Cordless Drills > Drill Press Information > Tips For Buying a Drill Press

Tips For Buying a Drill Press

Bench Top Drill Presses

Bench top Drill Pressesare ideal for small, light projects.

Features To Look For:

  • Controls up front (for easy access)
  • Chuck capacity
  • Depth Stop ease of use
  • Smooth quill movement
  • Number of speeds (lower speeds are usually used more frequently)
  • Table size and design

Floor Drill Presses

Floor Drill Presses function in between the bench top and the radial.

Features to look for:

  • stable design
  • open construction (for cleaning purposes)
  • size and sturdiness of table
  • horsepower (based on need)
  • table swing, tilt
  • chuck size
  • height

Radial Drill Presses

Radial Drill Presses are ideal for large surfaces.

Features to look for:

  • Up front controls
  • Ease of quill travel
  • Easy to use depth stop
  • Number of Speeds
  • Head tilt (allows for multiple drilling angles)
  • Horsepower

Portable Drill Presses

Radial Drill Presses are for the user who needs mobility.

Features to look for:

  • comparable power
  • external cooling system
  • magnetic base
  • weight (some portables are very heavy)
  • reputable manufacturer

General Considerations:

  • For metalworking, a drill press with oil grooves is the best solution
  • For woodworking, select a woodworking table with through slots so items can be easily clamped to the table
  • If you will use your drill on a variety of material, it is best to select a drill with a variety of speeds.
  • If you plan on drilling holes deeper than 3 or 4 inches, power should be a consideration.
  • The chuck size of a drill bit is given as the range of sizes of drill shanks that will fit. For example a range of 1/16 to ½ indicates that the drill presses maximum capacity is 1/2inch and that shanks smaller than 1/16 are to small. In general there is no need to acquire a drill press with a maximum capacity over ½ inch as bits larger than this are rarely encountered. High quality presses often have a minimum chuck rating of zero. Very small sizes may be useful when working in miniature.