Re Mag drill: would i be crazy if.....

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I rented a mag drill for swiss cheesing my welding table. I liked the drill. Would it be crazy to get one and use it as my "go-to" drill press on my table? I envision cutting a hole in the table and using the table to put the work piece on. Is this an appropriate application for a mag drill? I liked the slow rpm capability and the heavy duty nature of the beast. Any thoughts?Miller diversion 165Miller mig 211Hypertherm pm 30Milwaukee 6230 14 inch chop sawMd 45 mag drill (RIP; fell on its head)New MD 45! Thanks to the esposa!Finally got an O/A setup
Reply:If you've got the money to spare.... saves a lot of time and muscle of going between the table and the drill press, and you can take it to a job as well.www.petermoll.nl
Reply:if you can afford it you'll never regret buying it.  i have a milw 4210, it's a great machine.  i would suggest getting a machine that has variable speed.   they do run more money but that ability to vary the speed comes in handy.   you can also flip the head and in doing so increase or decrease center point of your cutting tool.  i take it out in the field for some jobs but at over 70 pounds it's basically for on top of something operation.  you'll need help to position it to drill into the side of something.  still it can't be beat.one draw back, it is a good drill press but as usual with milwaukee there's a problem.   if you want to run annular cutters you'll have to buy the atttachment for them, made by milwaukee, and it only takes milwaukee products.  i have the attachment and it works well but i would like it better if it had a standard change out for the an/cutters.i also have, for when i'm in the field, which it most of the time, a champion rotobrute 32.  it's an rb 32 i got on ebay for 650.   it is simple to change over from bit to cuttter and it only weighs 28 pounds.  great when you have to climb a ladder or stairs.   the drawback is it only turns at 550 rpms.  that can pose a problem sometimes.   a lot of the lightweight drills spin at 450 and that would be my preference if i got another.i owned for a long time a DW151 setup strictly for cutters.   it was a great unit.  weighed 28 pounds and i couldn't kill it.   one job i did was 3000 13/16th holes in 3/4 plate;  that was actually the last job  i did with it.  sold it to the owner of the co. i was doing the work for.as a side note i saw someone saying they were drilling 1 or 2 hundred holes with a cutter.  i drilled 700 holes in that plate with one cutter.  i believe it was an oem cutter from dewalt.  in the shop i would take the milwaukee over a drill press any day of the week, and in most instances it's ok in the field.   those 28 pound units are nice too,  each major mfg puts one out but consider the lower rotational speed if your buying.Last edited by fdcmiami; 02-23-2012 at 06:27 PM.
Reply:It's one possible approach. Here's a thread where I took some pictures of a old mag drill setup as a drill press.http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=43078Millermatic 252XMT 304'sDynasty 280DXHypertherm PowerMax 1250Miller Trailblazer 302 EFIOptima PulserXR feeder and XR Edge gun and more athttp://members.dslextreme.com/users/waynecook/index.htm
Reply:forgot to mention, get a reversing drill if you're laying out the money.  you can tap holes with ease and it can be a help backing out of a hole sometimes.for cutting oil i use 30 weight.  works fine for me.  stick if i'm going in from bottom or side.
Reply:Hi,If I had the spare cash, I'd get one of these for my home shop. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8I6mqP6V2Nc[/ame]We have two of them at work, they are much smaller / lighter than the traditional mag base drills, give a cleaner, perfectly round hole, and drill faster than twist drills, plus you don't need to drill pilot holes.
Reply:heres one i found in minneapolis, owner said he'll take 500. It was used for one job only. Comes with two bits. Any thoughts? I believe they are carried by fastenal and might be made in australia. Sounds pretty good. Be nice to get reversible but this seems like it would fit the billMiller diversion 165Miller mig 211Hypertherm pm 30Milwaukee 6230 14 inch chop sawMd 45 mag drill (RIP; fell on its head)New MD 45! Thanks to the esposa!Finally got an O/A setup
Reply:http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hn...859503906.htmlok, sure it's early...the website would help dontcha think?Miller diversion 165Miller mig 211Hypertherm pm 30Milwaukee 6230 14 inch chop sawMd 45 mag drill (RIP; fell on its head)New MD 45! Thanks to the esposa!Finally got an O/A setup
Reply:Personally if I was going to buy a mag drill I would get a hougen.I have evolution and a hougen now. The hougen is USA made and will drill drill drill.  The evolution where made in England but now made in china. I probably will be replacing it soon with a new hougen with the swivel base.  I have used slugger/jancey and Milwaukee brands.  But still prefer the hougens.Lincoln 300 Vantage 2008300 Commander 1999SA250 1999SA200 1968Miller Syncrowave 200XMT350MPA/S-52E/xr-15Xtreme 12vs Millermatic 251 w/30A  Millermatic 251 Dialarc 250 Hypertherm 1250 GEKA & Bantom Ironwokers
Reply:MUCH Hougen love here. I used one at work and if I buy a mag drill, Hougen it shall be.
Reply:I sure wouldn't want to depend on a mag drill as my go to drill.  Limited quill travel on many mag drill and no adjustable table.  It is also a load to lug around the shop if it doesn't have a dedicated spot.  I have a hougen that I rarely use and have never passed up my drill press to use it.  that said.  1969Vernon did a nice table for his mag drill.   search his threads or Youtube.
Reply:I've got both (Hougen and a Rockwell).  To me, they are not interchangeable tools.  I use the drill press 99 times for every 1 use of the mag drill.Jack OlsenMy garage website
Reply:Variable speed mag-drills are the cats meow!  If you get a variable speed corebit magdrill (I can't recall their actual name), you can save a lot of time doing larger holes,although they make ones that fit in regular mag drills!You don't need to cut a hole in your table, just get some 1" square stock and brace the parts you are drilling atop that.  If the drill isn't on the part, clamp the part and the square stock with two bessy clamps to the table and go from there!I like Milwaukee myself, but who doesn't?Last edited by mb_welder; 02-24-2012 at 08:01 PM.
Reply:Is the md 45 crap? Anyone have luck with that one?Miller diversion 165Miller mig 211Hypertherm pm 30Milwaukee 6230 14 inch chop sawMd 45 mag drill (RIP; fell on its head)New MD 45! Thanks to the esposa!Finally got an O/A setup
Reply:We use Jancy , Hougen and Nitto Koeke all about the same but you cant beat the old Black and Decker  Bux and Millwaulkee real mag drills ,heavy but work well with real twist drills . The best use a 9"col 4' arm radial drill and mount it on a plate to move around the shop  with a crane . Attached Images
Reply:Originally Posted by AmajubaEngHi,If I had the spare cash, I'd get one of these for my home shop. We have two of them at work, they are much smaller / lighter than the traditional mag base drills, give a cleaner, perfectly round hole, and drill faster than twist drills, plus you don't need to drill pilot holes.
Reply:we use a ma drill like as our drill press everyday at work. te cutters work better to cut te plasma cut center points. jaymiller bobcat 250 ntsouth bend metal latheClausing verticle millrikon 17" bandsaweverlast 250exharris oxyfuel set upspeedglass AD helmet with adflo power respirator.
Reply:i use it to cope pipe.   these good old boys have an interesting use.never did any line boring but if the opportunity presented itself i think i could handle this.think i'd want the power feed unit.
Reply:Originally Posted by farmallMUCH Hougen love here. I used one at work and if I buy a mag drill, Hougen it shall be.
Reply:I love my mag drill I use it all the timeSIN CITY METAL WORKSvisit my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/devvon