To get a good crisp dimple, the dies must be struck hard with a hammer, like the C-frame does, or rammed together with enough leveraged force, like the DRDT2 does. It seems to me the drill press isn't made for this kind of hard hammering force. Even if it does work, by the time you build a whole airplane, dimpling thousands of rivet holes, you may ruin a perfectly good drill press.
If money is an issue, buy the front end kit for a DRDT dimpler for about $150, and build the rest yourself. The plans come with it. You can get the steel at local scrap yards if you look around and you pay by the pound. You not only save a lot on the tool this way, but you save on shipping all that heavy steel. Weld it together yourself or find a friend to help you do it. I built my own this way and it looks and works just like the regular one and I saved a lot of money. You can sell it when you're done and get most or all your money back. How can you beat that?
Another option is to watch the classifieds or watch on eBay, and buy yourself a good used C-frame dimpler. Thousands of RV's have been built using the C-frame. It's a proven tool, and some of the more experienced guys around here swear by them instead of the DRDT2. I bought mine for less than 1/2 the price of a new one, and I'm sure I'll be able to sell it for as much or more if I ever decide to.
You're building one of the best airplanes possible. Think of the grand scheme of things. You need the right tools to do the job. But quality tools can be found on the used market if you have the patience to shop around.
with scientific formulas and such in the archives. Worth a dissertaion discussion if I find the link I post here.
