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Fitness for [the intended] Purpose.

Many different things can be bought for £700

… many of them being totally unsuitable

MichaelG.

You seem to have forgotten that the gentleman in question has already invested in a mil. A Proxxon mill to boot, with which he didn't seem too pleased about, despite being warned about them.

Andrew.

As Jason said the headroom is one problem, I used a Sieg SX2 a long time for drilling, but is is annoying to change from drill chuck to collet holder or vice versa. And if you have the collet holder in you can of course drill but for every change of drill bit you have to change collet…

In the end I invested in a Chester bench drill D13R. With 235£ it doesn't burn a massive hole into the pocket. But it had its little issues, the v-belt it came with was so tight that it was almost impossible to change gears. Especially as the machine is quite tall, so if you have it standing on a 90cm work top you can hardly see what you are doing. (I am 186 cm (or 6'1&quot tall) I changed the belt to a size bigger and the problem was solved. Next problem was the belt tightening mechanism which was very basic and opened itself due to vibration, so I added a screw (on both sides) to tighten the belt.

Belt tensioner

If you're not expecting to drill large holes on a regular basis, something like a long column Dore Westbury might be a suitable compromise.
I guess it depends very much on the user's requirements.
I'm fortunate, in that from more or less the same standing position, just by turning around on the same foam floor tile, I can access, The Centec 2b, 12 speed Sealey 5/8" bench drill, Meddings, 5 speed pillar drill and long column DW mill/drill.
Depending on which vice is attached to what, may determine which machine I use.

As an aside;
A couple of years ago I picked up a cheap seized 12" diameter magnetic chuck. When I eventually got it to operate, I found that it wasn't as magnetic as it should be, so I'm reticent to use it on the lathe.
Until I submit it to Record's service department, it lives on the round table of the Sealey bench drill; there is sufficient magnetism remaining that it will hold any of my drill vices reasonably well, so it makes clamping the work down comparatively painless.

Bill

but not if you compare like with like the Meddings is a well made industrial machine a mill for the same money won't be

I feel the drill press and mill work in slightly different ways, and use a different technique.

No significant play in the mill so I align the firmly clamped work by DRO, (no marking out or centre-punch), make a straight starter hole with a centre-drill, switch to the twist drill and go for it. If necessary I countersink and ream to finish-off. It's all done by swapping cutters, because X,Y and Z are all controlled.

My pillar drill has noticeable side play, one of the reasons it can't mill. Also results are poor if it's set-up and used like a mill. However, the spindle runs accurately on its axis when spinning, and it drills accurately if the job is allowed to float into the right position. So, the job is marked out and centre-punched, lightly clamped to stop it dangerously escaping but just able to move sideways, and moved to align closely with the spinning twist-drill tip. If on contact the drill shows any sign of moving off-axis, the job is allowed to slide so the drill stays on axis. Once aligned, holes are straight and in the right place. If the drill is forced into a slightly off position centre-pop, or clamped rigid as on the mill, the hole curves because the drill bends, and moves the spindle.

I use the same twist-drills on all my machines, avoiding too cheap, and the jobber type intended for woodwork.

Dave