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Wood thicknessing using the SafeTPlaner
Robo Sanders making brides and rough shaping/sanding necks
Fret caul and press frets
Buffing wheels and use to buff and polish bridges and other small items
Drillig Peghead holes
Drilling Fingerboard dots and sidemarkers

I have two Drill presses in my shop, my better and larger one has a table/fence and is set up to thickness. The other I use to do all of the other functions.

Mike

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Robo Sanders making brides and rough shaping/sanding necks


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About the same as Mike, 'cept I've never made a bride with mine.

Ron

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OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

How do you use your drill press?
I usually chuck up a bit, set the depth stop, hit the on button and drill a hole
All kidding a side I use it like the others. Mostly drilling of course and have a few fixtures for drilling I use with it, but also use a Safety-Planer and Robo sander.

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

drilling and sanding. I only have a small bench top cheepo drill press so I limit the tasks I use if for. I do a little bit of sanding like making templates for molds etc. but that's about it.

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"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

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"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

same for me as well.....safe-t-planer, sanding drums, drilling.....
the only thing i wish i would have changed when looking for mine was maybe got one with a deeper throat and a larger square table, rather than the small round table...although it works ok
but make sure whatever you get can do the speeds needed for something like a safe-t-planer which from memory needs to be minimum 2800rpm

OK, to me after the bandsaw the drill press is my most used tool, maybe even more than the bandsaw. I use it for the Safe-T planer, the sanding disc, bobbin sanding, and of course drilling.

What to look for? Well in this case size matters, you want as large a throat as you can find if your going to use it for planing, and you want it to be able to run at a realatively high speed. The mass of the machine is also important in providing a solid work platform and stability.

My press, is 1hp, with a 10" throat and 16 gears running to 4000rpm (Wagner recommends 4-6000 rpm but you can get away with 3000, though I do find better results at the higher speed), it has a large square table but that then has a 36"x18" wooden table with a fence bolted to it. Check that when the quill is fully extended there is no play in it, and that the quill can be locked in any extended position so that you can use the SafeT planer.

Can't help you with brands as they differ over here in the UK.

You can see my table etc here.
Drill Press

ColinColin S39111.1938773148

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

I use my drill press a lot. Like the others I thickness my tops,back,and sides with the Wagner. Sanding disk,and robo sanders. Also I like the "luthiers friend" jig for thicknessing small parts like bridges,braces,binding,and so on.
And drill an occaisional hole! My DP is probably my most used power tool.I have a Delta DP-400 model.

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

I use mine as a...
Fret press
Overhead router - saddle slots
Buffing arbor

Oh... and to drill holes.

Long

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"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.” -Heraclitus of Ephesus

I use mine to drill Rosettes with the Rosette jig offered by LMI & Soundholes with a fly cutter (I think it works really well for this).

Also use to drill Fretboard markers and any other holes and to mix the sugar in my iced tea.

Truthfully, I'm still working on my first build, so I haven't gotten a lot of use out of my drill press just yet, but I can definitely see it as a necessity in the shop.

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Thanks,
Blain

http://www.ullrichguitar.com

"89.67% of all statistics are made up on the spot."

Speaking of safety planes, Are they made by Wagner the paint gun people?
Does anyone know where to get one in Canada? They look like they could
have more than a few uses.
Thanks,
Danny