Can I use a benchtop drill press as a arbor press.

[koger]

I recently acquired a benchrest rifle that uses Wilson hand dies, couldnt I use a piece of brass or aluminum bar stock chucked up in the drill press to do the same thing.

[country gent]

I would make sure the stem on the bass or aluminum bottomed out in the chuck. Or replace the chuck with the pusher most of the bench tops are either 3/8 24 or 1/2 20 threads. It will be harder on the bearings in the spindle though. What would be ideal is a cup the dia of the spindle tightened to bear on the outer housing this way no force would be put on the bearings.
But I think it will do it

[Daver7]

I think most bench top drills are bushings.
I could be wrong but back when I was working for a living I was told they did and that’s why you shouldn’t mill on a drill. But it’s okay to drill on a mill.

Back to your original question. I’m not sure but it seems like it would be a better choice to buy a used press. And save the drill for drilling.

[Reg]

Better to get a dedicated press as it would be very hard on the rack and pinion. They were not designed for such usage.

[country gent]

I would be more concerned with the squareness of the table to the spindle. Sinclairs sell some pretty light presses for this

[Winger Ed.]

Better to get a dedicated press as it would be very hard on the rack and pinion. They were not designed for such usage.



^^^this^^^

Not using the right tool puts a weak link in the chain to do justice to the rifle.

[JSnover]

Better to get a dedicated press as it would be very hard on the rack and pinion. They were not designed for such usage.
That right there!
It might work. For a while. But most benchtop drill presses I've seen aren't sturdy enough for too much of that action. Even if nothing breaks the table will probably flex more than you want it to.

[15meter]

It would work for neck sizing, bullet seating duty. There's not a lot of force involved. I wouldn't try any case forming with a drill press. I've done it for light stuff in the past.

That said, have you checked harbor freight? If I remember correctly, they peddle a light arbor press that is probably closer to what you want.

Yeah, it's Chinese lower quality stuff, but it does work and the likelihood of finding a domestic press at a reasonable price is not good.

[DCB]

If You have a turret press like a Lyman T-mag. you could use that. Remove the detent ball and spring rotate the turret between stations tighten the nut and have at it.
It has worked for years for me makes great reloads. -0- run out

[1Hawkeye]

Sounds like a trip to harbor freight for a cheap arbor press.

[Green Frog]

This thread has covered pretty much of of my thoughts, but to summarize;
1) you could use a bench top drill press as an arbor press and it would probably work OK for a while, but…
2) depending on how you set it up, how well built the press is, and how much pressure your die will require to perform its duty, you will…
3) get less than optimal results and probably…
4) introduce unwanted wear to your drill press, especially the bearings that are designed for rotation rather than compression.

As 1Hawkeye said, a quick trip to Harbor Freight (or someplace similar) will net you a cheap, probably $25 or less, arbor press that is made to do the job. Their smallest press is rated at 1/4 ton, IIRC, and will be more than you need. A more elegant (but expensive) solution would be one of the little purpose built presses from Sinclair or Harrell. Even thee smallest of the ones from HF is overkill, but will certainly do the job perfectly and cheaply. Why try to use your drill press in a way it wasn’t intended?

Froggie

PS While taking a course in machine shop, I built my own arbor press, making everything but 4 little machine screws from raw stock. I’m the coolest kid on the block when I use that! ;-)

[ulav8r]

https://www.harborfreight.com/1-ton-arbor-press-59766.html

The only one they still carry, used to have smaller ones.

[mdi]

I bought one of these and use it for "normal" shop uses and some reloading tasks. I have used it often with Lee Loaders... https://www.harborfreight.com/1-ton-arbor-press-59766.html

The accuracy of using a cheap arbor press is in the Wilson Tools more so than the press...

[405grain]

I was a machine shop superintendent for over 30 years. The worst damage I've ever seen on tools and equipment wasn't caused by people that didn't know what they were doing. It was caused by people that THOUGHT they knew what they were doing. I had to rebuild the quill on a Bridgeport mill because some dim bulb tried to use the milling machine as an arbor press. A Tree mill went to the scrap heap because of the same thing. The rack and pinion on a drill press is in no way strong enough for the machine to be used as an arbor press. If you choose to abuse a drill press in that manner, you can say "Hey look, it worked. I was able to press that pin, stud, bolt, whatever." Good job. But now try drilling a precision hole pattern with that drill press. You will have used up that tools ability to preform it's job just to produce one part. That drill press could have made many thousands of parts, but now it's junk. Get an arbor press or a hydraulic press. Even using a hammer and a punch would be better than abusing a tool using it for a task that it wasn't designed for.

