[Looking4] Good small drill press

Jewelry Discussion
1

I am looking for a good, small, drill press for the metals department
at the school that I teach at. We had a Grobet 28.615/DR-615
Precsision Drill Press but the wire to the motor kept breaking and
shorting out so I replaced it with the Chinese one that is being sold
by verious vendors for around $69. It is so low in power that it is
dangerous not to mention that the chuck occasionally falls out. OK, I
realize you get what you pay for but is there something in between
the $69 piece of junk and the $914 Grobet?

I have been looking at the Praxxon TBM115 ($239.95) and the MicroLux
Benchtop Variable Speed Mini Hobby Drill Press ($249.95), but cannot
find any reviews on them. Has anyone used either one and if so what
do you think?

Note From Ganoksin Staff:
Looking for a small drill press tool for your jewelry projects? We recommend:

2 
I have been looking at the Praxxon TBM115

I have a Praxxon with an x-y table. It’s not real precision but it’s
better than nothing.

Paf Dvorak

3

I’ve used the Proxxon TBM 115 for about 15 years with no problems.
It’s been used to drill steel, copper, brass, silver & gold.

I’m not sure, but I think the MicroLux drill press you’re referring
to is identical to the Proxxon. It’s my understanding they’re both
made by the same manufacturer but are marketed by two different
companies.

Dave

4

Do you currently have the flex shaft machines? I bought the drill
stand attachment from Rio for the flex shaft and it works great in
the high school setting. We have 3 for a class of 24 and it works
well.

Karen Tagg
Art Teacher, BFA, M.Ed.

5

I have Rio’s small drill press and am very pleased, but don’t know
how it would hold up in a school setting… you might ask what they
think - they are usually pretty frank about their tools…

Beth Wicker
Three Cats and a Dog Design Studio

Note From Ganoksin Staff:
Looking for a small drill press tool for your jewelry projects? We recommend:

6

check this one out: ebay item # 360349917532

proxxon excellent quality drill stand mb 140/s rotary tool to be
converted into a drill press / chop saw can mount the rotary tool
horizontaly too.

The 4 3/4" x 8 11/16" (120 x 220 mm) table is milled and fitted with
a fence and scale. The solid column is chrome plated. The headstock
is of die-cast aluminum, offering a throat capacity of 5 1/2" (140
mm) and 1 3/16" (30 mm) travel. A chromed feed lever operates via
drive disc and ball bearing system, offering a very sensitive feed
set-up. T-bars allow simple height adjustment as well as the fixing
of the MICROMOT mill/drill units in the 3/4" (20 mm) bore fitting.
The mill/drill collar, with scale, tilts through 90 in both
directions.

The drill stand offers a depth stop as well as drilled and tapped
holes for securing the KT 70 Compound Table. For more simple jobs
our small MS 4 Machine Vise is easily to be attached right to the
fence of the drill stand.

Cost $58.00 plus $11.55 shipping / handling on ebay he’s a friend of
mine Kenneth here’s his telephone number 1-201-400-0406

sabra

Note From Ganoksin Staff:
Looking for a rotary tool for your jewelry projects? We recommend: