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Author: Subject: Pillar Drill - Recommendation
m8kwr

posted on 11/12/10 at 10:13 AM Reply With Quote
Pillar Drill - Recommendation

I have about £150ish to buy a pillar drill.

I am only coming up with Sealey ones, GDM120B, GDM92B. And obviously cheaper ones, that are only 5 speed.

It is going to be used for a car build. and other projects that I have in mind, so I was thinking a good speed range might be important.

Has anyone got one of the sealeys above, and could give me a rating etc, or advise me what to stay clear of.

I could go up to about 180 tops, and I know I prefer to buy tools with all the money I have available to save buying twice...

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Strontium Dog

posted on 11/12/10 at 10:32 AM Reply With Quote
Sealy equipment is generaly pretty good for the money. For home or light industrial use it will be well up to the job. I would hunt around for a second hand pillar drill though as they go very cheap ands as long as the quill is not loose or damaged ther's not much to go wrong to be honest. Make sure the bed has not been drilled to death as well.

One thing to think about is a decent vice. You will need to get a decent machine vice, the stronger the better and it needs to have the facility to be bolted firmly to the drills bed. You need to allow some of your budget for this.

If you bought something like the ones below, you would easily afford a decent vice as well. Make sure thew vice has dovetail slides and is not abused!

Sealey GDM 50A Pillar Bench Drill 5 Speed on eBay (end time 11-Dec-10 17:20:30 GMT)

Meddings Pillar Drill on eBay (end time 12-Dec-10 16:32:52 GMT)



[Edited on 11/12/10 by Strontium Dog]

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flibble

posted on 11/12/10 at 10:46 AM Reply With Quote
I could well be wrong but all the hobby type pillar drills I've owned have the speed adjusted by swaping the drive belt between different sized pulleys, which being a pain, means all mine have ended up being set to the slowest setting and left there for their lifespan so I wouldn't worry too much about speed settings
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posted on 11/12/10 at 10:49 AM Reply With Quote
thats what i've done as well.
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Tatey

posted on 11/12/10 at 11:16 AM Reply With Quote
I bought a Sip F16-16 pillar drill from ebay for the grand sum of £35, the only thing it was missing was a chuck which i bought for £25 from RDG tools. The guy i bought it from said it also had a bent spindle which meant that it didnt have full travel, as you couldnt get it to the full up position, you could get to about 1" if the top. But it turned out that the spindle nut was too tight which meant that the spindle couldnt fully retract.

So I managed to get a 0.75 hp worth £250 for £35 + a new chuck. Which is a bargain if you ask me. I couldnt live without the drill now.

And i also just have it set to the lowest speed possible as its a pain to change the belts around and then set the tension properly.

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Strontium Dog

posted on 11/12/10 at 11:25 AM Reply With Quote
Slow speeds are OK for large holes but when drilling with small bits then you really need to use as fast a speed as possible. The bit "stiffens" when run fast and will drill much more acurately and you will suffer less breakages too!

Personally I'd rather spend a couple of mins changing the belt rather than trying to remove a broken bit from a piece of alloy that you've just spent the last two hours working on!

Leaving the tools to do this on or by the drill helps so they are to hand as you need them.

[Edited on 11/12/10 by Strontium Dog]

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Confused but excited.

posted on 11/12/10 at 11:38 AM Reply With Quote
For value for money, go for a good s/hand one.
I got a cracking bit of kit off the bay. Big heavy bench drill, 5/8th chuck, more sppeds than you can shake a stick at, 6 months old £85. Sorted.
You should be able to get a real bargain at this time of year.





Tell them about the bent treacle edges!

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Myke 2463

posted on 11/12/10 at 11:44 AM Reply With Quote
Pillar drill

This is what i have, Sealey Part Number : GDM92B 12 speed 16mm chuck. best drill i have ever had for money £159.95 delivered. 5 speed are not slow enough and small motors for big hole saws and drills. http://toolstoday.co.uk





Be Lucky Mike.

