We Sell Holes, While Others Sell Drills!
Has there ever been a time in history where there are more options to get something accomplished? By that we mean that if your task is to put a hole in something, the options available to you are almost endless. Right now let’s focus on just the drilling machines themselves, rather than confuse the issue by discussing all the different types of drill bits one could insert into said drilling machine. Let’s straighten something out right from the jump — the term “drill” refers to the drilling machine itself, the term “drill bit” refers to the cutting tool you insert into the drill to make the required hole! The “drill bit” is not called a drill, got it? O.K. good. Now on to the different drill machines one might encounter along the way (hang on to your hat, this is going to be a wild ride). We could on, any given day, probably fill up the rest of this page just listing all the types of drilling machines out there (but since most don't have that kind of attention span, we will avoid trying to put our readers to sleep). To begin, let’s take a look at the history or the modern drilling machine and how we got from there to here.
Whoa, the Drill Has Been Around a Lot Longer Than You Might Think!
We are going to have to cover some ground here: According to historians, the ancient drill goes all the way back to 35,000 years B.C. Homo Sapiens found that if they spun a pointed rock on a given surface they could bore a hole in it. Fast forward to a time we can appreciate, the Romans developed a rudimentary core drill around the year 3,000 B.C. Western Civilization utilized the “pump drill” and the “bow drill” somewhere between the Roman and Medieval Times. “Chum Drills” were invented in the East by various cultures and became popular in the West in the early 1830s. The first chum drills were powered by various sources such as windmill power and water power. In 1835 the first steam powered drill was invented by a fellow by the name of Isaac Singer, who later went on to found the Singer Sewing Machine Company. Electric powered drills were not long off, and a couple of inventors are first credited with the marketing of a usable electric drill from Melbourne Australia. The evolution of powered drills of all types began to flourish at that point, continuing on to what we have today.
What Kind of Drill Do You Need? We Probably Have It.
In spite of our fast turnover, Bud's Machine Tools has, at any given time, numerous used drilling machines of varying descriptions in stock:
- Drill Presses. If you need a drill press, we probably have a used drill press that’s “geared head drive,” or variable speed, or hydraulic feed large and small.
- Radial Drills. We are big in used radial drilling machines. These machines provide a long X axis capability to drill holes in material as far away as 6 to 8 foot from the column. The heads on the radial drill can also be swiveled to 90 degrees from either side and can in effect work on piece parts that aren’t even on the radial's machine table.
- Turret Drills. We have, from time to time, heavy duty “turret drills” that are designed to drill larger holes in thicker and harder materials.
- Single Spindle Drills. Single spindle drilling machines come through the doors fairly often, as the machines are so heavily built they can be reconditioned over and over again.
What kind of used drills might we not have in stock? Let’s see, we probably don’t have a NASA space drill laying around anywhere. It’s about an 8 m.m. capacity electric drill (powered by battery) that cost the space program fifty thousand dollars to develop. Yeah, we probably don’t have one of those. (And if you got your hands on one, would it even work at sea level?) The oil and mining industry co-developed an air powered hand drill that has been adapted to work underwater as deep as 2,000 foot. Bet that sucker is expensive and not likely to be in our inventory. But aside from those two, we probably have every kind of used drilling machine imaginable (and probably a few you never imagined).
Shall We Recap?
So in an effort to pull all these thoughts together, shall we look back at all the used drills that one would likely find at Bud's Machine Tools? We can have, on any given day, drill presses of many different configurations for powering the spindle. We could have — and often do have — more than one used radial drill in house. Frequently we will get in combination drill/milling machines of various capacities. Also a frequent visitor to our warehouse are the “box column drill presses,” which are overbuilt round column drill presses on steroids, with as much as a 20 HP main motor, offering almost 900 foot pounds of torque — these machines are capable of up to 4-inch diameter holes in mild steel. You can almost always find a used bench-mounted commercial drill press of assorted capabilities. If by chance your budget allows for a new drilling machine, Bud's Machine Tools can help out there as well.
If You Don’t Give Us a Call, How Would You Know?
Bud's Machine Tools is you’re “go to” supplier for just about any kind of machine tool imaginable, new or used. Our company opened its doors offering all of the standard chip and fabrication machines, but it wasn’t long before our customers began to request different kinds of equipment be supplied by us because of the way we treat, frankly, every customer we encounter. In addition to that, we found ourselves taking in on trade every kind of metalworking machine imaginable, along with related accessories. So, we saw our duty and we did it! For our customer’s convenience we will source any kind of machinery, either new or used, if requested by our customers. With a history of relationships going back several decades, we have built up an affiliation with many machinery manufacturers, used machinery warehouses and auctioneers. If it’s been built, we can get it!
