school me.

[packnrat]

school me.
i am looking to do a little bit of wood and metal working, in the coming year.
i do not need top of the line stuff but in need of a drill press and maybe a router (have a table saw). i have hand held power tools, but need such that are fixtures? (right word?). as in the drill hole will be exactly same angle/depth as all the others. etc. (one project requires lots of hole. and many pieces of wood. alu?
looking at buying a free standing drill press this way i can bolt my mtr down as needed. the router is only for making a recessed grip surface on the blocks. can use the table saw for this as needed.
also more down the rd is a "toy" hobby milling machine/lathe.
space is a problem at this time. power can be worked out.

so what brands are good and what are junk. would rather drop a bit more for good stuff that will out live my needs then junk that will not hold up to even my uses.
but at this time money is a problem so used tools are to be bought.

.

 

[MrIncredible]

What are you building?

 

[packnrat]

first project is wood reloading blocks. easy practice project.
need a custom fit file cabinet.
and maybe some 80% lowers.
sure some other projects but not in need of the fabled wis-bang with all the goodies.
mostly just repeatability for aligning holes.


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[RightCoastBias]

Dewalt and Makita make good products that aren't horribly over priced.

 

[auntiebling]

http://bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=491328

Might be of interest to you

drill presses are a dime a dozen on craigslist tools section. If you intend to use it with ferous metal find one of the bigger 16 speed models, as the others are intended for wood and thus spin too fast for holes over .25 inches or so (guess on my part, haven't looked a speed table in a long time) even on their slowest speed.

Personally I would hold out for an American made drill press. The imports have kinda crappy alignment and the chucks are shite.

though realistically something like this will get you a long way
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/tls/5559150852.html

the mill/drill combo machines (look in the link) can be found cheap enough to skip getting a drill press though

 

[packnrat]

thank you, i was looking at one of the "free" standing units. had not thought about chuck speeds.
and reading the link, wear on the plates.
good to pick the brains here on barf. and yes i would rather cry once on the cost over twice. More? :afm199


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[Jackson]

For cutting metal check out the harbor freight metal cutting bandsaw. It's really affordable and has great reviews online. I have one, and while it isn't the best saw in the world, it works damn well for the price!

 

[packnrat]

sad only so much room to work with a single cage garage that has tool boxes, work bench and three motos in it. small storage room, (1/3 the size of the garage) but need to clean it out to see if anything is possible in there.

 

[auntiebling]

For cutting metal check out the harbor freight metal cutting bandsaw. It's really affordable and has great reviews online. I have one, and while it isn't the best saw in the world, it works damn well for the price!

Which one?

I have the old style portable one with a wood brace attached that can be clamped in a vise for "upright stationary use" it works well enough.

thanks to 25% off coupon for mothers day I got the new one yesterday that is compatible with the SWAG offroad stands. I'll probably set one up for cutting steel and the other for wood/aluminum

a floor standing or horizontal just hogs too much floor space

my only gripe is the noise. I doubt there is any grease in the gearboxes

 

[louemc]

school me.
i am looking to do a little bit of wood and metal working, in the coming year.
i do not need top of the line stuff but in need of a drill press and maybe a router (have a table saw). i have hand held power tools, but need such that are fixtures? (right word?). as in the drill hole will be exactly same angle/depth as all the others. etc. (one project requires lots of hole. and many pieces of wood. alu?
looking at buying a free standing drill press this way i can bolt my mtr down as needed. the router is only for making a recessed grip surface on the blocks. can use the table saw for this as needed.
also more down the rd is a "toy" hobby milling machine/lathe.
space is a problem at this time. power can be worked out.

so what brands are good and what are junk. would rather drop a bit more for good stuff that will out live my needs then junk that will not hold up to even my uses.
but at this time money is a problem so used tools are to be bought.

.

"little bit of wood & metal working" Has No definition to it.

 

[packnrat]

maybe cause i am trying to be obscure.

really at this time a number of blocks of wood with rows of holes drilled into them, (not through) holds empty cartridges (different sized/spaced holes for different cartridges) for reloading. not all of my reloading is done on a motorized press.
a great way to reload couple hundred rounds in batches of 20-50 to test.

might look into doing a 80% lower or six,
and just varied little projects as they show up.
wood: soft pine up to hard woods.
metal: steel, alu, tin, pot metal.
maybe some nylon, teflon, etc.
as now one project involves new bolsters for some scale train rolling stock, about the size of a 9mm bullet, non conductive mtr required there. need about twenty of them.

so no a $20K machine is way out of the budget. he11 even a $4K machine is over budget.


.

 

[Jackson]

Which one?

I have the old style portable one with a wood brace attached that can be clamped in a vise for "upright stationary use" it works well enough.

thanks to 25% off coupon for mothers day I got the new one yesterday that is compatible with the SWAG offroad stands. I'll probably set one up for cutting steel and the other for wood/aluminum

a floor standing or horizontal just hogs too much floor space

my only gripe is the noise. I doubt there is any grease in the gearboxes

This is the one I was thinking of:

http://www.harborfreight.com/horizontal-vertical-metal-cutting-bandsaw-93762.html

 

[corndog67]

Which one?

I have the old style portable one with a wood brace attached that can be clamped in a vise for "upright stationary use" it works well enough.

thanks to 25% off coupon for mothers day I got the new one yesterday that is compatible with the SWAG offroad stands. I'll probably set one up for cutting steel and the other for wood/aluminum

a floor standing or horizontal just hogs too much floor space

my only gripe is the noise. I doubt there is any grease in the gearboxes

I've got a Milwaukee hand held band saw listed on Craigslist for $190 right now, if you want it, $150.