Recommend a low budget very basic small drill press that could mostly do PCB?

[rdl]

The bench top drill press that Trey suggested would be very poor for drilling PCB's.  By far the largest issue is it's top speed is far too slow for such tiny drill bits.  Even the Proxxon at 8k would be too slow to achieve the proper surface speed for such tiny drills but much more manageable than the blue one.

I have the Proxxon. Speed is not an issue. I use the lowest speed. It drills holes just fine and I have never broken a carbide bit.

[cdev]

I am thinking of getting one of those $70 8500 RPM "mini drill presses"

the only thing that concerns me, I actually have a really nice chuck with a micro touch attachment. It is worth more than a drill press. I got it in an estate sale. It has a 1/2 inch shaft. I dont know how to preserve its accuracy. Its a jacobs chuck, stainless steel, and it is i think their smallest size. It has a ball bearing ring so you can guide it down with your fingers as its spinning,

It was a bit gummed up because it had been sitting unused for around ten years but a little TLC and now both chuck and bearing are working and smooth as silk.

So its a bit of a dilemma. Put very nice chuck and ring on cheap drill?

[mrkev]

I would definitely recommend the proxxon. And if not whole drill from kripton2035's post (which is awesome tool), you can buy
just the drill:
http://www.amazon.com/Proxxon-28510-12-Volt-Rotary-Micromot/dp/B000S5J5R6/
(you would need a transformer for this one:)
http://www.amazon.com/Proxxon-38706-Transformer-NG/dp/B0017NQU9Y/

And buy the drill stand later: f.e.
http://www.amazon.com/Proxxon-28606-MICROMOT-Drill-Stand/dp/B000209ZAE/

I bought it all together little bit over 100$, but that's three years ago. I don't know where you are actually from and amazon doesn't seems to have the best prices (f.e. you was able to find 50/e for less than 30$ at local store), so I would look for those items in your local shops.

The great thing is that you can do much more stuff with a hand hold drill, but still use the stand when needed.

Deffinitely don't buy some cheap noname junk, it's always pain in the a... to work with...

[cdev]

I already have two dremel-like tools, one is a very old dremel the other is a fairly new cheapie which actually seems to work fairly well. The problem is, it is not accurate enough doing it that way to show off my work online (yes, thats a stupid, non-technical reason)

maybe I should consider making a stand myself out of wood using metal rails or something to hold me over until I get a workshop area set up to my liking and then buy a larger drill press so i can use my nice chuck.

[mrkev]

The problem with big but cheap drill press is often small precision when drilling smaller diameter holes... Really chap ones can have some significant wobble of the drill tip. I've seen even something like >0.5mm wobble and that would be a big problem, because you wanna drill holes below 0.8mm... Even tho they could have great performance above 3mm diameter...

If you have tools to build drill stand for tools that you already have, that could be a good idea...

[ttt]

> there might be cheaper china sub CNC style drill stands

I have no problem of buying from China if its a good value (and not dangerously flimsy)

Do you know of any good examples?

I have one of these (they go under a lot of brand names):

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PRECISION-MINI-DRILL-PRESS-1-4-CHUCK-3-RANGE-VARIABLE-SPEED-UP-TO-8500-RPM-/381182829432

Get's the job done nicely for PCB work with carbide drill bits. Fits perfectly on my bench. QA can be sketchy so hope that the chuck and spindle run perfectly true for the one they ship to you. Mine did, lucky me  Less than 0.0005" run out (which is the best I can measure).

Sales video:

I have an XY table with it also which is great for long headers:

https://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=2008&category=-888582885

[cdev]

> there might be cheaper china sub CNC style drill stands

I have no problem of buying from China if its a good value (and not dangerously flimsy)

Do you know of any good examples?

I have one of these (they go under a lot of brand names):

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PRECISION-MINI-DRILL-PRESS-1-4-CHUCK-3-RANGE-VARIABLE-SPEED-UP-TO-8500-RPM-/381182829432

Get's the job done nicely for PCB work with carbide drill bits. Fits perfectly on my bench. QA can be sketchy so hope that the chuck and spindle run perfectly true for the one they ship to you. Mine did, lucky me  Less than 0.0005" run out (which is the best I can measure).