Also, do not use a reloading press as an arbor press. You will damage the spring and groove that retains the shell holder. If you do this you will need to replace the ram.

[Green Frog]

Well, I guess this is what happens when you get a bunch of people together on a forum proclaiming it's about Hand Tools and start talking about presses. Mr 405 Grain, I defer to your far superior knowledge of machine tools and agree with you through your whole first paragraph. Amen and amen!

The second paragraph is where we come apart. What do you think a reloading press is but a highly adapted arbor press? Put the proper part in the shell holder to provide a base and you're good to go. Every time you do a heavy reforming or resizing of a case in your RCBS Rock Chucker or your CH H-type press, you are performing arbor press duties, just with specialized tooling.

Now, let's get this particular forum back to discussing "Casting and Reloading Hand Tools, The 310's and such of our hobby. Lee Loaders included" and leave discussion of presses and machinery where they belong... someplace else!

Rant over,
Green Frog

[uscra112]

Having worked for a baker's dozen years in machine tool rebuilding, I might point to one or two cases where spindle bearing races were "dimpled" due to using the machine as an arbor press. Out of the hundreds of machines that passed through our hands.

That said, i wouldn't be concerned about using a drill press to SEAT BULLETS. The force there is low. You can do it by hand for a lot of calibers. I used a hand seater that came with one of my Lovells for a long time.

Sizing brass is another matter.

[GregLaROCHE]

Go for an import arbor press or start looking for a used reloading press. Consider posting here in the WTB section and see what kind of response you get.

[Larry Gibson]

I've been using an old Sears Craftsman drill press that was meant to have a 1/2" hand drill in it for use. The drill has long ago quit working but I still use the stand for NSing 223 cases and seating the bullets with a Lee Target Loader. I use it when seating bullets using Lee loader of various other cartridges. Also I use it when swaging and HP 22 LR cartridges with a Paco Kelly tool. If I didn't have the Sears press I wouldn't hesitate to use my regular drill press for such as the pressure use to NS 223 cases and seat bullets is less than many drilling operations.

[country gent]

When I started loading it was with a lee loader in 222 rem it didnt take long of the tapping and dad brought me a bottle capper from me grandmas farm. it was very light the rack and upright were 1/4" by 1" with the rack cut into the back edge, I very much doubt any of it was hardened. I loaded 1000nds of 222 with this and little to no wear.

A cup made to screw on and bottom in the non turning spindle will not be pressing on the bearing but on the tube of the spindle or the small splined shaft the drill chuck screws on. This is basically the same rack and pinon as an arbor press only slightly finer 14 1/2* teeth, leaving the table as the week link. pull the table and use the flat base lowering the head on the column. then the squareness is the only issue

The plus is the spring loaded ram you dont have to raise the ram back up or hold it up

[garandsrus]

Corbin makes anvils to turn their press into an arbor press. I don’t see any problem using any press with an anvil and Wilson dies. I have a set that neck sizes and seats the bullets. They don’t require much pressure, considerably less than full length sizing a bottle neck case.

The only possible issue is the length of the Wilson dies. They might not fit under some reloading presses.

http://www.corbins.com/pr-csp1a.htm

[Kenstone]

I have been de-priming pistol brass on a cheap/bench top HF drill press for years and still use it as a drill press.
Much faster than using a press with the in/out of the shell holder operation.
Instead, I use a washer to center the case under a de-capping pin.
No signs of wear of the rack/pinion.
316052
Works for me,
.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Here's a clue,,, The term is Drill/Press. A Drill Press is nothing more than an Arbor Press with a Rotating Spindle that has bearings in it that can absorb the load "axially." (In line with the direction of travel.) Invented so you could put more Downward Force on a Drill Bit so it would cut more efficiently.

