Drill Press. help me choose

[Alxsmt]

anyways I just bought a craftsman 10" drill press with a 2/3hp 6.0 Amp, 120 Volts, 60 Hz motor. I can stop it with my hand and it wont drill what I bought it for.. basically just want to bore out the center of some DOM tube (no I dont need to start with a smaller drill bit). This is what I have http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...00000P?prdNo=1


Im trying to decide on:
15" porter-cable with 8amps 1hp

http://www.lowes.com/pd_78742-46069-PCB660DP_0__?productId=3162489&Ntt=drill+press&pl=1&currentURL=%2Fpl__0__s%3FNtt%3Ddrill%2Bpress

or

craftsman 15" with 1/2hp continuous duty motor, I believe its 8amps but It doesnt say on there site.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00922900000P?prdNo=8

how does amps affect power? porter-cable seems like a better deal to me.. but how does my 6amp drill press make more power than the 8amp craftsman? I was hoping someone could explain that to me

does anyone recomend anything else?

thanks,
Alex

[ForcedFirebird]

You have a Craftsman, it's not an industrial tool. I have an old Ohio Forge 5 speed from 1987, 1/3hp 6.5 amps, 1/2" chuck and I have drilled through 3/8's steel with a hole saw, but can't stop the motor without forcing it too fast in steel - then the belt just slips anyways.

How big are these holes?

I have some porter-cable tools and haven't been real keen on them for metal working, and the cordless stuf is junk, but they make awesome woodworking tools.

See if you can find a 3/4" used drill press from a machine shop etc. Might have to use 220v, but sounds like you want something indestructible.

[WrathOfSocrus]

The links aren't working. The HP rating is honestly a bunch of bull crap. If u go by 746 watts = 1 HP then the claims of 3+ HP on a 15 amp 120 volt circuit: 15 * 120 = 1800 then divide by 746 = ~2.41. And that assumes you live in a world where there is no such thing as electrical resistance. I think part of it comes down to the gearing. Like a 6amp drill press would have a higher 'HP' rating than a 6 amp single speed hand drill. Since you are likely to use a single input voltage of 120V or 240V in a typical home, then you want to check the label on the motor and go for the most amps.

Now that being said you may want to check out the floor models and see the build quality of the tool as well as how many speeds it has and what RPMs it can run. Particularly the lowest RPM (better gearing) out of the highest amp drawing motors. Also, generally the motors claiming to have the highest HP will usually have a physically bigger motor. I would check out several in the same amp and 'HP' range and most will likely have roughly the same size motor.

Lastly, with electrical resistance being the only thing to significantly change the input voltage, you want to be as close to the panel as possible and have an oversized conductor if possible. When houses are built they are allowed up to 5% voltage drop and with long wire runs the voltage will be right at that limit. If you have to use an extension cord, I personally make my own because most of the pre-made over sized cords are terribly over priced. You can get 3 conductor (2 plus ground) J or SJ cord at the hardware store and it is the same type found on most power tools. Go for 10 gauge on a 15 or 20 amp circuit and make it no longer than needed. While 10 gauge is overkill it has much lower resistance than the bare minimum.

[Alxsmt]

im trying to bore out the tube to 19/32nd from maybe 9/16. about an inch long. I can get it drilled out after who knows how long, then weld on it and run to bit back through to clearance it from warping and its like it was never drilled to start with, takes about half an hour of the bit stoping, getting it unstuck and repeating. stops almost instently.. an industrial drill press is a little out of my budget but I would love to have one

wrath - Thanks! that makes a little more sense now

[ForcedFirebird]

http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/tls/2314173982.html

[road warrior]

Have you checked out harbor freight tools? They have some nice drill presses that might work for you. Check them out at www.harborfreight.com

[geoffinbc]

Trying to drill only 1/32 of an inch is your problem. Any drill bit will catch. Try and find a boring bar to do the work.

[Alxsmt]

Im not a huge fan of harbor freight, they do have a few decent tools tho.

I didnt know drilling a small amount could cause issues. Ill have to rember that. I went out and got the porter cable, it did the job for me. It cought a few different times but not bad at all.

thanks guys

[geoffinbc]

Did you chip the corners of your bit?

[Alxsmt]

not yet lol