Sales video:

I have an XY table with it also which is great for long headers:

https://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=2008&category=-888582885

I have a question - Suppose you had one of these- https://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=3790

Something almost identical size and function wise (except the chuck handles bits just a tiny bit bigger- its a #0 jacobs keyed chuck) - Its for hand guiding the drill down - very gently. Could you fit that on your drill and not lose accuracy??

I may end up with something like that one, the small size is a big plus.

[Jidis]

I've used a small press like this at home for years. You will need a bit converter for the smaller drills.

Same here. I'm using a Delta (an 8" I think). I bought it for woodworking and it's obviously not a machinist quality tool, but it has probably drilled thousands of PCB holes. My main bits are #66 (.033"), but they neck up to a shaft that looks more like a quarter inch or so. I rarely run into things too small for the stock chuck though. I bought a whole box of those #66's, and break one occasionally, but it's usually from me doing something stupid like moving the work before the bit has retracted or trying to "redrill" a hole that I offset by a fraction of an inch.

Of course hunching over and staring at a spinning bit through reading glasses from five inches away for a half hour is something I could live without. I was trying to build a wall mount press with a foot pedal and a Dremel a while back, but I lost interest.

Good luck whatever you end up with!

[kripton2035]

> there might be cheaper china sub CNC style drill stands

I have a question - Suppose you had one of these- https://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=3790

Something almost identical size and function wise (except the chuck handles bits just a tiny bit bigger- its a #0 jacobs keyed chuck) - Its for hand guiding the drill down - very gently. Could you fit that on your drill and not lose accuracy??
I may end up with something like that one, the small size is a big plus.

seems a nice solution - but if the main shrank is woobling, then the small inside will wooble too !
this seems nice if you put it in a machinist mill
also it's way cheaper here £25 ? (dont know your country so ?) : http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/catalogue/department.aspx?node_id=fc406413-5c74-4550-b18c-439abda0ff60#Micro-Drill-Adaptor---JT0---12-Shank
is it the same item ?

[cdev]

I already have it, I bought (them) in an estate sale for a ridiculously low sum.

So now, basically, i already have two chucks which will cover a wide range of sizes, however both are mounted to shafts which are fairly large.

The mounting shaft on the first one is 1/2 inch wide and the other is 5/8.

[unfy]

Damn! You guys just made me buy a TBM220. (Found it very reasonably priced from German eBay seller briggebaecker.)

Ironically I'm trying this because I'm not 100% happy with my current solution of using a Proxxon MF70 CNC mill. I can set it up nicely to drill all my holes automatically, but I just don't seem to be able to align it accurately enough for small vias (using 0.066" diameter vias and 0.7mm drill and copper rivets). I'm going to try the USB microscope under the PCB approach.

To be honest it's a nice small drill press anyway. I'm sure it'll get enough use - PCBs or not.

Did this after seeing a page or two talk about it.  Some 3/4" wood, 15 year old dremel and press attachment, cheap $15 USB microscope, free software, 1-1/4" conduit straps, some closed cell foam for padding.

Works great, outside of the play in the dremel / press (some shims or other fixing will solve that).

Pics below (haven't stained and poly'd it yet).

[magicsmoke]

Has anyone used the Foredom drill presses?

[ez24]

It isn't fancy (no CNC base), but I bought a Rikon 30-100 tabletop drill press on Amazon for $94 last year ($105 today) and have been pleased with it. It is sturdy, stable, and pretty smooth. I haven't drilled PCBs (yet) but it does a good job drilling die-cast enclosures for stomp-boxes.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B4WKSBE/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

$94  in 2014
$105  March 10, 2015
$136  July 28, 2015             

I wonder if this forum caused this ?  ie do we shoot ourselves in our foot ?

[nowlan]

Maybe put a camel alert on the drill press.
CamelCamelCamel

[ez24]

Maybe put a camel alert on the drill press.
CamelCamelCamel

I did not know about this site - thanks

I did set an alert at $100 (I am in no hurry)

Now to go through my wish list to add more alerts.

