Looking for advice on drill presses

[Brian Hughner]

OK guys, another drill press advice request. I'm in the market to upgrade from an old craftsman benchtop drill press to a nice big floor model. I'll use it mainly for woodworking, doing furniture making, etc. The problems I'm trying to solve are that the benchtop is too small and the quill travel is too short. Right now I'm looking at three drills in particular: The Jet JDP-17DX, the Steel City 17" (#20520) and the Grizzly 20" G7948.

Here is what I have so far:

Price - I can get the Jet and Steel City for the same price - $538, delivered. I can get the Grizzly for $595, delivered. So the cost is almost a wash between the three. Haven't seen any Deltas I like, the one I tried out at my local Lowe's kinda sucked.

Pros/Cons - The jet seems to be a nice, solid machine that people seem to like just fine. Nothing really bad or really great, just a nice, solid machine. The steel city gets recommended for the 6" quill travel and split head, but the company seems to be having a lot of trouble (local Woodcraft is in process of dropping them). I don't have a specific task that requires 6" travel, but people have recommended in other threads to get as much travel as possible. The Grizzly seems nice but it might be overkill for me and probably one really big machine! But it's a great price - for only $60 more bucks! Hard to pass up that offer. And I do like Grizzly - have a band saw, planer and jointer from them.

Craigslist - While I do occasionally see drill presses on my local Craigslist, I haven't seen any good deltas, jets or any older machines in a while. Seems like I see a lot of very old worn out junk and no-name bench tops. I know the old advice to look for good old machines on Craigslist but I like the idea of buying new. If a good one comes up I'll get it but in the meantime I want to look at buying new.

So here are my questions:

Should I stay away from Steel City because they may be imploding and getting parts and service would be a problem down the road? Is the 6" quill travel that much better that the 4 3/4 travel in the other presses? Is the Grizzly too much of a good thing? Is it worth the extra $60 bucks for a 20" machine? Should I wait to see what Grizzly brings out next (I've read the thread regarding variable speed presses from Grizzly)? Or should I go with a proven, solid machine like the Jet?

Any help clearing these questions up would be greatly appreciated!

[Paul Ryan]

Brian,


Check out this thread on the Jet 17DX that I own. You should be able to tell what I think of the machine from the thread. But from what I understand they all do the same thing. Personally I think it is bull.

I am scared to buy anything from Steel City after the horror stories I have been hearing. I owned one of their table saws for a year and really like it. But that was before the big shake up. Customer service during the Box's time running Steel City was top notch. Now that is not the case.

Anyway. The features on the jet are real nice. I was the only one I have heard complain about the movement of the quill, until I posted this thread. Now I am starting to think, if all modern day drill presses do this then maybe I am to picky. But it really drives me nuts, and the repair guy thinks it is bull too. So I am going to try the repair that was talked about in the thread. Good Luck



http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=122126

[Brian Kent]

Brian,

I think that of the 3, I would go with the Grizzly. I recently picked up a nicely kept up 20" Jet drill press from a cabinet shop that had closed down. The immense size is not a problem for floor space, and it is solid like a mountain.

The only real limit I see is if you move your tools around a lot. If so, buy or build a caster platform. It is not fond of sliding.

This is not a recommendation against the others. Just a recommendation for the 20" machine with Grizzly customer service.

Brian

[Chris Tsutsui]

I'm pleased with my Jet and their customer service though if you have the space. I'd say go with the "bigger" one. :)

I should mention that my drill press got a ton more useful after I got a table top with fence. (The rockler one)

Then I put on a mobil base and now I can move it out into the open if I need to bore a hinge hole in a long pantry door or something like that.

otherwise, trying to move a full size drill press that's very top heavy is quite difficult...

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi, after 20 some years, there still isn't any play in the head of my drill press, so I wouldn't worry about the split head design.

Long quill travel is a neat feature, however how many times have you had to bore a hole deeper that 4"?

If you did have to, could you accomplish the job by raising the table during the process?

Chuck run-out, a nice table, and a wide range of speeds would be more important to me than the other features.

Regards, Rod.

[Brian Hughner]

Gentlemen, thank you for the great advice. I certainly like the idea of going with the big iron, so I'm glad to hear some praises for the grizzly. As for the quill travel, you're right Rod, I don't really have an obvious need for that amount of travel so I agree that not having shouldn't be a show stopper. Chris, one of the first things I'll do with the new press is get a table for it, or make one, not sure which. I do like the looks of the Rockler one and have been happy with my other Rockler purchases like their cross cut sled. Brian, glad to hear the size shouldn't be an issue. I'm not planning on moving it once installed, but I will look into a mobile base for it if needed, and I do like Grizzly tools a lot.

