Re: ATM What to do with a drill press

["Peter John Smith" <pjifl@bigpond.com.au>]

I presume we are talking of the ultra cheap, small, Chinese ones here.

None are good, many are truly awful, but some are useable if you dont want
to drive anything much larger than 1/4 inch drills and dont need precision.
The motor has barely adequate power for anything other than small drills and
will not run for any length of time without overheating.  Dont ever consider
one of these toys for milling.

BUT always choose one from the shop floor.  Inspect it by lowering the quill
fully, then raise it about 1/4 inch from its bottom position, then grasp and
shake it sideways feeling for a reasonable fit.  Also check for other
obvious defects as well. Like turn it and look for obvious offcentre
components.  When (if) you find one that is reasonable, insist on taking
THAT one rather than one from an unopened box.

I have three selected ones set up for serial drilling of small parts to save
drill changing and they get used.  But, there is also a decent drill press
available for other duties.

On another matter, cheap Chinese drill bits and cutting tools used to be
quite good once but have deteriorated sadly.  I suspect that the worst are
TiN coated ones.  The theory seems to be that the Gold colour attracts the
customer and somehow makes up for poor material and poor workmanship.
Underlying quality is far more important than a gold colour.  TiN coating is
not essential and was never used to make precision metal products 20 years
ago.  Its use is mainly in heavy, fast, production environments which has
little to do with home use.

Peter Smith.