Are you working on a project that requires the use of a drill press? But you are in a dilemma and could not decide as to which one you should invest in?
Drill presses are tools that allow you to bore holes on hard surfaces such as wood or metal. Typically, most people get handheld drills for small project-work that doesn’t require accuracy for the job to be done. However, if you need your work to be perfectly aligned and accurate, and it’s also a rather big project, that’s when a drill press comes into play.
There are two types of drill presses: benchtop and floor-standing. Both the tools are best at making holes but there are differences that need to be considered before purchasing one. We’ll look at the pros and cons of each one to help you make an informed decision.
Benchtop Drill Presses
These are usually for people planning on temporary woodworking or metalworking projects to construct furniture or for hardwood floor installations. Make sure you have a warranty from the seller to cover the cost of repairs after purchase.
It consists of a flexible work table where you can hold the piece of wood in place and start the switch to drill holes according to your measurement. You can use different types of drill bits (cutting tools attached to the drill head) to make holes, larger or smaller in size. The switch has various power levels depending on the drill bits you use, for large holes slower power is required to drill and vice versa.
The advantage of using a benchtop drill press is that it doesn’t require much space as it can be mounted upon a workbench or a table. Besides, it costs half the price of floor-standing drill presses and can also be moved around with a little help.
However, the power compared to a floor-standing drill press is lower which means it may not be able to penetrate the thickest of materials. It consists of a chuck that is attached to a spindle and can be adjusted to fit the size of the material, typically a benchtop drill press can only go up to 4 inches deep. That means if you’re going to work with materials thicker than 4 inches then this is not the drill press for you.
What to look for when buying a benchtop drill press?
If you’re a newbie at using drill presses and have no idea what to consider when purchasing, below are some tips you can look at before making a decision.
- Throat Depth: it is the size of the drill press and is measured by the distance between the drill bit and the stand that supports the motor. Usually, manufacturers double the size, for instance, a 6-inch distance would be a 12-inch drill press.
- Spindle Travel: the spindle is responsible for holding the drill bits or cutting tools in place. Spindle travel determines how much thickness it can cut through, for instance, spindle travel of 2 inches can drill a hole of 2 inches on the material.
- Speed & Power: usually drill presses come with a speed ranging from 200 to 3600 RPM. The harder the material, the lower the speed required to bore the holes. As for horsepower, it usually ranges from ⅓-¾ HP models.
- Laser guide: this is helpful when you need to pinpoint the exact spot you want to drill holes. It’ll guide you to make the perfectly aligned holes that you want.
- Price: these drill presses often range from prices $100 to $1k.
Floor-Standing Drill Presses
These drill presses are more suited for heavy-duty projects and as the name suggests stand on the floor. It has immense speed and power compared to their benchtop counterparts and can drill holes on the thickest of materials.
It usually has a 14×20 work surface that provides you with 90-degree maneuverability and a spindle travel of 6 inches which means you can use heavy materials to drill holes easily. It also comes with a digital RPM reader that makes it easier to adjust the spindle when needed.
The disadvantage involved is the obvious one, its size. It’s a huge machinery that requires a lot of space and is not easily movable. The price is also higher than the benchtop drill presses due to its immense speed and variable power besides its ability to mortise which is lacking in the benchtop drills and needs to be separately bought and attached.
What to look for when buying floor-standing drill presses?
- Size: floor-standing drill presses range from size 18x29x68 inches to 29x41x93 inches. So you need to take measurements and check which size would be a perfect fit for your workshop.
- Swing size: it describes the largest diameter a drill can cut into. Floor-standing drill presses can have up to 33 inches in swing size.
- Spindle speed & Laser guide: Floor-Standing drill presses speed range from 40 to 5000 RPM adjustable according to the material. It also comes with a laser and LED lights to give more accurate cuts and light to work better.
- Horsepower: since it has to deal with larger and thicker materials, it’s HP ranges from 1 to 5
- Voltage: floor drills require a voltage outlet of 480 volts so you may need to install a new outlet to use the machinery.
- Spindle tilt: some projects may require you to cut or drill at an angle. Floor-standing can give you a 90-degree angle cut whereas benchtop drills do not have that capacity.
- Price: a huge decision-maker, the floor drills are quite expensive often amounting more or less to $20k.
The Big Decision
As you can see from the cost to the size of the machinery, it all depends on the type of projects you’ll be working on. If it’s a home decor project, a benchtop drill press can be a good investment to work with. If you are going to work on a daily basis, and you have space and money, floor-standing ones are the way to go. Especially if you have projects that require many mortises to be made, floor-standing ones will save you time.
As long as you don’t require high precision, perfect alignments, large and thick pieces of materials, and all the other features that a professional shop may need, a benchtop drill press is the one for you. On the other hand, if you do run a professional workshop and have a large space available, floor-standing drill presses will be a good investment. All in all, it all depends on the type of project you’ll be working on.