[cdev]

Damn, I should have bought the Rikon when it was cheap.

With the prices of other drills going up, the Proxxon looks better, if it has not gone up.

[KL27x]

Damn, I should have bought the Rikon when it was cheap.

Take a close look:
http://www.harborfreight.com/8-in-5-speed-bench-drill-press-60238.html

I have the Harbor Freight variety. The price is up by $10.00 from 4-5 years ago. I have the same model but with a keyless chuck (was a $40 upgrade, IIRC). There are probably hundreds of thousands of these things sold over the years under various brand names, with minor tweaks to the trim/paint/table. These are built to last. There are two pulleys in the top with multiple slots that hold a rubber belt for the drive. The only thing wrong with the press is the depth stop is worthless.

If you prefer Amazon, Wen seems to be the popular budget rebrand, these days:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HQONFVE/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687602&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B00B4WKSBE&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=092CY0BFTJ8D2ATM9JKK

So is Rikon blue paint worth almost double the price?

(I use a Proxxon press for pcb, FTR. But there's no reason I couldn't use this. It's just heavier and lives in the garage).

[ez24]

Take a close look:
http://www.harborfreight.com/8-in-5-speed-bench-drill-press-60238.html

I have the Harbor Freight variety. The price is up by $10.00 from 4-5 years ago. I have the same model but with a keyless chuck (was a $40 upgrade, IIRC).

Where did you get the keyless chuck?

[KL27x]

When I went to the physical store, I started walking away with the version in the link for $59.99. Then I saw the keyless version next to it for about $100. Sorry, not sure where you can order this part, specifically, for $40.00. You can probably buy tapered-spindle chucks in standard sizes, but I'm no machinist.

To install a taper-fit chuck you just kind of slide it in and tap it with a block. To remove it is a little trickier. You have to tap on it just right to make it break loose.

[KL27x]

I just want a solid, very basic small drill press. No frills, for drilling PCBs accurately.

It would be nice if it was small enough to put away on a shelf when not in use.

For PCB's ONLY, this does the trick for me. It has a very small footprint. The fence works great for PCB work, too. But unlike the $250.00 version, it won't have the low speed torque to be worthwhile for metals or dense woods.
http://www.amazon.com/Proxxon-28606-MICROMOT-Drill-Stand/dp/B000209ZAE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1442612854&sr=8-2&keywords=proxxon+drill+press

Then I use this for my pcb drill:
http://www.amazon.com/Proxxon-28512-12-Volt-Micromot-Rotary/dp/B000S5KO3K/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1442612911&sr=8-3&keywords=proxxon+rotary+tool

Notice it doesn't come with the adapter. It should take about a 15VAC transformer that can sustain about half an amp (maybe only 250mA for a dedicated PCB drill), if you don't want to buy the Proxxon power supply. That gets you to $10.00 over your budget, if you have a transformer, already. I actually bypassed the speed circuitry and run this off of 4 li ion cells. For a dedicated PCB drill, you could even rig a contact switch to turn the drill off when it's all the way up. I had this at some point, but I ended up using the drill for something else. I have to rig that up, again.

If you ever need to flash boards for micros or EEPROMS, this press is super handy. You can reverse the spring in it and rig up an ICSP interface to it. Hold the lever up, insert pcb, then release the lever to let the spring hold the pogo pins down (I installed a dowel over the lever so I can just squeeze the two together to lift the head). Again, the fence comes in handy. This is why I have two of these presses... And I use it for something else, as well. I might have to buy another.

[kripton2035]

When I went to the physical store, I started walking away with the version in the link for $59.99. Then I saw the keyless version next to it for about $100. Sorry, not sure where you can order this part, specifically, for $40.00. You can probably buy tapered-spindle chucks in standard sizes, but I'm no machinist.

To install a taper-fit chuck you just kind of slide it in and tap it with a block. To remove it is a little trickier. You have to tap on it just right to make it break loose.

for europeans, you can find the chucks here : http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalogue/Chucks/Drill-Chucks
you must just figure out what arbor is installed in your drill