Product Review

Introduction

In this post I will be reviewing the Vevor Magnetic Drill Press. This is an item that I purchased for a project with my own money. I am not paid or sponsored by Vevor. This review is my opinion based on real-world use of the product. Please take the time to check out my review of the Vevor Ultrasonic Cleaner as well.

Also, if you would like to know where I used this drill, check out the gantry crane build series.

What Is A Magnetic Drill Press?

A magnetic drill press is a mobile drill press with an electromagnet in the base. This allows for the drill press to be moved and oriented in any way on a piece of metal, and once the magnet is turned on, it will be locked in place. This tool is essential for drilling holes in larger pieces of metal that would be difficult to get on a standard drill press.

The Model

The model of magnetic drill press I chose to buy was the Vevor Magnetic Drill Press, 1550W unit – model D8860. It has a variable speed motor controlled by a potentiometer style dial. The advertisement for the unit says that there are 10 speeds, but really it is anywhere you want to set the dial between 0 and 10. Setting 10 is supposed to be 500 RPM.

The unit features and on/off switch for the magnet, which is also the main power switch for the unit. A separate on/of switch powers the drill. The drill uses a Weldon receiver for Weldon shank tools. The bits meant to be used in the drill are annular cutters. It comes with a drill chuck with a Weldon shank for adapting to regular drill bits as well. The unit has a self-feeding oiling system for keeping your bits cool during cutting. Some systems come with a safety strap to strap the unit to your work piece (more on this later).

Drilling Capacity

The drilling head has a total stroke of 193 mm or 7-5/8″ The distance between the work surface and the bottom of the Weldon chuck is also 7-5/8″ or 193 mm at the highest position. When the drill bit chuck is installed, the distance to the work surface drops to 4-11/16″ or 119 mm.

The real limit to how far you can drill is your drill bit. I use 2″ annular cutters, so I can drill a two inch deep hole before the shank of the drill hits the work piece. Theoretically, with the stroke of the drill press being 7-5/8″, if you were to find a 6″ long annular cutter, you could drill a 6″ deep hole.

Cost Of The Unit

When I purchased the unit it cost $174.00 before taxes on Amazon. If you don’t have Amazon Prime, shipping may set you back quite a bit more because the unit is heavy. I also ordered the Vevor 13 piece 2″ Annular Cutter Set, which cost $192.90 at the time of purchase.

What’s Good?

Mobility

Here are some things that I like about the mag drill. First is that it is mobile. It is something that I can take different places around my shop, and as long as I have power, I can drill a hole. It has a carrying handled at the top, which seems to be fairly well balanced if you have the drill head down. With the drill head up, it can be a little cumbersome.

Power

I’m glad I got the 1550W version. There are versions with less power and they will probably do fine for most work. I regularly drill large holes (1″+) through 1/4″ to 1/2″ steel. The unit handles the drilling quite well. I have had it bog down a little when the bit first cuts into the metal, but it recovers quickly.

What I don’t know is how the power is split. Some of the power goes to the electromagnets and the rest to the drill head. I would say that the magnets take the majority of the power, but I haven’t found any specs to support that.

Lubrication System

The drill press has a gravity feed lubrication system. There is a small bottle that mounts on the side of the unit and a clear hose that goes from the bottom of the bottle to the side of the drill spindle. There is a valve on the bottom side of the bottle to close off the flow at the bottle.

The lubrication at the drill bit is controlled by the centering pin of the annular bits. As you bring the bit down, the pin contacts the work first, and is pushed up to depress a spring actuated valve inside the spindle. That allows the oil to flow down the spindle directly to the work piece. The best part of it is that the oil flows through the center of the annular drill, so it is not being flung out as the drill spins.

Mislead By Other Reviews

I’ll be honest, during my research before buying this product, I found several reviews that didn’t use the lubrication system, or talked bad about it. So for much of the work that I’ve done, I just sprayed some WD-40 on it as I was drilling. But using this system is so much better! There are some downsides, that I will get to later in this post, but for the most part, I recommend using the system.

I tried the lubrication with NU-CLEAR thread cutting oil, as well as WD-40 (from a one-gallon can). The thread cutting oil is slightly more viscous (thicker) than the WD-40, but it still had no problem flowing. I didn’t try it with machine oil, but I feel like that will flow well too.

Controls

The controls are fairly solid. The main power switch, which turns on the electromagnet is a rocker-style switch with an LED light to show it’s on. The drill head is powered by a two-button rocker switch with the green being the on and the red being off. The variable speed control is a knob on the same panel as the power switches. It can be adjusted from 0 to 10, stopping at any point along the way. The variable speed control is the reason I ended up buying this particular unit.

The handles to lower the drill head are in the standard three handle configuration that you find on most drill presses. The difference is that the mechanism does not have a spring-return. Meaning that after you press the drill bit down, it does not want to return to the up position on its own. The drill head is held in place by friction. To adjust how much friction you have, tighten or loosen the 5 set screws on the side. Make small adjustments (1/8 or 1/16 of a turn).

