Drill Press HP

[Dave Clermont]

I, like the poster below me am in the market for a drill press. I have never owned one before and am looking at spending around 400. I know the SC has high praise and a long quill travel but it's out of my budget and at this point in my hobby I think a bit more tool than I need.

With that in mind is 1/2 hp enough or should I look at 3/4hp. Of course more HP usually means less quill travel and a few other sacrifices... If more hp is the way to go than that takes out the Delta 950L and the Ridgid. Looks like I would be leaning towards a Jet 15" or a Grizzly. What's everyone's thought's/opinions on HP VS. Quill travel and such.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[glenn bradley]

My 17-950 is a half horse and I've never even had it notice a load. I do use sharp cutters and proper speeds. I will say that the 17-959 is a major step up and a whole different animal. I was saving for the SCTW (also a step up) when a 'steal' came along on the Delta. I have had two warranty issues in as many years which I do not find acceptable.

Grandpa's 1/3 HP, 1940, Delta Milwaukee (now mine) is a superior machine but the lack of modern features led me to a newer machine. With the warranty issues behind me and a little tweaking here and there, I am happy with the 17-950 for what I paid. I guess the telling thing about the half horse and the machine itself is that I never even slow down when flipping past DP's in catalogs anymore ;-)

[Rich Neighbarger]

... 1/2 hp enough or should I look at 3/4hp. ...

With the gear reduction through the pulley system, you will never notice the difference.

[John Thompson]

Dave... HP doesn't mean a whole bunch with a DP as it would with most machines. I would not have a 20" planer with less than 5 HP running 20" wide oak through it. The planer needs HP to pull the load of the wood.. drive gears and feed rollesrs.

But.. I have had a Ridgid DP for about 6-7 years as I got the 1550 when it first came out. A DP is designed to drill a tiny hole with a bit that is designed to do the main work. I drilled 1 1/2" holes with a forstner yesterday. I have been at this for 38 years and retired two years ago. I spend 8 hours a day in my shop and have produced a bed.. a 5 drawer and 6 drawer chest.. a TV stand.. shoe rack for the BR.. an entertainment center for my son.. a mission coffee table and just completed a large computer desk-hutch with a fish tank table almost done.

Nine large carcasses with #10 coming before two years in Oct. My low HP Ridgid has not burped nor have I had a need for anything larger excluding longer quill travel in one instance on work-bench dog holes. If I find a SC 6" quill travel used.. I will upgrade but have not been limited in any other way using the low HP DP. As stated by someone.. the gearing and I will add the bit does the work and neither require a team of Clydesdales to pull the wagon.

Good luck...

[Tom Veatch]

... What's everyone's thought's/opinions on HP VS. Quill travel and such...

My DP is 3/4HP with about 4 1/2" quill travel (Jet 17"). I'd much rather have more quill travel than more HP. As a previous post mentioned, I don't see a DP as being a power-critical machine. But the usual disclaimer applies: depends on what you're going to do with it. If you are planning on running huge hole saws in tough material, power considerations might come into play, but pushing half inch twist bits through hardwoods isn't going to create a large power requirement.

The only times I've stalled my 3/4HP DP was using a fly cutter and that was a case of the belts slipping. More power won't cure that.

[Danny Burns]

Drill Presses are not really HP driven machines. You need to be drilling some really big holes into some pretty hard material, before it becomes a problem.

Since you sound like a hobbyist I can't see you trying to drill 1" holes into hard steel.

I would try to increase my budget, and get the SC DP since it has the ability to maintain accuracy down the road with the split-head design.
I am thinking that if it does come time to resell this DP that it will do better than others on the market because of this design feature, since DP's are all about accuracy.
Being able to 'chase away' run-out over the life of the machine will help to keep this DP performing well over the years.

[Dave Clermont]

Thanks for all the great information! That does make sense about the HP not being as big of a factor because of the gear reuctions through the pulleys.

I'm definitely a hobbyist, 95% or more is going to be drilling through wood, so it sounds like 1/2 HP would work for what I'm doing. I'm thinking I may go with the 17-950L and take the extra money and put it words a band saw or another peice of equipment.

Again thanks for all the great information. still a week or two away for making the purchase but I will keep you all posted as to what I end up doing.