ridgid drill press questions???

[Tom Hildebrand]

Is a mint condition Ridgid drill press DP1500 any different than the 1550? Is it worth 150.00 considering the clearances at HD. Which haven't hit my area by the way.
thanks

[Neil Brooks]

If your post weren't slipping low, I wouldn't chime in ... largely because my info is purely 2nd hand.

But ...

1) http://www.asktooltalk.com/reviews/stationary/ridgid-drill-press.php

2) My brother is a former TTI guy (Ridgid, and a few other brands). If I'm not mistaken, he has both models, and a bench-top model or two.

He loves each and every one of them.

My experience with Ridgid tools has been uniformly excellent. I have a belt sander, oscillating spindle sander, planer, jointer/planer, and ... one or two others.

The price? I know even less about that.

Hope the above helps ... if only a little.

[Thomas Williams]

Yes there are some subtle differences between the 2 models. The 1500 is the older model, which I have. I paid under 100 for mine which was the floor model at the local HD. Was a little rough and missing chuck key, tools and manual. If I were in the market for a drill press, I would consider 150 for a mint DP1500, of course you could always negotiate.

[John Thompson]

I've been using a 1550 for around 7-8 years.. Is it worth $150 mint? Yeah.. it is worth $300 mint for that matter. Good chuck.. sufficient table but you need to make one larger for WW'ing as most DP's.. good run-out.. sufficient quill travel.. very easy belt change for speeds.. a good machine from top to bottom. The lid is easy to open and stays up also. :)

Not one problem with mine and I am in the shop 5-6 days a week since retirement. BTW.. the motor HP is fine as DP's are finesse machines and don't require a lot of HP unless you run large fly cutters. And it you are smart IMO.. you shold avoid them on a DP to start with..

Hope that helps..