A drill press is often located in the corner of many workshop. The drill press looks like an industrial machine that are only used for making a few hole in workshop projects. However, a person who use a drill press regularly will soon find that this tool has a variety of uses that go beyond what its reputation suggest in workshops.
Once a person understand the various uses for a drill press, that person can approach all workshop projects with increased confidence, regardless of the person’s skill level. The drill press reward a person who has a little knowledge of how to use this workshop tool proper. The drill press will amaze a person who knows how to properly set it up.
The drill press will no longer seem to be a tool that is used for one specific task but will be capable of accomplishing many workshop tasks. The following sections details these many useful tasks that a person can perform with a drill press. The most fundamental use of a drill press is to drill perfectly straight hole into a workpiece.
Many Useful Ways to Use a Drill Press
1. Drilling Perfectly Straight Holes
A person can clamp the workpiece to the drill press table and set the drill bit to the desired depth. By rotating the handle of the drill press, the workpiece will drill in only one direction. This is advantageous when task such as making dowel joints or making bolt holes in metal projects.
If the drill bit is even slightly angled when drilling with a handheld drill bit, the workpiece will not be able to be assembled proper. Using the drill press will eliminate this problem and allow the project to assemble on the first attempt. A person can use the drill press stop rod or place a strip of tape on the drill bit to ensure that the drill bit will drill to the desired depth.
This task will allow a person to drill dozens of identical workpiece. A person will find themselves designing their projects with the drill press in mind.
2. Mortising Wood with a Chisel
A person can mortise a piece of wood by inserting a mortising chisel into the chuck of the drill press.
This tool will remove material from the workpiece to allow for the insertion of tenon. Woodworkers commonly use this technique to construct tables, chairs, and cabinets. The trick to mortising is to take small pass with the drill press and to ensure that the workpiece is firmly clamped to the drill press table.
Otherwise, the chisel may grab the workpiece when a person pushes on the handle of the drill press. The advantage of the drill press will help a person when making deep mortises. A person will find themselves using mortise in their projects.
3. Sanding Curved and Small Workpieces
A person can turn the drill press into a sander by wrapping a sanding block around the chuck of the drill press. Furthermore, a person can adjust the table and the head of the drill press to allow the drill press to sand the inside of curved workpieces made with a bandsaw or to sand the edge of small wooden workpieces. The even rotation of the drill press will sand the workpiece without making flat spot on the workpiece.
Furthermore, the vertical design of the drill press will allow a person to use gravity to keep the workpiece stable while sanding. This will significantly reduce the number of burn marks on the workpiece that could be caused by sanding it by hand. A person will find this task to be a significant time-saver in their workshop.
4. Precision Metalwork Tasks
A variety of metalwork task can significantly benefit from the rigidity and variable speed settings of a drill press. Metals require slow rotational speed when drilling so that they do not work-harden or break the drill bit. A cordless drill cannot provide the even rotational speed that are necessary when metalwork tasks are involved.
Furthermore, the use of cutting fluid will significantly reduce the effort that a person has to put into metalwork tasks with the drill press. Drilling into metal projects allows a person to create wooden plug that will hide any screw holes in those projects. After countersinking the screw hole, a person can insert a plug cutter into the drill press and cut a wooden plug of the perfect size for that screw hole.
5. Creating Custom Wooden Plugs
Furthermore, the drill press will allow for the plug’s grain to align with the workpiece. Once the wooden plug is inserted into the screw hole in the metal project, the person can trim the plug with a flush-cut saw to ensure that it is flush with the metal project’s surface. Once this task is complete, the area can be sanded.
This task will significantly reduce the likelihood of anyone noticing the screw hole in the metal project. Accuracy is essential in this task. The creation of large metal project, such as dining tables, requires dozens of wooden plug of the same size.
A person will find themselves returning to this task with the drill press as a result of the precision that the tool can offer.
6. Engraving and Carving Details
Tasks such as engraving or carving into a workpiece will become significantly easier for a person who purchases flex shaft attachment or who purchases tiny carbide bit to fit into the drill press. These tasks will be useful in the creation of jewelry or scale model.
When performing these tasks with a drill press, a person should take small increment in their work so that the metal does not overheat while being worked. Furthermore, the mechanical advantage of the drill press will let a person develop muscle memory for these tasks. The results will be surprising and slightly more artistic than a person may have ever achieved with a handheld tool.
7. Tapping Metal Threads
A variety of metal tasks will benefit from the use of a tapping head or hand-spinning the drill press spindle while the tap is in the metal project. The tap will create thread in the metal project. Furthermore, the even pressure created by the quill on the drill press will allow for the tap to enter the metal project perpendicularly to its surface.
Any other angle will ruin the drill bit and cause it to break when it is forcefully removed from the metal project. A drill press will significantly make this task easier than a person would otherwise execute it with a handheld tool. A drill press will make tapping task easier for a person who may struggle significantly with these metal task.
Furthermore, the person will find themselves tapping dozens of metal project in a single afternoon. The accuracy of a drill press to create these tasks will significantly impact how a person design their metal projects.
8. Drilling Round Stock
A task as seemingly difficult as drilling accurately into round stock will be significantly easier with the aid of a V-block on the drill press table.
This V-block will hold the round stock workpiece so that the drill bit create a hole in the exact spot where a person desires it to be drilled. A person can use this technique for fabricating handrail or other workshop fixtures. Furthermore, a person can significantly reduce the time that it takes to drill round stock with the drill press.
A person will find themselves creating their next workshop project with the drill press in mind. Overall, a drill press earns its place in the workshop not because of the one task that it perform perfectly but because of all of the many task that it can perform well. In any workshop project, a person should be able to find a way to incorporate the drill press into their project.
The next time they find themselves thinking about a workshop project, a person should consider the various task that the drill press can perform. They will probably find that the drill press has a solution for their next workshop project more often than they think.