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ChrisW

posted on 11/12/10 at 01:21 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Strontium Dog
Slow speeds are OK for large holes but when drilling with small bits then you really need to use as fast a speed as possible. The bit "stiffens" when run fast and will drill much more acurately and you will suffer less breakages too!



At the risk of hijacking the thread.... I've always believe the opposite to be true. ie go as slow as you have patience for. I was taught that going too fast gets the drill too hot which blunts it really quick.

Chris

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ashg

posted on 11/12/10 at 01:42 PM Reply With Quote
only ever used mine on the slow setting if you put it up too high on metal all you do is overheat the drill bits and blunt them. cutting fluid helps but its easier just to go slow.





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Paul_C

posted on 11/12/10 at 02:21 PM Reply With Quote
Leaving some of the hobby type Bench Pillar Drills on the slowest speed is reasonable for typical car build size drills, I guess 3 mm and upwards, because that can still be many hundreds of rpm.

I think that the Sealey GDM120B and GDM92B are OK with a minimum speed of 210 rpm are OK though for larger hole saws about half would be nice.

In my limited experience it's worth checking for any sideways play of the chuck when fully down. I guess that just perceptible is OK. Any chatter at the drill bit causes the hole being cut to end up oversize and rough. I have used some Pillar Drills where the play has been a problem. The Sealey units are heavy so are probably good and rigid.
The Spindle centre to column distance on the GDM92B of 127 mm could be a bit limiting.

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trextr7monkey

posted on 11/12/10 at 02:33 PM Reply With Quote
We have about 7 drills at work drawing from Draper, Machine mart, Sealey and Sip, haven't got model numbers here, the bigger machines are used for metal work and there's several table top size which get most use also some titchy things used for circuit boards bits of plastic and by the timid.

Basicallyany recent Draper stuff is fairly crap - be prepared to wait for bits and pieces to replace those that drop off, [spares from a place called Simbles who are prettty efficient,] we have one machine - Sip I think which has a digital speed read out and is speed adjusted by a huge knob which basically moves belt up and down on some conical pulleys so no faffing about, it can be a bit gutless however if drilling heavy stuff but good for kids to see something a bit different.

As said above best value for money is an older industrial sort of machine
atb
Mike





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MikeCapon

posted on 11/12/10 at 03:13 PM Reply With Quote
Speed v Diameter

Running a drill on the same speed for all sizes is a great way to break or wear out drill bits and do poor work.

Have a look here for a table showing speeds for different diameters.

Cheers,

Mike

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David Jenkins

posted on 11/12/10 at 04:09 PM Reply With Quote
Don't underestimate the need for slow speed - 100 - 200rpm is very useful for the bigger metalworking drill bits, but you will need to clamp the work firmly to prevent the work taking off!

It's also worth getting a machine with a MT2 spindle - this means that you can use big drill bits without the chuck. You can also easily fit different size chucks - it's better to fit a small chuck if you're using very small bits (I borrow the ones from my lathe when required).

I have one of these. It has some features I don't like (e.g. a rubbish chuck guard) but on the whole it's a worthy machine.






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Confused but excited.

posted on 11/12/10 at 04:12 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by ChrisW
quote:
Originally posted by Strontium Dog
Slow speeds are OK for large holes but when drilling with small bits then you really need to use as fast a speed as possible. The bit "stiffens" when run fast and will drill much more acurately and you will suffer less breakages too!



At the risk of hijacking the thread.... I've always believe the opposite to be true. ie go as slow as you have patience for. I was taught that going too fast gets the drill too hot which blunts it really quick.

Chris


There is an ideal cutting speed for every material. So the smaller the drill, the faster it needs to turn to achieve the ideal cutting speed.
If it gets too hot, it's because you are not using enough coolant.





Tell them about the bent treacle edges!

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Strontium Dog

posted on 11/12/10 at 05:36 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by ChrisW
quote:
Originally posted by Strontium Dog
Slow speeds are OK for large holes but when drilling with small bits then you really need to use as fast a speed as possible. The bit "stiffens" when run fast and will drill much more acurately and you will suffer less breakages too!



