I tried this as “forward tilt d.p. table good? bad?” and was not assigned an expert. “What I want to know is, for a drill press in the $500 to $600 range, is spending an extra $90 or so worth it to get a table that tilts both side to side and forward (45 degrees forward, 90 degrees side to side versus the traditional 45 degrees right and left)?
For what kind of projects, if any, would such a drill press table be a real boon; say, such that doing without it would require elaborate and difficult-to-produce jigs?
Fabe
Replies
Hey Fabe,
Sorry you got stuck with me. I haven't seen a drill press table like you describe tilting forward. That's a new one for me. Side to side you see all the time. I can spin my tables 360 degrees if I want. I cannot think of a good enough or common enough reason to tilt it forward. A simple angle jig will provide you with enough tilt easily enough. Good luck. Gary
Gary,
Delta is now selling at least two models having this feature that I know of; the 17-950LS and the 17-959L. Both have a 16 1/2 inch swing, if that's how it's described (will drill to the center of a 16 1/2 inch board). The former has a 1/2 h.p. motor and the latter, a 3/4 h.p.
The table, 14 x 18 is designed for woodworking and has a removable insert to permit thru drilling. The large table, the insert, and the 90 degree tilt left and right all sound good to me, but I was wondering if the forward tilt thing was overkill.
To my way of thinking, it would be worth paying for if it eliminated a need to built jigs for fairly typical operations, but only if the jigs were complicated and time consuming to construct. Otherwise, I'd tend to regard it as a gimmick and not want to pay for it.
This can't be uncommon, but my quandary really is that I could get a 20" d.p. with a 1 1/2 horse motor and a big table (but without the forward tilt feature or a table insert) from a not so high end manufacturer, and I could get it for less money.
I can almost hear you thinking, "Yah, so what's new; this is the perennial fix that every woodworker is in every time he or she buys." Could be there's not a lot more to say, but if you do have any further thoughts I'd appreciate hearing from you.
Fabe
Imagine a 6 ft-long workpiece. You want to drill a hole at an angle in the middle. You mount the workpiece on the drill press table, tilt it forward, and drill your hole.
Now imagine trying to do that with a table that doesn't tilt forward, but only to the side. You'd have to rotate your workpiece 90° about the vertical axis, but you can't, because it would strike the post. So, instead you have to use a jig of some kind to simulate the forward-tilting table.
That's the difference: There are some operations (albeit not very many) where the only practical way to mount the workpiece is to tilt it forward. You can accomplish that by using a drill press that has a forward-tilting table, or by creating your own forward-tilting subtable (or a suitable approximation thereof) that sits on top of the existing table.
-Steve
Geez I really don't find that forward tilt feature all that useful or necessary in my work. But consider what type of work you do and if that need arises much. When it does for me and it has just a few times, I can build a simple jig for the drill press and I'm down the road. But I have to ask, what kinds of stuff are you drilling? A 20" drill press, even the 16" is big. I do need to get into wider pieces sometimes but again not often. Ask yourself what kind of stuff you'll be doing before buying the model with all the bells and whistles. Remember, when you don't spend your money on cast iron then you can spend it on wood. Gary
Gary,
An excellent reply on all counts. Thanks. Sort of like a slap in the face. I can only say, "I needed that." Since this is e-mail, I guess I should add, I'm not being sarcastic. I did need that, and thanks, again.
Fabe
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