[sdiy] Drill Press Recommendations?

[Roy J. Tellason]

On Wednesday 17 September 2008 16:08, Tom Arnold wrote:
> On Wed, Sep 17, 2008 at 02:46:53PM -0400, Roy J. Tellason wrote:
> > > That being said, it was -$39- so I cannot complain too much.
> >
> > Where did you find one at that price?
>
> Surplus Computers in Santa Clara, CA.  A quick cruise of ebay finds item
> 350098026183 but shipping woulkd kill.

Yes indeed.  :-)

> That looks just like it except for the colour.  Best to find one at a
> traveling show or local store cause of shipping.

Probably.

> > > Harbor Freight has cheap tools.  I'll call them Tier 3. They buy pretty
> > > much what the company overseas makes and they ignore it right up until
> > > you complain, they make up for this with goo support.
> >
> > Gotta make sure you clean that goo off,  though...   :-)
>
> Heh.  Yeah.  add a 'd' to that.  However I meant to mention what I find
> kinda funny about chinese power tools...  that grease... that horrible
> horrible red grease...  the funny thing?  That smell, burning off a warm
> motor, I now associate with slave labor.  And its red so I wonder if its
> made from political dissidents...  so every time I run one of these tools
> and it warms up, I think of China now.

That's cosmoline,  or something like it.  Keeps the bits from rusting.  You 
_do_ want to remove it!

> > HF,  Grizzly,  those traveling shows,  and many other companies are all
> > selling _the same tools_,  all of which are made in the same factories in
> > China.  The differences are as you noted in the support available and the
> > availability of spare parts,  plus some like Grizzly come with more in
> > the way of accessories.  Stop in to the yahoo DIY-CNC group and ask, 
> > they'll tell you...
>
> When I bought my mill ( a Sieg X2 ) I looked at both the Grizzly and HF
> version.  Grizzly ones are cleaned better and have a few minor differences
> on what parts are installed, different wheels and diffent taper ( MT vs R8
> ).

I haven't decided yet whether I want to go with one or the other of those,  
but it's moot for now anyhow,  that purchase,  if I do go there at all,  is 
quite a ways off.  A place to put it would be good.  :-)

> HF was cheaper and has R8 taper which collets are MUCH MUCH cheaper 
> for, so I went that route and have been slowly retrofitting HF parts onto
> the unit.  A common different, Grizzly tools usually have all the casting
> sand cleaned out.  All the HF tools I've gotten I've had to take apart and
> remove the leftover casting sand.

I saw a comment somewhere to the effect that those aren't really finished 
product,  just assemblies of parts for you to finish up.  Seems accurate,  
from all that I've read on the subject so far.

> Both are good choices, just be warned in more complex cases you need to do
> that final prep work yourself ( don't just unbox it and turn it on! ).

Yup!

-- 
Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting -- and
ablest -- form of life in this section of space,  a critter that can
be killed but can't be tamed.  --Robert A. Heinlein, "The Puppet Masters"
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