A drill press is a fixed style of drill that can be fastened to the floor or mounted on a stand or workbench. A drill press is also known as a pillar drill, pedestal drill or bench drill. Drill presses consist of a column or pillar, spindle or quill, base, table and drill head which are commonly driven by the induction motor.

The drill head possesses a set of three handles that commonly radiates from the central hub when twisted, moved by the chuck and the spindle vertically. This is similar to the axis of the column. The table of drill press can also be attuned vertically aside from being usually moved by the pinion and the rack.

It can also be counterbalanced from the spindle axis and, in several cases, turned to a position perpendicular to the column. The size is usually measured in terms of a swing. The swing is then defined as twice the throat distance, which is the distance from the middle of the spindle to the side edge of the pillar.

Several drill presses can add the third stepped pulley to raise the speed range. Current drill presses can use a variable-speed motor in combination with stepped pulley systems. Some older drill presses also have a sort of traction-base that continuously changes the transmission for a wide range of chuck speed. This can also be changed while the machine is running.

Aside from this, drill presses are used for miscellaneous workshop jobs like sanding, polishing or honing with the use of honing wheels, mounting sanding drums and various other turning accessories in the chuck. This can also be dangerous on numerous drill presses, where the chuck arbor is held in the spindle purely by the friction of the morse taper. Alternatively, it can be held firmly by a drawbar.

Consider the power of the drill press you intend to get. Horsepower is the maximum power created by the motor. The higher HP allows you to bore large holes through tougher materials such as wood, metal or plastic. Drill presses are available with motors from 1/5 to 1 horsepower.

Next, take note of the size. The size of a drilling press can be verified by the distance from the middle of the chuck to the column. Since the drill press can drill holes within a ring of a diameter times the distance from the middle of the chuck to the column. The size is listed as double the distance from the column to the middle of the chuck. The 16 diameter drill press can then bore holes up to 9 to 10 diameters from the rim of the straight board or at the middle of a 16-diameter ring.

Check the variable speeds. The variable speeds of a drill press allow the user to bore different diameter holes through different materials, without scratching the drill bits or materials. The drill presses are available with six to twelve speed settings. The more speed sets, the more adaptable the drill press.

The table of a drill press can be lowered and raised along the entire length of the column. The table can also swivel 360 degrees around the column, for drilling unusually shaped pieces. Great presses have large and tilting tables with fences.

The depth-stop limits the depth of the hole and controls the depth that quills descend. It is good for repetitive dowels and drilling holes. The more exact your depth-stop, the more accurate is the drilling operation.