Magnetic Base

The magnetic base measures 7-15/16″ x 4-1/16″ (203 mm x 103 mm). This gives the unit plenty of surface area to clamp onto with the magnet, assuming the piece you are clamping to is that big. The rated capacity of the magnet is 2922 pounds of force, or 13,000 Newtons. I have not tested this claim. I have found it to be quite stable when mounted to thicker steel. However, mounting to thinner metals, or metals that have thick layers of paint or powder coating, tends to reduce this quite a bit.

Let’s Talk About The Issues

There are some issues, that I feel need to be addressed. One is a safety issue, but the rest are functional, cost, or convenience related.

Safety Issue

The biggest problem that I have is that the unit’s main power switch, which also controls the magnet, is easy to turn off. That doesn’t sound like a problem, but if you are mounting the unit on the side of a structure and the only thing holding it on is the magnet, if the power is switched off, the unit will fall. Of course, you should be using the supplied safety strap, but there is a gap of time between setting the unit on the object and getting the strap secured. Also keep in mind that other sources of power failure (ie. grid power failure or the unit is unplugged) will result in the magnet being de-energized, which can cause the unit to fall. This is true with all mag drills.

There have been several times that I had to stand on the opposite side of the control panel to drill a hole, and when I reached around to turn the drill off, I hit the main power button, instead of the drill’s power button. The process of identifying the two switches by feel is enough to flip the main power switch. I would like to see a toggle switch with a flip-up cover to prevent accidental power loss.

Aside from the safety issue of the drill falling off if mounted horizontally or upside down, the magnet being turned off can cause the unit to move. You may be knocked off your position and have to reset before drilling. I’ve done this before and it can be frustrating.

Getting Operational

This drill comes with the items necessary for its operation. But what it really needs to be successful is a set of annular cutters with the Weldon shank. These do not come with the unit and even buying the Vevor brand (13 pieces, 2″ long), they cost more than the unit itself. This is not so much of a gripe as it is a caution to people on a budget.

Lubrication System

As I mentioned earlier, I like the lubrication system for the most part. I like to use some kind of oil-based coolant any time I drill through metal. It helps your bits last a lot longer.

Here is where I have trouble with it. It is a gravity feed system, which is fine for drilling in a “normal” orientation, but not good for drilling horizontally or upside down. Also, the flow is regulated at the tank. So when the valve at the tank is open and the drill is not using that oil, it just fills the tube with oil. Then when you go to use the drill, all the oil in the tube flows out unregulated. I would like to see a separate flow-control valve at the side of the drill shaft. Also, if you are using the drill chuck, no oil will flow through it.

Variable Speed Control

The variable speed control is the reason I bought this unit. However, I found that the range of speeds is a little weird. Not enough for me to not want to use the unit, but some people out there may not like it. The zero setting on the speed control is really 180 RPM. The number 10 setting of the control knob is 560 RPM. These are not exact RPM’s because I was using a phone app to take them, but they are reasonably close. This gives us a range of 380 RPM from top to bottom, which means that each number on the dial is 38 RPM.

My guess is that the range is really supposed to be from 500 down to 200 RPM, which would give graduations of 30 RPM. This is me just being picky because the adjustments are not limited to the number. The dial can be set at any point between 0 and 10. But it is worth noting that the RPM does not run from zero, it starts around 180-200.

Feed Handles

The handles used to move the drill head come loose frequently. They do not have flat spots on them to use a wrench to tighten them, so you can only get them as tight as you can turn them by hand. I would use Loctite on them, but sometimes I need to remove a handle for clearance. So I’m stuck with always turning the handles to make sure they are tight.

Heat

I have inadvertently left my unit on after drilling. When I discovered it was on about an hour later, I could barely touch it or the metal piece it was anchored to. It was very hot. The instruction manual does say that after continuous use of 2-3 hours, you need to let the unit cool down to prevent damage to the electromagnetic seat.

My Recommendation

Get it! Despite my complaints, I am extremely satisfied with this drill. I could have never accomplished my project without it. I absolutely hate drilling into metal with a handheld drill. And my gantry crane project had pieces that were too big to fit on my drill press. The only option was to take the drill press to them, which is where the mag drill comes in.

The price is great. Similar name brand units sell for as much as $1200. I got this unit for less than $200 and it gets the job done. As long as you understand the limitations and are willing to make some adjustments, this drill works as good as any.

If I were a machinist or had a job where I drilled holes all day every day, I would probably spring for the name brand tool. You’re more likely to get better support, although that’s not guaranteed anymore. But if you are a hobby machinist or fabricator, this will be a good investment.

See The Project I Where I Used The Drill

DIY Gantry Crane – Design
DIY Gantry Crane – Height Adjustment
DIY Gantry Crane – Prepare for Construction
DIY Gantry Crane – Final Assembly

Thank You

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