Pianotech

  • 1.  Drill press info

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 12-20-2015 09:50

    Greetings to all of my colleagues,

    I am considering the purchase (finally- about dang time) of a drill press.  For various tasks, as well as the occaisional pinblock.

    in your learned opinions what is good, what should one stay away from.  Thanks in advance for all advice.

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    Thane Yennie
    Green River WY
    307-871-8718
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  • 2.  RE: Drill press info

    Posted 12-20-2015 12:18
    I like, own, and use a Rockwell bench top radial which I bought back in
    the early 1970s. These are no longer available, but Rikon, Shop Fox, and
    Grizzly make similar tools. Very shortly, we'll read from someone how
    you need an absolutely rigid floor mounted tool that costs $6500 and
    weighs as much as your shop, but I'm doing woodwork mostly, with
    occasional metal work, and find that the versatility of the radial is
    far more useful to me than absolute rigidity, and it still provides
    adequate precision for what we do. As a bonus, you can build a small
    hovercraft sled and use the same drill press to drill pin blocks in the
    piano. For me, this alone is worth the price. If you must have absolute
    precision and rigidity, buy a Bridgeport mill as a second drill press,
    but the little bench top radial is really all you need, as you'll find
    when you rarely use the mill.
    Ron N


    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Drill press info

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 12-20-2015 13:11
    Thane,
    Generally, what you pay is what you get. In most cases, shop equipment available at your local hardware store is substandard. There are drill presses (table top) available for $300 or $400, although I would encourage you to purchase a floor model. The floor models range from $500 to $5,000, or more. Unless you live near a big city where you have dedicated power tool retailers, it will be somewhat of a crap shoot to choose a top quality drill press on line. As mentioned, the local hardware stores will not have high quality equipment on display. When I bought my final drill press,(my first two went in the trash) I asked myself, how dedicated am I to the business, such as, will I be performing rebuilding services such as pinblock drilling? Your age can play a factor with choice, are you a young upstart technician who will likely use this machine for decades? If so, a higher quality machine could weigh heavily with your choice. Why? A cheap drill press will quickly wear the spindle bushings, especially if you make a mistake and subject the bushings to a harsh impact, such as a large drill bit getting out of control – these do occur sometime. Hence, a larger diameter spindle will weather these incidents better. The quality of the chuck is important. Most high quality drill presses are sold without a chuck, giving the buyer the opportunity to install their own quality chuck, or avail you the ability to add different features to the drill press. Jacobs chucks are considered one of the best in the industry. If you have the opportunity, take a voicing needle with you when you try out the drill press. A good chuck will hold a small needle. Turn on the machine a see if you can see any wobble in the needle. A good machine and chuck will make it appear as if it is not turning – absolutely steady. This can be very important when drilling pin blocks for consistent torque.
    Unfortunately, I believe there are more low quality machines on the market than high quality. I spent a ton of money on a Clausing drill press 30 years ago. I has maintained a tight rotating spindle (even after damaging a chuck), as if it were new.
    Roger


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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Drill press info

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 12-21-2015 09:48

    Hi Thane

    Congrats on surviving the life in Green River.  That's indeed a feather in your cap.  Didn't you used to live in Opal?  If so, you've really moved up a notch into the big bustling city.  Communities like Marbleton, Lyman, Farson, and Afton await your talents.

    I bought a floor mounted drill press and have been happy with it.  It wasn't expensive 20 years ago or better and I've never been unhappy with it.  There's a pulley in the top of it that has to be tightened on the shaft from time to time but that's the only service I've had to do on it.  Just the other day I was happy I bought the floor mounted type because I had to drill out a 1 inch dowel that Steinway used to mount a leg on a keybed.  The length or distance from the table to the bit was exactly wide enough to get the job done.  A bench mounted type would never have worked or at best would have required more of my time to set up.  I've transported this in my piano moving trailer to install PianoDisc upgrades by walking it into the trailer and strapping it to the walls inside the trailer.

    The chuck indeed came separate.  It won't hold a really tiny bit but if I really need to, after 20 some odd years, I can go buy a better chuck.

    The brand name is "Foremost".  With it's 16 speeds and 5/8 inch capabilities, it's worked "FOR MOST" of what I bought it for.

    Lar

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    Larry Fisher
    Owner, Chief Grunt, Head Hosehead
    Vancouver WA
    360-256-2999

    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Drill press info

    Posted 12-21-2015 13:55
    I can drill into the end of something almost 5' long with my bench mount
    radial by extending it out over the edge of the bench. That's one of the
    reasons I wanted a radial. Chucks with 1/2" capacity don't go down to
    below about 3/32". A 0-1/4" chuck on a short spindle is used for very
    small bits. It's a pretty standard thing.

    As to precision, I'll put my pinblock drilling uniformity up against
    anyone, whatever tool they use. That's what double drilling is for. The
    head tilts, and I can drill 16" out from the post if I need to. And if
    you want to drill pinblocks in the piano, the radial is an excellent
    tool for that.

    I grew up with my dad's floor standing drill press, an old heavy and
    tight Craftsman, from waaaaayyyy back when they sold decent tools. I've
    used both it and my radial extensively. Dad's drill press is in the
    garage next door, while the radial is in my shop for daily use.

    It's a shame we can't all try out the alternatives for a couple of years
    each for ourselves before we commit to buying one. Lacking that, we're
    forced to decide on our own often vague criteria and more often
    inaccurate advice.

    I love using a heavy and accurate machine, but with a drill press, I
    have better survival potential and capabilities with a lighter and more
    versatile one. Buy what you think will work for you. Only you can decide
    what that is. If you guess wrong, you can always buy another one later.
    We've all done that with various tools.
    Ron N


    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Drill press info

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 12-21-2015 16:50

    Powermatic makes a good floor model that will run you around $1400. You'll need to decide if you'd rather drill your pinblock inside or outside of the piano before you make your purchase. Good luck!

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    Elizabeth Pearson, RPT
    Gaithersburg MD
    240-751-5900

    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Drill press info

    Posted 12-21-2015 18:35

    Another alternative:

    Buy a good quality floor standing drill press for general use.

    Buy a small, cheap table top press and modify it for use as a designated pinblock drilling press, turning the head 180 degrees and making a base which can be tilted a few degrees. Use it floating on a table that you rest on the piano, double-drilling the pinblock in place.

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    Ed Sutton
    ed440@me.com
    704-536-7926

    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Drill press info

    Posted 12-21-2015 19:07

    I don't have a full photo of the small drill press, but this detail shows how I converted it into a small radial drill press. I cut a hole in the top of the head case, which made it possible to slide the head down to the bottom of the support post and rotate it back 180 degrees, from which position it could drill pinblocks in the piano.

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    Ed Sutton
    ed440@me.com
    704-536-7926

    Original Message