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I'm sick of paying other people to do my drilling. What's a durable, relatively cheap drill press that can actually drill through a metal enclosure? (I have a crappy one that can barely get through wood). Any help would be appreciated! Thanks.

theshoegazer wrote:I'm sick of paying other people to do my drilling. What's a durable, relatively cheap drill press that can actually drill through a metal enclosure? (I have a crappy one that can barely get through wood). Any help would be appreciated! Thanks.

when it comes to drilling metal, a good sharp drillbit and the right speed makes alot of difference, also cutting fluid can help too

pretty much a spears special 75 dollar drill press should work just fine, keep in mind you will want to go the extra mile for a bit that will last, and is made for cutting metal.
i haven't that much experience with drilling metal, but i know a bit about wood working and tools.

oh man, i want a drill press now too!

Wizard wrote:oh man, i want a drill press now too!

Use mine, Wiz!
It's got vintage mojo.

Ironbird13 wrote:

theshoegazer wrote:I'm sick of paying other people to do my drilling. What's a durable, relatively cheap drill press that can actually drill through a metal enclosure? (I have a crappy one that can barely get through wood). Any help would be appreciated! Thanks.

when it comes to drilling metal, a good sharp drillbit and the right speed makes alot of difference, also cutting fluid can help too

Definitely true. Unfortunately my press has a hilariously flawed design. The entire thing is basically falling apart when i try to drill pretty much anything. So I'm in a market for a new one. Any good/cheap ones you know of?

I did check out the sears site, it seems pretty reasonable.

if you want quality, check out craigslist, they've always got some hunk of steel work horse oldies up for a decent price that i'm sure will last you until you die because there was infact a period of time where america produced quality things!

I saw one at BigLots the other day for like $50-60...however I'm sure it's a total pos. I know that Devi mentioned once that you can get them at Harbor Frieght for around $100. I would trust one of those more than the Big Lots one, though it's still probably not too great...I guess it depends on what ratio of quality vs. cost you're looking for.

Personally, though everyone has told me that you should really use a drill press for pedals, I just use a regular drill. I don't even have a nice drill, it's just a super old black & decker that I found in my grandpa's basement (it doesn't even have reverse!). I just start with a really little bit to drill a pilot hole and step up from there. So far I haven't had any trouble with my bits zzzzzzz-ing all over the place, but I've only drilled a few pedals. I suppose if I was going to start to mass produce pedals, I'd invest in a drill press, but so far, with enough rpm and a small enough bit, I've been able to drill pretty accurate holes, even on a painted enclosure.

If you are going to regularly drill your own enclosures, then having a drill press is crucial. Also get real deal Irwin Unibit step drill bits to use... they make life so much easier than trying to use standard drill bits. The #1 size if perfect for pedal drilling

http://cgi.ebay.com/Irwin-Unibit-10231- ... 518f71ef93

I use a $40 cordless Skil drill and a Unibit. It works fine for me. I have a lot of practice though.