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Is this pillar drill suitable for my needs?

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 10:11 am
by Alster370
Will my birthday coming up I think its only fair that I invest some money in my poorly kitted out garage. As much as id like a lathe, I don't have the money to buy one big enough for the things Id like to machine. Since most of my requirements would be accurate drilling a good pillar drill seems like a worthy purchase.

What kind of motor power am I looking for If I want to drill thick steel?

Thanks.

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 10:35 am
by Technician1002
That is a light duty drill and will handle light duty jobs just fine. It will drill small holes in thick steel just fine, but not large holes. I have a small drill press and holes under 1/4 inch are no major problem. You will want a bigger drill for 1/2 inch holes. Use sharp bits and cutting oil.

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 10:42 am
by Alster370
il be drilling up to 16mm (the chucks largest diameter)

How about this one?

http://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-sf16n-9 ... ill%20230V

It has a decent 500w motor, but the build quality will be debatable.

Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 1:44 am
by Crna Legija
Alster370 wrote:il be drilling up to 16mm (the chucks largest diameter)

How about this one?

http://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-sf16n-9 ... ill%20230V

It has a decent 500w motor, but the build quality will be debatable.
my drill press is 1/3 hp around 250 watt i have no problem drilling 20mm hole in 10mm plate steel. just go very slow and keep the bit cool and oiled
i use this stuff because i get it for free from work

i put a new longer post in for my one though because you struggle to fit full size drill bits in small drill presses

Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 5:03 am
by Alster370
Well il be drilling very deep cuts 50mm+ so it needs to cope. The speed seems to be the problem. The axminster only goes down to 600rpm and even with a top quality drill bit that seems too fast.

The titan however does go to 280rpm which sounds more realistic.

Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 9:31 am
by ramses
You really need the low speed. I have drilled 1/2" dia holes in steel at 800rpm with HSS bits on some cheapo drill press and it was NOT FUN. Chatter like you wouldn't believe. It actually got better once the OD of the drill was about ~1/8 inch in the surface. I also ran into the problem with drill bits being too long to actually drill much. Then I got a RF45 mill clone :D