# Harbor Freight 8'' Drill Press



## Nerdz (Feb 2, 2014)

Harbor Freight has their 8'' 5 speed drill press on sale for 64.99. Is it complete crap or "OK once you get it running (like the mini lathes)"?. I dont mind if I have to disassemble it, I just want to know what others think 

I have read that the quills (or the chucks) arent fitted correctly, but according to HF, the taper is B16 

Im just about done moving everything into my new home so Im ready to start rebuilding my work shop. 

Oh, I also have a 1200W Treadmill Motor if it lacks power.


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## BaronJ (Feb 2, 2014)

Nerdz said:


> Harbor Freight has their 8'' 5 speed drill press on sale for 64.99. Is it complete crap or "OK once you get it running (like the mini lathes)"?. I dont mind if I have to disassemble it, I just want to know what others think
> 
> I have read that the quills (or the chucks) arent fitted correctly, but according to HF, the taper is B16
> 
> ...



Hi Nerdz,
B16 is the taper to fit the drill chuck.
You pays your money...


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## Tin Falcon (Feb 2, 2014)

I have a little bit bigger HF Central machinery DP it is decent. 
Small dps tend to lack Z axis room. 
are you planning on putting a vise on it ? usually a good idea. 
so put a 1/2 in drill bit  in the chuck set a vise on the table and how much room do you have left. ??
motor is 300 watts so about the power of the older mini lathes.  
this thing ways 32 lbs and mini lathe about 80 lbs and a mini mill about 120. so light weight. 

You probably will want to bolt it to the bench 22" high and 7" at the base sounds top heavy. 
Download the manual look it over. 

if you can go to the store and look before you buy. 
The price difference between the 8" and ten inch is double but IMHO twice the machine so your dime your choice. 
tin


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## TNvolute (Feb 2, 2014)

Being mindful that many on this board are working with very limited space, I would suggest getting a floor model if possible.  The bench models by their nature inundate the bench, any drawers  and everything on it with chips posing a high ouch factor.  The other bonus besides a lot of Z and the ability to somewhat isolate the DP is that they usually have a 2MT taper.  This allows fitting larger drills along with things like tapping attachments or mortising attachments because of the additional headroom.  Considerably more beefy construction and a wider range of speeds also are a consideration. FWIW


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## Philjoe5 (Feb 2, 2014)

I bought a Grizzly bench top drill press 6 years ago and have had a few problems with it.  A failed on/off switch, very cheesy gear rack vertical adjustment, a chuck taper that will not hold, a quill stop that doesn't work properly and I paid $250 for it.

Happily I do most drilling on my mill/drill and use the drill press only when I need the extra "z" axis, which is about 1 -2 x a year.  

If you're planning to use a drill press a lot I would take a very close look at the product you're buying.  A well made tool will reward you every time you use it while a poorly made one will be a constant source of frustration.

I've stopped buying tools that are "on sale".  You often get exactly what you paid for them.

Cheers,
Phil


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## rodw (Feb 3, 2014)

In my limited experience with this stuff, don't buy the base model, buy the next one up! I bought a bigger drill press with a MT2 taper but with hindsight, I would have been better off spending a bit more and going upto a model with bigger belts and a bit more power. I sold it when I bought a mill and had no room. Don't miss it at all!


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## ShopShoe (Feb 3, 2014)

Nerdz,

I bought a cheap benchtop HF drill press a few years ago to set up a temporary shop for a work project. I was not worried about precision, but I was worried about damaging the plastic and aluminum pieces I was drilling. I sanded the adjustable-height table with W/D paper (wet) to take out the roughness of the milling marks and improve flatness. Without doing that, all parts placed on or clamped to the table were scratched.

Short answer is that yes, most HF products need work done to improve them.

--ShopShoe


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## Wizard69 (Feb 3, 2014)

Nerdz said:


> Harbor Freight has their 8'' 5 speed drill press on sale for 64.99. Is it complete crap or "OK once you get it running (like the mini lathes)"?. I dont mind if I have to disassemble it, I just want to know what others think


The first thin I thought was that the drill press is small.  The second thing I thought about was a project I saw someplace (maybe one of the forums) where such a drill press was used as the frame for a die filer.  The third thing I thought was that these can be had dirt cheap used if you look around.  


> I have read that the quills (or the chucks) arent fitted correctly, but according to HF, the taper is B16


Not very helpful is that.   You might want to check for international standards for that taper, I've not heard of ?16 before.  It could also be a threaded arbor.  Basically I don't know.  


> Im just about done moving everything into my new home so Im ready to start rebuilding my work shop.
> 
> Oh, I also have a 1200W Treadmill Motor if it lacks power.