Typically Light Duty Drill Presses (0-1/2") don't have as big a bearings as a Milling Machine, and this is because Milling Machine Bearings are designed to be able to absorb Side Loads on the Spindle for using Side Cutting End Milling Cutters. Milling Machine Spindle Bearings are "Matched Angular Contact Bearings" and there are two bearings that oppose each other in the "Quill" (the outside part with the Rack in it.) The "Spindle" (the part that rotates and receives the tooling) rides in those bearings and the adjustment of that removes virtually all clearance in both bearings making the Quill "essentially" Solid.. Regular Common Drill Presses don't have Angular Contact bearings because a Matched Pair of AGC bearings would cost more than the whole machine. When Regular Ball Bearings are asked to absorb "Radial Loads" they fall short due to the clearance inherent in the bearings themselves. They still can absorb Axial Loads as all the clearance is removed when loading them in that one direction..

I have an old Craftsman Drill Press in my shop right next to my Big Milling Machine. It has not been used to drill holes or run a countersink in years ! It has been used with a Roll Pin Punch chucked up in it to push every single Roll Pin that hold the Top and Bottom Plates to the Guide Rods of my Hand Presses into position. I Match Drill the Top Plate holes in a jig on the Mill, then push the two roll pins in on the Drill Press while still in the jig, and then repeat the process on the Bottom Plate. There is 4 pins in each Press. X 400+ presses = 1600+ pins pushed in by that Drill Press. It is no looser now than when I rebuilt it 40+ years ago. I am also confident it will drill holes just fine if I need it to for the rest of my life and subsequent lives as well!.

Milling Machines have a much bigger Quill than a Drill Press does, and even a Mill/Drill will be fine. It's not like you are Broaching Keyways with the machine, although I have done that too! Just not big ones.

You are NOT going to hurt any of those machines by pushing cases,,, (Any size cases!) into a Reloading Die for the rest of your lives, even if you are only 20 years old. . And all you people out there loading with Lee Classic Loaders can ditch your Plastic Mallets if you have a Drill Press,, Even one of the "little itty bitty HF drill presses," and use those dies the way the real inventors intended them to be used in the first place.

Lee just figured out that more people had soft mallets than drill or arbor presses. Richard Lee got more people started in reloading than anyone else ever, and he just simplified the use of Hand Dies!

Hope this helps with your understanding of this topic?

Randy

[kungfustyle]

once

[Scrounge]

This thread has covered pretty much of of my thoughts, but to summarize;
1) you could use a bench top drill press as an arbor press and it would probably work OK for a while, but…
2) depending on how you set it up, how well built the press is, and how much pressure your die will require to perform its duty, you will…
3) get less than optimal results and probably…
4) introduce unwanted wear to your drill press, especially the bearings that are designed for rotation rather than compression.

As 1Hawkeye said, a quick trip to Harbor Freight (or someplace similar) will net you a cheap, probably $25 or less, arbor press that is made to do the job. Their smallest press is rated at 1/4 ton, IIRC, and will be more than you need. A more elegant (but expensive) solution would be one of the little purpose built presses from Sinclair or Harrell. Even thee smallest of the ones from HF is overkill, but will certainly do the job perfectly and cheaply. Why try to use your drill press in a way it wasn’t intended?

Froggie

PS While taking a course in machine shop, I built my own arbor press, making everything but 4 little machine screws from raw stock. I’m the coolest kid on the block when I use that! ;-)

Only problem with your reply is that HF's arbor press is now $64.99, these days. Northern Tool has a slightly fancier 1-ton press like the HF press for $109.99, and a 2-ton press for $229.99, which doesn't have the fancier handle on it, like their 1-ton has. The 2-ton press would be a lot more versatile, but it also takes up more space... YMMV!

I frequently want a 20ton hydraulic press, but they're in the $250 range, and take up a LOT more space. Had access to one at work before I retired, so didn't buy my own, and sometimes regret it, but... ;)

Bill

[405grain]

I've also rebuilt drill presses that have had the bearings blown out of the quill by using them as an arbor press. Perhaps I should expand a little bit on what I've encountered. Using a drill press as a light duty press is completely OK. Same with a reloading press (so long as you protect the head of the shaft) What I've seen is people full on trying to broach 3/8" and 1/2" keyways into gears, press large industrial bearing out of casting (sometimes without removing the retaining clips), press seals out of hydraulic equipment, separate heat shrunk equipment components, and even try to compress solid blocks of metal, using either a drill press or a milling machine. I've witnessed the damage where two engineers (with PhD's) using a drill press couldn't exert enough force on a part that they were trying to press, and after they'd stripped out the rack and pinion by first beating on the handle with a hammer until it broke off, then attaching a large pipe wrench to the stud and hanging on it like a couple of monkeys. Eventually they broke the platten in half!

