Which drill press to buy on a $500 budget

[scott vroom]

I'm undecided on which drill press to buy on a ~$500 budget. Looked at Griz 14, 17, 20" models.....all get mixed reviews. I'm also reading mixed reviews on Jet and Delta. Are all $500 drill presses crap? Anyone out there own one that drills accurately and doesn't have a wobbly chuck, crapply outrun, etc.? How hard can it be to make a good drill press? Also, why would Griz 14" quill travel be only 3.25 inches? Why in the world didn't they make it 3.5 so it would drill through std 4x boards (3.5 milled)?

Is a 14" DP big eough for most woodworkinng needs? Griz 20" weighs >300 lbs!! I hear you need a hoist to mount the head. Which applicationns would I encounter where I'd regret not havinng a 20"?

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Scott, I personally think a 14" drill press is a bit small, as it will only drill to 7" away from the column.

I have a 17" model and would actually go a bit larger if I were to replace it.

$500 isn't much for a drill press, I have an electric drill that costs that much.

I think we forget to adjust for inflation and currency devaluation as we get older. 30 years ago $500 was a lot more money than it is now, so perhaps the question should be how much does a quality drill press cost today?

Regards, Rod.

P.S. I forgot to answer your question about when you would need more capacity.

Often I use a fence with some flip stops on the drill press. If I remember correctly, my fence assembly is approximately 1.5" thick, which means a 20" drill press now only has the capacity of a 17" drill press.

Likewise your 14" drill press would only have the capacity of an 11" drill press.

[Jerome Hanby]

You can pick up a great condition Shopsmith MK V for that kind of money. Other than the minimum speed (about 700 RPM I think), it's a great drill press. Also makes a great sanding station and when you need it, having a horizontal boring machine is nice. Not bad for spindle work in Lathe Mode. Mine stays in Drill Press mode the majority of the time.

[phil harold]

I have an old south bend Drill press that has no slop/wobble

20 years ago I needed a more powerful drill press, I could not find one at a decent price without slop

I ended up with a milling machine from harbor freight, no slop with 5' stroke

heavy beast but accurate

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=33686

[Alex Shanku]

Well, I would not buy anything "new" at that price point.

Look, for example, what you could have for UNDER $500

http://www.owwm.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=64036

http://images.myphotoalbum.com/c/co/cod/code/codem/codemo/albums/album02/drill_press_072.sized.jpg

[Drew Eckhardt]

I'm undecided on which drill press to buy on a ~$500 budget. Looked at Griz 14, 17, 20" models.....all get mixed reviews. I'm also reading mixed reviews on Jet and Delta.

Forget the Delta 17-965. I couldn't leave wood on the table (it would walk off from vibration) until I installed link belts and even then its not smooth. There are other lesser fit and finish issues.

Consider something used off craigslist made by an American company when it had quality...

[Paul Ryan]

Well, I would not buy anything "new" at that price point.

Look, for example, what you could have for UNDER $500

http://www.owwm.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=64036

http://images.myphotoalbum.com/c/co/cod/code/codem/codemo/albums/album02/drill_press_072.sized.jpg


Alex,

You are lucky to live in an area where beauties like that go for sale. Up here if you were lucky enough to find something like that they would want 1k for it. I searched for over a year for a nice used old machine. About 8 months ago an old walker-turner variable speed came up for sale. It looked like it had been in a barn for 20 years and they still wanted $500 for it.

So, I bought new Jet JDP-17DX. Well it is a piece of dog stuff. I hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it. I tried again to make small 7" cribbage boards again yesterday. Drilling 1/8" holes about 1/4" apart. I started with the bit at its resting point (fully retracted) and turned the table up so the bit only plunged 5/16 to make its hole. The slop in the quill on it is still so bad that the holes still have an obvious, "wave" if you will, to them. I don't know what I need to do, but I have to call Jet again. The 1st round with them, they would do nothing, because the only spec for run-out is with the bit fully retracted.

I don't know what to tell you. But go and look for drill presses and find one with out the quill movement and buy that one. I checked an older jet 17" model, probably 3 years old, and it had very little slop when extended. I think it is a crap shoot. Some are maufactured better than others.