It will lack power.   On the other hand you can't expect much at all out of such a frame.   1/3 HP (real HP, not Chinese stall torque) is probably the frames limit.   If you need power or think you need power this is the wrong machine for you.   In any event some comments about drill presses below:

I purchased a HF quasi benchtop drill press years ago.  It isn't t a bad design but the spindle run out is terrible.   I've actually have considered making a new spindle for it it is so bad.  Years is probably close to 40 years ago and frankly it is a better machine than they are selling now.   

A couple of years ago I went down to Muncy to purchase a drill press from Grizzly.   I had the intention of buying a low end floor standing model but that idea was trashed when looking at the units they had on display in the showroom.    Everyone of those lower end benchtop and free standing machines had terrible wobble in the quill assembly and general looseness to the assembly work.  Considering that I wanted a machine that could drill with precision especially in the smaller diameters most of those low end machines where basically useless.  If the quill wobbles all over the place it really doesn't matter if the spindle runs true.    Mind you I checking this by grabbing the chuck and was not delighted at all with what I felt.   In general I have high expectations for machinery but often a deflated wallet, so I try to choose wisely.  

So I compromised by buying a larger machine, a floor standing model.    It is a passable machine with plenty of power.   I don't have the model number handy but it has speed ranges that can cover much of what I do.   In my case this is my second drill press.    I don't really think having two is excessive as I use them a lot for both metal and wood working.  Even though I went with a slightly larger drill press, in the hopes of getting better quality, it is still a "cheap" drill press in my mind.  Big is useful though as I can drill holes, drum sand and do a host of other activities on the machine.   

In any event my opinion is that none of these machines is ideal for modeling or small precision work.   So if you are expecting to chuck a #40 drill or something similarly small in the chuck and get good results you should put that idea out of your mind.  Maybe you will get lucky and walk out of the store with a unicorn.  That is a mythical HF machine that produces results beyond anybodies expectation.   

As such I'm going to suggest, as many other have already, to get a floor standing drill press and to look for the better quality machines.    You want enough Horse Power to handle a variety of jobs on a machine strong enough to handle that HP.   What that means to you specifically I don't know.  However I'm going to suggest a machine with at least 1/2 HP and a wide range of spindle speeds.    

If you find yourself doing a lot of work with wire gage drills and similar precision work consider a drill press meant for such work.  That can be a DIY machine like offered up for a pillar tool, a used industrial machine or something like a Servo drill press.    Yes that means two machines.    Let's face it a floor standing drill press leaves a lot to be desired, feel wise, when it comes to small drills.  

Someplace in the middle is the various mill/drill machines.   Generally there. Is considerably more precision in the build of these machines so that is a big plus right there.  For many they are a far better benchtop drill press than can be had these days at a reasonable price.    I haven't gone this route simply because I'm still building up the metal working portion of the shop.    However you can still run into the same sorts of issues you run into with 3in1 machines and multipurpose tools.  


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## AZDesertrat (Feb 4, 2014)

Hi Nerdz, as you can tell from my posts I am very new here. I have the next larger size drill press and found it to be of the typical import quality. Be aware that the base and table are not cast and milled but stamped from heavy metal. The joint where the table meets the column is cast of poor quality metal and introduces a lot of flex in the table itself. I also found it to be very under powered. Fortunately I had a larger motor collecting dust under my workbench that was a perfect fit. For punching holes without the need for high precision, these drill presses work ok.


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## TNvolute (Feb 4, 2014)

It can pay to watch craigslist and other local sources for used older American iron.  Prices will vary wildly as most sellers pull a number out of a hat.  If you can be patient, a deal on a nice older Rockwell/Delta, Walker-Turner, Sears, etc can be had.  Most that were sold for home shops and even smaller commercial/industrial models will have solid quills with no MT socket.  If you can live with that, they are orders of magnitude better than ANY of the current imports.  Also I tend to watch for items on eBay using the "distance - nearest first" filter.  Local pickup prices on items that are impractical to ship can be very low but again, patience is required.  $.02 worth


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## Nerdz (Feb 4, 2014)

All good stuff to know. Im basically trying to get by while Im saving up for a mill. Dont get me wrong, I have the money for a mill, but whenever I buy something expensive, something breaks. So Im just waiting for that something to break. Often times I dont know what will break. I suspect the water heater may be on its way out, since there is a small amount of "moisture" on the bottom. 

Wizard 69 Brings up some good points, as does Tin. In my search of buying a drill press, Ive been brought back to David Gingery's Books. The only one I dont have is, you guessed it, the drill press one. Ive worked out most of the details except how to get the spindle to go up and down. You would need some kind of rack and pinion gear Im guessing. But We come into our mortal enemy in this approach: Time. 

The other thing that I have found out that for as much as a drill press could cost, I could put that towards a mill. I could get by with a hand drill for now. Often times through crooked with a hand drill though.


