Thread: Drill press height

G'day all,
I'm looking to get a drill press for bench mounting and I'm wondering which size to get. I have been checking out some of the offerings at Trade tools and their bench mount dills are either 580mm or 1000 ish mm tall. I know there won't be a 'best height' for everyone, but is there any part of the press that should be at a certain height or level, ie (the chuck, vice or the belts)?
Thanks for looking,
Steve.

Interesting. Different people may have different ideas but my drill press sits on a purposd made table at a height that suits my needs. I mostly drill small flat steel so i have it at a height so that the table is mostly at navel height when drilling.

Simon

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It should be at a suitable height to change speed.
ideally when your drilling you want your handles at shoulder height.

I reckon you need to be able to look down onto the work so you can see the bit tip making contact with the work.
At the other end of the scale I found my pedestal DP was too low so I had to bend down too far to see the bit tip, so I raised the whole DP by ~120 mm by bolting the base onto a wooden platform. The platform is much wider and deeper than the DP base which means it is stable enough not to require bolting down
I don't think the rest matters so much.

Why a bench drill? Pedestal drills make better sense. They don't take up valuable bench space, you won't have drill swarf all over the bench and most annoying of all, with a bench drill, there is always something that is just a couple of mm too tall to fit between chuck and the bottom plate...

Originally Posted by sacc51

Why a bench drill? Pedestal drills make better sense. They don't take up valuable bench space, you won't have drill swarf all over the bench and most annoying of all, with a bench drill, there is always something that is just a couple of mm too tall to fit between chuck and the bottom plate...

Honestly, I'd never thought about it that way before , that makes total sense. I suppose my main concern was having a piece of (limited/valuable) floor space dedicated to a drill, but I suppose I could mount it on a movable base and have the best of both worlds?
Thanks for everyone's (lightning quick BTW) replies and help, it's very appreciated.

Hi Lovey,

I have my bench drill mounted and bolted down on top of a steel tool cabinet ! It makes it secure and next to impossible to pull over. At 30 inches square and 39 inches high it puts the drill at a convenient working hight, and the table swung behind the column makes a useful shelf.

Pedestal drills take up very little room, about 250m wide at the base and about 600mm deep. The number of jobs I needed the height for I couldn't count. Worth their weight in gold.

I much prefer the larger bench drill. Mount it on a purpose built cabinet with a few draws in and you have all your drilling bits and pieces at hand.

I think I've managed the best of both worlds.
I have a pedestal drill but have made a roll out cabinet that just fits across the base and is of such a height that the drill can be used for 'normal' drilling without needing to be removed. The top of the cabinet is a chip tray that can be removed so that chips can be brushed off the table and then the tray is removed to dump them in the bin. The side of the cabinet has 3 drawers in it that hold (top to bottom) - my imperial and metric drill sets; my morse taper drills up to 26mm (imperial and metric) and lastly assorted jigs and fittings that may be used with the drill (such as hole saws and V-blocks). There is an open shelf right down the bottom that is where a couple of backing boards and the drill press vice live.

Photos? Difficult as I'm several hundred km from it but may be able to get no. 1 son to take photos if my explanation is not clear.

Michael

Thanks Michael,
I'm intrigued and having trouble visualising it, thanks in part to a few cold ales this arvo. If you could put some pics up, it would be greatly appreciated, but absolutely no hurry for them.
Thanks again all for your suggestions,
Steve

Hi Steve, I've been lucky enough to see Michael's shed, what he's trying to explain, is something like this but with 4 drawers not 2 as in the illustration.
The castors are high enough to go over the base of the drill press with a metal tray on top to catch the swarf. The drill press can go on the side or the back of the drawers. I'm going to do similar but use some MDF or Chipboard with a notch cut out for the Column.
bedside drawer.jpg
Hope this helps. Kryn

Originally Posted by KBs PensNmore

The drawers can go on the side or the back of the drawers.

Who's drawers?

Can you explain this please?

Dean

I did a boo boo, Tea was being served and I didn't read it properly, what it was supposed to be was "The drill press can go on the side or the back of the drawers".
It's been corrected, in the posting.
My grandma isn't god as I filed it at skool!!! Thank evans speall cheker worx!!!!
Kryn

I'm chasing photos, but when

Michael