Harbour Freight

[1flhtk4me]

You can purchase it then put a better drill chuck on it. Id suggest to ebay a used Albright keyless chuck.

Those chucks probly cost more than the press!

I have bought three new ones over the years,pricey.

[zfields]

It's a drill, not a mill
Side loading a drill doesnt lend itself well to staying accurate or lasting very long.

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[kcstott]

It's a drill, not a mill
Side loading a drill doesnt lend itself well to staying accurate or lasting very long.

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Very true

I'm not even going to go into detail on what I feel the minimum is because some one will try and succeed with nothing more then a drill press.

[Pauliedad]

I've done some mill work on drill presses and its really not the way to go. Really big ones, maybe, but not any small ones.
A mini mill is the absolute bare minimum and that is only for ar 80s.
Would not risk a 1911 frame.

[Swagman00]

If you use one of these, use a center punch on ALL of your intended material before drilling. The drill bit walk with one of these unreal.

I would also advise stepping up bit sizes rather then going full size as well.

...but all in all it works.

[NytWolf]

Like Swagman00 says, the drill bit walks A LOT! The check-press assembly deflects as you start drilling.

The platform is not perpendicular to the chuck either. When enough drilling pressure, it should be. But that's not what you want in a drill press.

[iBkickinit]

I picked up a pair for building guns. Nice having a few so you dont have to keep rechucking common tools.

[wpage]

Been using this. For the money its a bargain. It does have its limits....

[sigstroker]

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-10inc...a=00934983000P

Too fast for aluminum 80's.

[gesundheit]

Too fast for aluminum 80's.

Is 680 RPM too fast for Aluminum?

[bksa]

Is 680 RPM too fast for Aluminum?

http://www.southbaymachine.com/setups/cuttingspeeds.htm

[Victor Cachat]

If you can spend as much as an AR costs, you can afford one of these:

http://www.harborfreight.com/two-speed-variable-bench-mill-drill-machine-44991.html

And it works for so many other jobs.

[Victor Cachat]

Is 680 RPM too fast for Aluminum?

For High Speed Steel mills, the SFM (Surface Feet per Minute) rates are:

SFM with HSS endmills
Stainless Steel 40
Mild Steel 100
Brass 300
Aluminum 400

With a 3/8" end mill, 680 RPM is slow
The formula is (4 x Cutting Speed)/(diameter of Cutting Tool)=RPM

[acj415]

Hello, Just wanted to thank everyone for all the advice. I decided to go with another drill press, a craftsman 10 inch drill press that I found online on sell; well open box for about 60 dollars plus taxes. I was lucky to get it, better brand I guess and it came with lasers too.Now the question is should I change the chuck I saw someone say South Bend Lathe SB1370 chuck is cheap and better quality?

[Baeleron]

I came late to this thread, but yeah, the drill press you originally asked about is garbage. I wasted 50 bucks on it, and already have found something better. Maybe if nobody buys it I will give it to someone that I don't like.