lot more care so you don't drill into the table.

I have a 20" drill press that I wouldn't want to live without.

 

[wrmiller]

One: Never heard of needing "setup time" for wood, and I've never needed any. I actually kept a separate drill press vise around just so I could throw something in it and drill Could you explain what you mean by setup?

Two: If you have a vise on your mill, and/or use some 1-2-3 blocks or some other scrap (if you're just drilling wood) to set the workpiece on. If you need a deeper hole than that I'd like to know why. Not picking on you, just curious as I've not yet found a need for a drill press.