[CPeter James]

If you want a "real" drill press, get one of these. They are around and the going price is about $500 which is about what I paid for mine.
http://www.owwm.com/photoindex/images/7633-A.jpg

This one has 16 speeds from 160 rpm to 8200 rpm and both forward and reverse. Drills 31" from the column. The head tilts 45º left and right. It is a Walker Turner Ram Radial Drill. It is still available from Delta, but the price has gone up a little, $11,579.99.

http://www.mikestools.com/images/products/delta-15-127.jpg



CPeter

[Rich Neighbarger]

I'd have to agree with the above posts. Save your pennies and get a good used one.

I too have a Jet (the older 17MF), and too hated it. I picked it up thinking I got a deal for $350, then dropped another $450 with link belts chucks and other "fixes" to get it working correctly.

In hind sight, I should have spent the $800 up front on a good used press.

[James White]

In my opinion this drill press is one of the Harbor Freight gems. It looks like the Grizzly and Jet and a few other labels that I don't recall. More than likley made in the same factory. It regularly goes on sale at the retail locations for $450 and if you do a Goggle search for HF 20% coupon you can get this drill press for $360. I have had it for about six months and it works flawless. Run out on the arbor was .0005" and table was trammed nearly dead on.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=39955

James

[glenn bradley]

I have a 1940's Delta Milwaukee that is a much better machine than my 3 year old Delta 17-950. I was targeting the Steel City when a great price came by on the Delta. It has met my needs and I think it was worth the sub $300 price. It also was the last nail in the coffin for my relationship with Delta. Two warranty issues in the first year on a brand new machine? That combined with their near invisible involvement in solving my issue; I'm done.

The older machine was Grandpa's, then dad's now mine. Still runs smooth and true BUT, lacks the nice things we now expect from drill presses like a way to raise and lower the table without doing the Watusi. I would just watch this thread for the posts on likes and dislikes and move forward from there. You have to buy the machine, not the brand so pay close attention to specific maker/models that get the thumbs up or thumbs down(Delta being the exception, for me). Most of all, enjoy the process of selecting your new tool ;-)

[Lori Kleinberg]

Steel City. don't remember the cost or the stats, but this DP has been great. I drill a lot of very small entry holes for scroll sawing and with the laser it has been very accurate.

[Ben Martin]

My Powermatic 1150A only cost me $350, used drill presses are around, look on eBay there was 2 or 3 of my same drill press for the same money a couple weeks ago.

http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp325/martbj/Drill%20Press%20Table/IMG_2132.jpg

[Mike Shields]

Well, I would not buy anything "new" at that price point.

Look, for example, what you could have for UNDER $500

http://www.owwm.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=64036

http://images.myphotoalbum.com/c/co/cod/code/codem/codemo/albums/album02/drill_press_072.sized.jpg

So, your saying you wouldn't hesitate to buy this model if you were in the market for a DP?

[Alex Shanku]

Absolutely. Thats a fantastic price on a great, restored machine.

I have a 14" Delta DP220 from 1943 that works just great, so at this point, I am not in the market for another....

[Mike Shields]

Absolutely. Thats a fantastic price on a great, restored machine.

I have a 14" Delta DP220 from 1943 that works just great, so at this point, I am not in the market for another....

Before I look at this machine, which is a few miles from me, do you know what the availability is for the common-parts failures?

I'd hate to buy this, only to realize I can't find parts because it is 65 years old!

TIA

Mike

[Alex Shanku]

Before I look at this machine, which is a few miles from me, do you know what the availability is for the common-parts failures?

I'd hate to buy this, only to realize I can't find parts because it is 65 years old!

TIA

Mike


I cant speak for the bigger press, as I really only know for sure about my 14" delta. That said, I know that the bearings on my drill press are not available anymore. There is a work around, but you lose the ability to quick change spindles. I decided to clean and repack my existing bearings. No problems. There is a guy on OWWM that machines depth stop nuts, as well as pulley bearings.

A good search of the old posts at OWWM.org will address your concerns. But, I am confident in saying that that model drill press was extremely popular for a long time. It is still very popular amongst OWWM enthusiasts. I think you have nothing to worry about.

[Mike Lipke]

To Paul with the wavy cribbage board:
Have you tried "short" bits?
They are made to eliminate exactly what you are experiencing.

I know Grainger has them, prolly many others.

Big difference in wander, even with the runout you seem to have.

[Paul Ryan]

Mike,

What is a "short" drill bit. Can't you accomplish the same thing by chucking the bit in deeper?

[Mike Lipke]

Maybe, if you cut it off. A short bit is about 1 1/2" total.
You could try cutting an inch off of one of your "production" bits and see how it works.