Mini Drill Press

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RONALD
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Joined: Sun Oct 26, 2003 7:27 am

Mini Drill Press

Post by RONALD »

I have an american made (1980's) Wilton 20" VSG 2035 Drill Press. Though this DP is very accurate, I felt I could use very small DP also. So far, I have looked at three mini drill presses:

Proxxon TBM 115, MicroLux Variable Speed, and the Cameron MD-70

The first two are of asian manufacture, the last claims it is made in the USA.

Anybody use one of the above? The Cameron is almost four times the price of the other two, is that justified?

Are there any other mini drill presses sold in the USA?
jim rozen
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Location: peekskill, ny

Post by jim rozen »

Dumore. It's a high speed sensitive drill press.

Jim
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BadDog
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Post by BadDog »

I have the same VSG. It's a big fella, and nicely made, but too slow for many things.

I also have a Dumore, also nicely made, but it's at the extreme other end. 17k rpm, and can handle ~1/8 at the largest.

I've got a Pratt & Whitney 1/4" Sensitive that is much more generally useful. Weighs about 100 lbs.

Can't comment on the new imports. But, at least around here, there are lots of very nice older micro/sensitive drill presses that go begging for a home. I paid $50 (IIRC) for the P&W, $20 for the Dumore. Might look at that angle, if you have the time to invest and the interest.
Russ
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SteveM
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Post by SteveM »

Search ebay with the search string:
sensitive "drill press"

There's a Dumore for sale right now:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0469475911

Several other brands are listed, including Servo, Fosdick, Avey and Hamilton.

There are also Sigourney drill presses made by Pratt & Whitney.

Also, our own Jose Rivera makes a product called the Hummingbird, which is a sensitive table for use on a standard drill press.

Image

You can read some info here:
http://www.chaski.org/homemachinist/vie ... ummingbird

They are sold by Littlemachineshop.com :
http://www.littlemachineshop.com/produc ... uctID=3404

Steve
Jose Rivera
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Post by Jose Rivera »

There are no problems, only solutions.
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Retired journeyman machinist and 3D CAD mechanical designer - hobbyist - grandpa
RONALD
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Post by RONALD »

Thanks guys for all the information and help, this is certainly a great way to find information. Long before the Internet, I had six machine shop teachers to consult with at my school (only one is left), or there was the IMTS every two years. Today, the information comes almost instantly.

I'm in the process of evaluating all that information, and should make a choice in a few weeks. I will post some photos when I do.
crrmeyer
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Location: Southern California

Post by crrmeyer »

Cameron drill presses are really nice. My work has had one for years and they work well. I liked that they were small enough that you could use them and then put them on a shelf thus freeing up bench space. I would recommend the version with the single speed motor and add an external variable speed controller if needed. 

Another option is a used Servo, but they are $$$

A third option is a Rockwell Delta high speed drill press. These are bench mount 14" drill presses that have speeds to about 12000 rpm and are heavy built.
Jose Rivera
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Location: Vallejo California

Post by Jose Rivera »

For very small diameter drilling one must have a fast spindle.

The one shown on the video is an adaptation of a Dremel attached by a bracket to a cheap HB bench drill press.

I fabricated a dual bearing spindle where the Dremel attaches to.
I am using a 0-.032" Albrecht mini chuck.

The spindle cam turn as fast as 26,000 RPM.
There are no problems, only solutions.
--------------
Retired journeyman machinist and 3D CAD mechanical designer - hobbyist - grandpa
jim rozen
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Location: peekskill, ny

Post by jim rozen »

The dumore drill press tops out at 17K rpm, which I regularly run it at.
A variac allows somewhat slower speeds.

I bought it with the tiny Jacobs chuck, not the albrect one (which is an
option for that machine) and honestly it's works pretty darn good for
drills down to about ten thou diameter.

Jim
SteveM
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Location: Wisconsin

Post by SteveM »

Here's a P&W for sale on Craigslist:

Image

http://ventura.craigslist.org/tls/1578341323.html

Steve
JimGlass
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Post by JimGlass »

This may not apply but could not resist.

Below is a drillpress I made years ago when I was a student. I use it for second opperations to ream holes to size after my CNC Bridgeport roughed out the hole.

Image Kinda cute ain't it.

Jim
Tool & Die Maker/Electrician, Retired 2007

So much to learn and so little time.

www.outbackmachineshop.com
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BadDog
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Post by BadDog »

That P&W is like mine, only I'm missing the top pulley cover. You can also see that the top spindle/bearing cover was broken on mine, so I replaced it with a machined aluminum piece. And it's one of the few tools I've painted. I generally restore function, but stop short of fancy paint. But this thing had about 5 different "porch paint" brush jobs, the final being a sort of salmon hued tan, and with enough flaking to see pretty much all the paint jobs at once. Cost: $50

click for larger image
Image
Russ
Master Floor Sweeper
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