Drill Press

I need a new drill press and was looking at getting a Wilton bench top from MSC.
1. What brand of keyless drill chuck? Jacobs or Albrecht.
2. What size drill chuck? I thinking 1/4 or 3/8's.
3. What chuck mount taper J0 or J1?
4. I was thinking of getting a tapping head. How much troulbe is it to be changing heads and chucks on these types of machines?


Ray

Ray,
I can't give you much help on the tapping options but I do know that you should be sure to get a chuck that can take the largest drill bit you own and then some. I'm constantly trying to fit huge drill bits into my benchtop Sears and it's very annoying. Personally I like having a key chuck on my drill preses but that's just taste. If you call MSC and talk to them they can probably help you answer a lot of your questions. They usually have very good technical help. Also keep in mind the cost of shipping a drill press. It will probably weigh 100 lbs or more and the shipping can become very expensive. You might consider looking for someone local and especially for a used drill press locally. As long as it comes from a nice shop that knew the limitations of the machine and didn't abuse it it will work fine.


Reuben

just for an added thought , choose your drillpress carefully
give proper consideration to the lowest and highest speeds
that you will need . I have a wilton floor model varible speed and have often wished it would go slower. other less
costly models might have served me better. tapping heads and drill chucks are easily interchanged , some tapping heads even chuck up in the drill chuck depending on which
shank is used.

I don't suggest a keyless chuck for a drill press. They don't get tight enough. I get the biggest chuck I can. Small drills are held in reducer chucks.
I haven't used a tap head on my press so I don't know about that. Would they require a reversible machine? What are your RPM requirements?

Thank you all for your comments about drill presses. I will skip on the keyless chuck. It did not accure to me to use a drill reducer for the smaller drills. I hate to say it but I have not paid that much attention to the drill speed. The smallest drill I use is a # 53 for the ball detent and the largest is 3/16's for the piviot pin.

Ray

Most of the tapping heads for use on drill presses are self reversing. When you apply down pressure they turn clockwise and when you release the down pressure they reverse and turn counterclockwise. They also have built in gear reduction so as not to turn too fast and gald the tap or part you are tapping thus snapping the tap. Use lots of lubricant.
Mike