Drill presses are one of the basic tools needed for just about any shop, so it is important to pick the best drill press for your needs.
If you pick the best drill press for your shop it should last for many years to come.
Drilling can be Hard
If you have ever tried to do any kind of precision drilling with a handheld drill then you are aware of how difficult it is to get things right and be consistent.
If the work you are drilling can be placed in a drill press then there is no downside to using a drill press.
Drill Press Advantages
A drill press will allow you to apply more force to the drill bit with less effort which is always a good thing.
Most of us have struggled while using a handheld drill to drill some material that is hard or thick.
This is no fun at all.
Another main advantage of using a drill press is the bit is always aligned consistently with the work piece.
This makes any holes drilled straight without any additional effort.
It is very difficult to accomplish this with a handheld drill.
Make Your Drill Press Even Better
You can get even more drill press precision and easier workpiece positioning by getting an X-Y table for your drill press.
Another simpler option is an X-Y drill press vice.
Some Disadvantages
Nothing is perfect of course, and there are some downsides to drill presses to keep in mind when when picking the best drill press for your shop.
Probably the biggest downside is the dedicated space a drill press will require.
Drill presses are not a small piece of equipment, so they do take up quite a bit of space.
Some are smaller that others, so if space is limited then keep that in mind when selecting the best drill press for you.
Another disadvantage of even the best drill press is that it is not really portable.
There are some that are more portable than others, but compared to a handheld drill a drill press is much less portable.
If you need to drill at different locations then even the best drill press might not be a good fit for your situation.
Of course the work piece needs to be able to fit in the drill press for it be effective.
Even the best drill press will not be of any use if the item you want to drill will not fit in it.
There are solutions to these problems, if you need to drill large workpieces that can not be moved you might want to take a look at a magnetic drill press.
Material
Something else to keep in mind is what material you will be drilling with the drill press.
The best drill press for a certain material is really a separate discussion as this article only discusses the more general details of selecting the best drill press.
If you are interested in more in depth discussion about specific materials then check out our information on the best drill press for metal and the best drill press for woodworking.
Conclusion
It is important to take your time when picking any piece of shop equipment for sure, but something like selecting the best drill press is even more important since a drill press will be one of the cornerstone pieces of equipment in your shop.
We have a drill press in our shop that is over 40 years old and still going strong!
