New VS drill press

[Jeff Dolter]

I had been in the market for a new drill press for awhile. My wish list included variable speed, extended quill travel and a large swing. I scanned Craigslist for several months hoping to snag an old Clausing or Powermatic without any luck. Laguna makes one, but the quill travel is only 3 inches. The 20 inch Delta was a strong contender...until it was discontinued. I considered waiting for the rumored Grizzly model, and then I ran across this:

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200365433_200365433

It is sold through Northern Tools and retails for $599. I picked it up yesterday and after assembling it I decided to put down my thoughts about it in case anyone is in a similar situation.



The dp is pretty heavy..over 300 lbs. Lots of cast iron. The finish quality of the casting is questionable in spots but that is purely cosmetic and shouldn't have any affect on accuracy. Assembly went smoothly but the manual is only adequate.

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Specs are pretty good: 20 inch swing, var. speed (300-2000 rpm), 4.75 in. spindle travel. It comes with a 1-1/2 hp motor but I know imports tend to inflate that number so I have my doubts. A 3/4-inch capacity keyed chuck is included. I hadn't considered the lower end of the chuck range and 3/16th is smallest bit it will grip. I may purchase a 0-1/2 inch Jacobs chuck to use for smaller bits. A drift key is included to facilitate chuck removal.

Speed changes are accomplished using a Reeves drive pulley system. RPMs are controlled with a handle located on the left side of the head. The handle moves smoothly throughout the speed range and is easily controlled with one hand. Noise and vibration are what I would call "acceptable". A nice feature is the digital speed readout located under the on/off switch. A switched light is recessed into the underside of the head.

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I was glad to find that the drill depth/stop was controlled by a rotating collar on the right side of the head. This was the same system my old dp used. If you're used to the stop nut system you may not care for this feature.

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In the end, accuracy is the most important feature of any dp. After assembly was completed, I broke out the dial indicator and took some readings. Runout at the spindle was a respectable 1/1000. I mounted the arbor/chuck and checked runout on the shank of a chucked 1/2 drill bit: 12/1000ths....not good. I remounted the chuck, turning it 180 degrees on the arbor and runout dropped to 3-4/1000ths....I can live with that but a higher quality chuck may solve the problem.

All in all, I'm happy with my new tool. It is light years better than my old drill press. It should be all the drill press I'll ever need (until that mint Clausing 20 inch for $500 shows up on Craigslist):)

[Bruce Page]

Congrats Jeff. That looks like a serious DP!

[Mike Reinholtz]

Very cool gloat, I just upgraded from a 12" benchtop to a 17" General Floor machine. The drill chuck that came with mine was a "Golden Goose" brand 5/8" chuck, after installing it I couldn't get better than .012". After a recommendation from my father in law (tool and die maker) to try a Jacobs 14N Super Chuck I measured run out with a dial indicator at .0025- .003".

A benefit of this is also the capacity goes down to .04" to 1/2", and any time I'm using a bit bigger than 1/2" I use reduced shank bits with ground flats for better holding. The Forstner bit set I have also have flats ground on the shanks.

[Bill Lawrence]

Very timely post from my standpoint. I've been looking at variable speed drill presses for a while now (especially used) and haven't found one that I like. Then I stumbled across this press at the Northern Tool site.

Couple of questions:
1) Does it have a quill lock?
2) Do you think a standard commercial drill presss table will fit on it without blocking the table adjustment mechanism?

[Jeff Dolter]

Bill,

It does have a quill lock. You can set the drilling depth/lock the quill at any location using the same rotating collar on the right side of the head.

The elevation crank does come pretty close to the table. The table measurements are on the website. Any drill press table (either commercial or home-rolled) can't extend much over the right edge without interfering with that crank. I designed my last dp table with a relief cutout for the table crank.

Another option would be to replace the crank with an aftermarket hand wheel, similar to what is used on a tablesaw.

[Bill Lawrence]

Bill,

It does have a quill lock. You can set the drilling depth/lock the quill at any location using the same rotating collar on the right side of the head.

The elevation crank does come pretty close to the table. The table measurements are on the website. Any drill press table (either commercial or home-rolled) can't extend much over the right edge without interfering with that crank. I designed my last dp table with a relief cutout for the table crank.

Another option would be to replace the crank with an aftermarket hand wheel, similar to what is used on a tablesaw.

Great info, thanks!

I actually prefer the rotating collar to a rod depth stop, just seems easier to use and more accurate. Good to know there's a lock on it -- can't really tell from the online manuals.

From the pictures I was worried about the table handle. Looks like I'd have to build a table (or mod a commercial one) to get it to fit right.

The runout seems pretty acceptable for a machine at this price. I've seen posts on other new 20" brand name machines with runouts that were higher. Plus you are probably right about an afternmarket chuck -- it should improve it even more.

Just curious, did you look at any other variable speed models before you decided on this one?

Looks like its time to head over to Northern and spend some money...