What to Look for When Purchasing a Drill Press Part III

Drill Press Accessories

Proper accessories enable you to do more jobs, and to do them easier and faster. Here are some of the more common accessories available for most drill presses.

Sanding Drums and Abrasive Sleeves. Sanding on curved surfaces can be accomplished on the drill press with the use of a sanding drum. Various sizes of sanding drums are available. Aluminum oxide-coated sleeves for metal, and garnet-coated sanding sleeves for wood, are made up in different grits and sizes to fit the various drums.

Disk sanding also can be done on the drill press. Although designed primarily for portable drill work, the typical 1/4 in. shank-arbor adapter will fit a standard drill press geared chuck, and the 5 in. rubber backing pad can be attached to the adapter by a screw and washer. Various grades of sanding paper can be installed on the pad. Note: Do not use a backing pad that is larger than 5 in. on a standard drill press.

Buffing wheels and polishing bonnets, 5 in. and less, also can be used on the drill press. Other valuable portable drill accessories include rotary rasps, rotary files and a flexible shaft with a chuck. The rotary rasps are handy for fast wood removal, slotting and shaping. Rotary files can be used for filing metals, elongating holes and slots, removing burrs and scale, light milling and other similar metal finishing operations. The flexible shaft permits you to employ the drill press as a power source to drill, sand or shape anywhere within the reach of the shaft. Most flexible shafts are about 40 in. long.

Vises and Hold Downs. To drill a small workpiece with a drill press, either hold the workpiece in a drill press vise of some type or clamp the work securely to the table. C-clamps are excellent for holding small, flat workpieces and, in many cases, for securing a long, unwieldy piece to the table to assist you in holding it.

Lamp Attachment. Many workers want a lamp that is conveniently attached to the machine, since it is important to keep sufficient light on the work at all times.

Drill Press Table

Most home shop drill presses manufactured today feature a tilting work table. Usually, such tables can be tilted by loosening a nut under the table. A pin fitting through corresponding holes provides a positive stop at both horizontal and vertical positions.

The advantage of a floor drill press is its ability to adjust to the height of the work. Therefore, it is important that the table can be quickly set up for a drilling operation. To speed table set-up, a rack and pinion table assembly is invaluable. Unlock the table bracket lock and turn the handle until the table is at the proper position. Then tighten the table bracket lock.

Another important table characteristic is its ability to swing around, left or right, for drilling alignment. In fact, in some situations the table may have to be completely swung out of the way and this should be easily accomplished by loosening the table bracket lock and rotating the table left or right.