Every shop has a hand drill. But when do you know your shop would benefit from having a drill press? A drill press requires a larger monetary investment that a hand drill. But the time a drill press saves you, and the results it can achieve, offer a substantial return on your investment. We've identified five of the top reasons or indicators that your shop may need a drill press.
#5: you've Attempted to use a hand drill to make An even swirl or pattern on your material
If you’re a gear head building your dream car and want to add a swirl pattern to your your dash panel, what’s the best way to do it on a budget? If you're finishing a metal surface and want to achieve an even pattern or texture, how can you approach the application to ensure uniformity? By using a drill press! Using an abrasive deburring/finishing bit or polishing wheel, you can duplicate a swirl pattern over your entire panel surface – using uniform pressure that you simply cannot achieve with a hand drill. It's also an easy way to customize or hide fingerprints, scratches, and surface imperfections.
#4: you've used your hand drill And Experienced your wrists twisting at angles you didn't previously think possible
We've all been there, and hopefully, you've been there without a resulting injury! You're drilling along when either the workpiece moves or the bit just plain locks-up and spins the hand drill in ways that you wish it wouldn’t. You can avoid this by clamping the part into a vise on a drill press table, allowing you to set your speed and run down the hand wheel to create the hole you need without endangering yourself, or the workpiece. Your wrists and arms will thank you.
#3: you've attempted to exceed a hand drills capacity by grinding down the drill bit shaft
Ah, the art of drill bit manipulation. The 1/2" drill bit not fitting in the 3/8” drill chuck. Turn it down. Exceed the drills capacity. NEVER a good idea. Get a drill press with the capacity you need and do not try to unsafely “make it fit.” Dake drill presses come with either a MT 2, MT 3, or MT 4, giving you a wider variety of capacities without the need to modify your drill bits. If you have smaller straight bits, then just insert a drill chuck for those. No turning bits, no additional effort required, just the safe (right) way of doing things.
#2: you DriLl & Tap a lot of holes
Tapping holes is one of the most common machine shop applications, and one that can be a challenge when you have many to do by hand. How much time would you save if you could run the tap into a pre-drilled hole, and easily extract it with the flip of a switch ? A drill press can do that!
#1: Accuracy & consistency is a necessity
Drilling a single hole with a hand drill can be accomplished with fairly good results. However, drilling more than one accurately by hand can be a challenge. With a drill press you can accurately drill holes all day long, and ensure each hole is drilled to the same size, round (not oblong which at times you may get with a hand drill) and at equal depths. With a drill press, each hole can be made to exacting specs, more efficiently via machining!
Selecting the right drill press for your shop
Dake offers a wide range of drill presses from belt drive tabletops to floor model power down feed and variable speed models, so the hardest part of using a drill press may just be choosing which model you want. For assistance selecting the right drill press for your shop, contact our metalworking team or give us a call!