At the risk of hijacking the thread.... I've always believe the opposite to be true. ie go as slow as you have patience for. I was taught that going too fast gets the drill too hot which blunts it really quick.

Chris


I perhaps should have said "at as the top end of the rated cutting speed". Obviously if you run any cutter too fast it will burn! Rate of feed is also important. The reason for running fairly fast is to stiffen the bit. Good engineering practise! It is more important when using a milling cutter but still holds true for a drill bit!

Watch this for instance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=px9aFIabB6c


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Strontium Dog

posted on 11/12/10 at 05:49 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by MikeCapon
Running a drill on the same speed for all sizes is a great way to break or wear out drill bits and do poor work.

Have a look here for a table showing speeds for different diameters.

Cheers,

Mike


Thanks for posting that chart Mike, I should have looked one up I guess although I have one laminated in the workshop for quick referance! Everyone else except Mr. Confused, please note that the smaller the drill, the faster it needs to turn! Within reason!

[Edited on 11/12/10 by Strontium Dog]

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m8kwr

posted on 11/12/10 at 06:40 PM Reply With Quote
many thanks for all the post, i might keep on eye on ebay for a bargain then.. and get a better clamp, as i forgot about that bit i would need
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mark chandler

posted on 11/12/10 at 07:17 PM Reply With Quote
I would look on Ebay for an old commercial drill, three phase is fine as you just use a capacitor to make to make up the phase, If you are worried about doing this yourself then take off the motor and pay someone, will cost ~£20.

It will lose some power but for hobby work be more than powerful enough, most importantly it will drill straight holes!

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907

posted on 12/12/10 at 08:16 AM Reply With Quote
I have one of those small 1/2" bench drills. Mine's made for Draper and was on special offer
at £39.99. It stalls easily with drills over 10mm and is left on its slowest speed of 500rpm.
I've had it for years and has payed for itself many times over.

I also have a Sealey (GDM180B) 16 speed MT3 so will take a 25mm drill. (Yeah right)
Its downside is that it's twin belt with an idle pulley between the drill shaft and the motor.
The belts slip if you ask too much of it, although it did once tap four holes M20 in 25mm steel plate.

I use it mostly with an MT2 trepanning tool in it for cutting 2" holes in stainless sheet. It copes with that OK.
The slowest speed of 140 is also used with cobalt hole saws.

Note I always seem to quote a drills slowest speed. I find that drill speed charts always seem a tad optimistic.



When money allows I would like to get a second hand 3 phase MT3 drill and put a single phase motor on it
and also fit a reversing switch. (not Locost)

A Fobco for instance is a ten speed, with 5 speeds on the primary pulley and a hi/low gearbox. Gears don't slip.
I could off set this by selling the Sealey. A Sealey drill must be worth 50 quid on ebay.


Cheers,
Paul G

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MikeRJ

posted on 12/12/10 at 10:54 AM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by 907
A Fobco for instance is a ten speed, with 5 speeds on the primary pulley and a hi/low gearbox. Gears don't slip.
I could off set this by selling the Sealey. A Sealey drill must be worth 50 quid on ebay.



Surely having a drive mechanism that could slip if overloaded is a good idea on a pillar drill?

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907

posted on 12/12/10 at 02:18 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by MikeRJ
quote:
Originally posted by 907
A Fobco for instance is a ten speed, with 5 speeds on the primary pulley and a hi/low gearbox. Gears don't slip.
I could off set this by selling the Sealey. A Sealey drill must be worth 50 quid on ebay.



Surely having a drive mechanism that could slip if overloaded is a good idea on a pillar drill?





Well yes, in a way. But if you buy an MT3 1" capacity drill I would expect it handle 1" without a problem.
I would class using an 1 1/4" drill in the same machine as overloading it.

In the second post on this thread is a link to a 1/2" Meddings drill.
I'd bet that will drill 1/2" holes all day, possibly without a pilot hole.

Compare that to my Draper when I have to drill a 1/4" pilot, open up to 3/8", then go gently with the 1/2".

The money I spent on my Sealey I now realise would have bought me quite a good second hand industrial machine.


Cheers
Paul G

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