Another time, a "machinist" in one of the other shops used a vertical mill as a press; not by pressing on the part with the quill, but by using the table elevation screw to force the part up against the mill head. Lucky for him he was able to strip out the leadscrew and bevel gears in the saddle, because if they hadn't died first the next thing to break would have been the cast steel "spider" that holds the turret, ram, & head on.

I've had to deal with the consequences of multiple individuals abusing tools that they were not qualified to operate. This is not to say that you cannot use a drill press as a light duty press. The OP asked if one could be used as an arbor press. The arbor presses that I've used can exert between several tons of force, to compound gear arbor presses that can exert over 100 tons of force. The answer is no, you cannot use a drill press as an "arbor press" unless you intend to damage it forever as an actual drill press. There have been several occasions where I've preferred using an arbor press to a 150 ton hydraulic press, like when broaching, because they have superior feel while the tool is feeding.

As a side note: I have a Walker-Turner drill press in my home shop that I re-motored and rebuilt. It's serial number is 0000006.

[W.R.Buchanan]

405 So you worked around idiots too? I have known quite a few myself. But using a Drill Press to shove Brass Cases into a Reloading Die is not going to harm a Drill Press of any kind.

If it would then how could it possibly be used to drill holes in a piece of steel which would take a lot more force.. The whole point of the Drill Press is to exert more Downward Force on a Drill Bit than you can apply by using a Handheld Drill Motor.

When I joined the Millwrights Union (Local 1607) in 1978 after leaving SoCal Edison during a Strike, I had to take a test to see if I would come in as an Apprentice or Journeyman. I missed only one question. 99/100!

What is an "Old Man?". I had never heard the term before except in the most common interpretation. An "Old Man" is a Lever (2x4 or similar) put thru the Shovel Handle of a large 1/2" or 3/4" Drill Motor and then hooked underneath a Railing or other similar Fulcrum Point and then used to impart more downward force on the Drill Motor to push a Large Drill Bit thru something that needed a bigger hole in it.. It is a Field Jury Rig when you can't do it any other way. I was in that Union for about 10 years and I never saw any one do it. But they still asked the question and I missed it.

I did get hired as a Journeyman.

I did start Buchanan Precision Machine in 1984 in my Garage with a Bridgeport Mill that I rebuilt, and a Hardinge Chucker and that Craftsman Drill Press I talked about earlier. I also had a Air Compressor that I still have, and used it mostly to blow the chips and dirt out of my Garage..

Randy

[Alferd Packer]

Drilled thru legs of Eads Bridge on east side using an old man made up of one inch shovel handle drill motor and oak 2×4 thru the handle.
The end of the two by was secured with thick ropelashing on the short end three feet from the drill. The two by was levered by a man ten feet away on the long end.
A 7/8 inch drill bit made thumbnail sized chips as it milled through Two inch steel.
I was on the drill motor since it was my idea.
I got the idea working with oltimers.
Drilled forty holes 150 feet in Air on a very large basket truck.
An old man was correctly described by Buchanan.
Without it, Superman would have been needed.
I always drilled pilot holes with a 1/4 inch before, but it was dead of winter and wind chill was 40 below with sleet blowing sidewise under the bridge.
That big hp drill and the big bits chewed through the steel.tremendous pressure was exerted by the long lever .
Conditions were miserable, but I was a helper on a line crew trying to get the job done for a light rail train.
Over 40 years ago.I was 36 years old.
An "old man " really made it possible.

[Char-Gar]

I went to the Harbor Freight online site and bought a 1 Ton arbor press on sale for $35.00 delivered to my front door. I installed a longer handle and it works like a charm for reloading purposes.

[skeet1]

I have been using a small Delta drill press for making gas checks for years. This has worked quite well though a small arbor press would probably work better. My problem is lack of space and the drill press is more useful.

Ken