As of now the plan is to talk to Grizzly and see how long their free shipping offer is going to last and, if possible, I'll stop by their PA store during Thanksgiving as I travel down to Baltimore. Hopefully Christmas will come early this year!

Thanks again for all the help, and I'll post pictures when I get the new press!

Brian

[Nathan Conner]

Hey, Brian. Don't give up hope on Craigslist! I picked up a Shop Fox Radial Drill press that needed some cleaning for $100 via Craigslist. It was cleaned up in about 45 minutes, and looks like new. It has hardly seen any use, and the belt had detent marks in it from sitting still for so long. It's obviously been used little in a long while. It came out of a professional lumber reseller's shop.

I love the radial feature, and the 1/2 HP is plenty for me. I do some pen blanks, stopped drilling for shelf pins in large cases, and that radial feature really comes in handy. (Have I mentioned the radial feature?)

No complaints AT ALL on the drill, though I'm more of a weekender than a pro, relying on 2 hours' use daily. Honestly, after using it, I'd purchase a new one of these given the choice between it and the others you mention, though I'm partial to Jet/Powermatic stuff.

Good luck!

[Eddie Darby]

Grizzly is suppose to be coming out with a DP made for woodworkers soon. If waiting a few months isn't a problem, then I would wait.

[Frederick Wilt]

I settled on this: Delta 20-950 - 20" Variable Speed.

It took a while to get one but it was worth the wait.

I have seen some mention that it is no longer available but I don't know for sure.

[Brian Hughner]

Nathan - thanks for the info on the radial press. I've seen them but was always concerned about possible problems with movement of the arm. Sounds like you've had good luck so I'll add this to my list.

Eddie - I heard the same thing about Grizzly. Definitely interested in anything Grizzly foes just worried that it won't fit in my price range if they come out with something like a variable speed drill.

Actually, variable speed is an interesting idea. The drill presses I've seen that are variable speed tend to be on the expensive side (at least for a hobbiest like me). I haven't had too many issues with changing belts on my current benchtop.

Is variable speed really worth the added expense?

[george wilson]

I had a 20" new Delta variable speed. It was so noisy I put on a new belt,then left a clamp clamped across the sheetmetal housing evermore. The chuck didn't run true,and WOULD NOT GRASP THE DRILL BITS,scarring them all up. I had to buy a genuine Jacob's chuck for it.

That was at work. I won't get one for home.

[Bill Fleming]

I have an old Jet (27 year old Orbit) - it was a couple of hundred bucks new and has served me well but is difficult to adjust table angle and the quill has too much runout at full extension (about 3.5")

So my advice is - you will probably use it for a long time.... I wish I had bought better at the time but choices were very limited at the time cheap or expensive Delta, etc.

So while I really like the specs of the new Delta I have heard too many problems so I am looking at the new Powermatic.

Have you considered that or are there issues with it as well (other than being on higher end of cost) ?

Cheers - Bill

[Brian Hughner]

Just as a follow-up:

A Grizzly 20" drill press came up on Craigslist a few days ago, supposedly in very good condition. Drove out last night and came home with this practically brand new Grizzly, for about $450.

Thanks to everyone for the helpful advice in my quest for my new drill press. I'm looking forward to running this baby for a long, long time.

[Howard Phillips]

I'd say look at the Ridgid model.

It's a great price and gets great reviews.

I'm not sure how the specs compare, but you can't beat the reviews for that price and performance.

[Joe Jensen]

I am one who prioritizes quill travel at the top of my list. Moving the table is a pain (my old drill press has no table raise system). With 6" of quill travel I can accommodate 0-2" thick stock with nearly every single bit I own. I haven't moved the table in at least 6 months. Have you watched EBAY for old iron used? I paid less than $200 for my 1960s Rockwell. I saw a Powermatic variable speed 1150 go for under $500 recently. That would be over $2000 new today.

[Cary Falk]

Uh, <pointing up> Brian alread found a Grizzly on CL.

[Alan Marchbanks]

Brian

I have had the Grizzly 20" for 3-4 years and like it, especially the large square table.

Alan

[Drew Pavlak]

Keep watching CL. I recently picked up a Jet-JDP17FSE for $150. This thing was brand new. A little surface rust, but it runs great. I honestly don't think the guy ever used it.

Still had the packing grease on the column and the white powder coat/paint on the table.

I couldn't see where there was a single shaving on it, wood or metal. No marks on the table or any where else for that matter.

I have to do things with little to no budget, so for me this was a great deal.

Drew