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## barnesrickw (Feb 5, 2014)

Nerdz said:


> All good stuff to know. Im basically trying to get by while Im saving up for a mill. Dont get me wrong, I have the money for a mill, but whenever I buy something expensive, something breaks. So Im just waiting for that something to break.




That is so funny you say that.  I say the same thing all the time.  I think it's punishment for spending money on things I enjoy. I'm trying to save up for a mill too, but my cars and house are old. 


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## mygrizzly1022 (Feb 5, 2014)

Hi

Have a look at your local pawn shops. Those cheap drill presses  often show up there, along with a lot of other crappy tools.
 I bought one years ago, not a HF one but they are all similar and it was so, so at best, lots of run out. I personally don&#8217;t think they are much of an improvement over the rig that coverts a hand drill into a drill press, especially if you have a quality hand drill.

If plumb hole is what you are after her is a cheap way to achieve that result.

 [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMfZvxTvHGM"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMfZvxTvHGM[/ame]

*Bert*


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## OrangeAlpine (Feb 5, 2014)

Consider forgetting about a drill press at this time and go for the mill.  I'm guessing you will get a vertical mill and they are a terrific drill press.  After using the mill for a while you will have a better idea of what kind of drill press you need to compliment the mill's capability.

Bill


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## BaronJ (Feb 5, 2014)

mygrizzly1022 said:


> If plumb hole is what you are after her is a cheap way to achieve that result.
> 
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMfZvxTvHGM




The thing that is missing in that video is that there ought to be a marker line down the middle of each mirror.


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## Wizard69 (Feb 7, 2014)

Nerdz said:


> All good stuff to know. Im basically trying to get by while Im saving up for a mill. Dont get me wrong, I have the money for a mill, but whenever I buy something expensive, something breaks. So Im just waiting for that something to break. Often times I dont know what will break. I suspect the water heater may be on its way out, since there is a small amount of "moisture" on the bottom.


My water heater lasted for months, maybe even a year while I was in denial!&#128549;&#128549;&#128549;&#128549;

Given that if your interest is machining metal I'd recommend going the mill route.   You will be far better off if your shop is extremely limited right now.   I have the drill presses due to a mixture of interested including wood working and electronics.  That being said I have to agree with a common feeling here, old American hardware, even used industrial stuff is far better than the low cost imported gear.   ---- When you can find that hardware  ----


> Wizard 69 Brings up some good points, as does Tin. In my search of buying a drill press, Ive been brought back to David Gingery's Books. The only one I dont have is, you guessed it, the drill press one. Ive worked out most of the details except how to get the spindle to go up and down. You would need some kind of rack and pinion gear Im guessing. But We come into our mortal enemy in this approach: Time.


You could do a leadscrew feed.  However I'm not all that convinced that the Gingery drill press is that robust.   I will reserve comment until I see one in the flesh.  In the end doing a full sized drill press DIY is difficult to justify with the price of imports.   You would be better off reworking an import into a more usable machine.  

DIY drill presses are far easier to justify making in the smaller sizes suited for model engineering when number series drills are about as large as you will get.  In that regards there are a number of examples of such machines out there.  In fact Model Engineers Workshop is running a series on yet another approach to a miniature drill press.  It is an interesting machine and highlights the almost infinite number of ways to do such a drill press.  


> The other thing that I have found out that for as much as a drill press could cost, I could put that towards a mill. I could get by with a hand drill for now. Often times through crooked with a hand drill though.




Hand drills can be precision tools.  It is just a matter of developing the techniques and aids to leverage the tool.   For example a couple of small square blocks, even 123 blocks can be a big help in keeping the bit straight.  Precision starts with the layout so don't dismiss the importance of that step.  Finally make a point to start with a drill bit that allows you to achieve a proper feed rate and work up from there.  

In any event realize this advice is worth what it costs.   Only you know where you are going with your shop.  


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## Shawn (Feb 7, 2014)

I would agree with looking for a second hand drill press. Much easier than finding a 2nd hand lathe or mill and you can get a great deal. I bought a floor model Delta 220 a few years ago for $40.00, cleaned it up in a weekend and have loved using it ever since. My cheap DP is going to my brother to make room in the shop. 

Shawn


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## Fourtrax (Feb 10, 2014)

HF had a super coupon last week for the 8" for $50. I picked one up since it was so cheap. Lots of play in the spindle, at least 70 thou or more. Chuck runout was at least 15 thou or so. Don't know if that is the Chuck or spindle as I only checked it after I mounted the Chuck. Worked fine for a #43 bit but I did use a center drill as a pilot since the #43 wanted to walk around a bit without it. I am guessing much smaller bits might be an issue but not sure. 


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