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Best low-rpm drill press? (for fly-cutter use)

N

negearth

Active Member
Hey gang, I'm thinking about returning my Craftsman 10" bench-top drill press because it's lowest speed is 600RPM, and I've read that you really want more like 300 RPM for using a fly cutter.

Where can I find a decent bench-top unit that goes down to 300 RPMs? Thanks much!
 
The desired lower RPM has more to do with the fact that the fly-cutter can't be practically balanced while running due to its adjustability. This makes lightweight drill presses shake and wobble, and this increases with RPM.
Better to find a used, older, heavier, floor model drill press that can run slowly for fly-cutter use. The slower the better.
 
Used Shop Smith

The Shop Smith makes a great Variable Speed Drill Press and Disk Sander. You can find them in most local markets through Craigs List or Classifieds for usually $300-400. Very powerful and the variable speed is nice. You can swing a fly cutter easily, or spin it up really fast with a mandrel and 3M sanding drums for inside edge finishing.
It takes about 2 minutes to convert from Drill Press to Disk Sander.
They also work well as a wood lathe and table saw (marginally), but those features are lost on me.
The down side is they are quite large. Mine is mounted with stock legs and casters so I can roll it out of the way or move it out to use it.
There are thousands of these out there and parts are easy to come by.
 
Drill Press

I put my Shopsmith to work on my RV8 and used the drill press and bandsaw throughout the project. Combined with a Delta strip sander and bench grinder I was able to do anything required by the SB kit.

If you're looking for a stand-alone heavy-duty drill press, take a look at the Grizzly (see www.grizzly.com) model G7944 (floor model) or G7943 (bench model) heavy-duty drill presses. They're both $275 right now and have a slow speed of 140 rpm. This is plenty slow enough for a fly-cutter. Not fancy, but solid machines with a good value for your $$.

Mike
 
Last edited:
negearth said:
Hey gang, I'm thinking about returning my Craftsman 10" bench-top drill press because it's lowest speed is 600RPM, and I've read that you really want more like 300 RPM for using a fly cutter.

Where can I find a decent bench-top unit that goes down to 300 RPMs? Thanks much!
Click to expand...

Have you thought about just changing the pulleys??
 
hole punch!!

If you are just doing instrument panel holes you may want to consider renting an instrument hole punch from Bob Avery. Sweet little bugger. That could save you a lot of trouble, and get you a nice panel too!!

Thoughts....That's all
Chris
 
I have a Craftsman 10" and have used fly cutters in it numerous times with good results at 620 rpm. The only problem I've had was having a finger inside the cutter radius when I switched it on one time. OUCH! :eek:
 
FWIW

With my small Craftsman press I discovered I was able to use the fly cutter without much difficulty. This was primarily because the smaller motor slowed down quite a bit when the cutter blade was in contact with the aluminum.

Make sure you use the slowest pulley combination.

BTW, I also discovered that there were a couple of holes in my panel that I couldn't reach because of the size of the drill press. In those instances I pre-drilled the center hole and then used the fly-cutter as a hand tool. It took about 10 careful minutes to complete a single hole, and gloves were a necessity, but the results weren't bad.

John Allen
 
All right, thanks for all the great info guys. :)

For those of you that have used the Craftsman 10" press with success, that's encouraging news- maybe I can just keep it and move on to the next obstacle. I did find a nice Grizzly press this afternoon, it ranges from 260 to 3050 RPMs, model T20833. But if good results have been had with the Craftsman unit then I'll probably just stick with that one and save the $80.

'Preciate the help!

Paul Nelson
 
Greenlee Hole Punches

carguy614 said:
If you are just doing instrument panel holes you may want to consider renting an instrument hole punch from Bob Avery. Sweet little bugger. That could save you a lot of trouble, and get you a nice panel too!!

Thoughts....That's all
Chris
Click to expand...

Another idea related to Chris' suggestion. I found a 3 1/8" and 2 1/4" used Greenlee punch on EBay. The price was very reasonable. My EAA Chapter (133) bought them for our tool lending library.
Charlie Kuss
 
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