RIDGID drill press???

[Paul Macias]

the home depot nearest me is selling the RIDGID DP 1550 drill press for $270, which seems like a good deal for a heavy-duty looking drill press. does anybody have any experience with or opinions on this tool?

[Steve Wurster]

I picked up this same model 2 months ago for the same price (after tax). I had been eyeing this model for a while and jumped at it when I saw the price. Plus I also had gift cards. *grin*

I don't have experience with any other press, but I really like this one. I needed help getting the head/motor onto the column, but otherwise the entire assembly went smoothly. I have since made an auxiliary table for it with a drawer. I'm glad I made the purchase.

[Greg R Bradley]

I have two friends that have that one. It is the best $300 floor mount drill press that I have seen. I have seen them in HD for $250-270 on sale, which is even better. Makes the $300 PC unit that Lowes sells look bad. The table is a bit more targeted to metal work than wood but if you are going to mount an accessory drill press table on it then that probably doesn't matter. The Delta 17-959 that I have is a step up but even on the sales I have seen recently is about $500.

Let me put it this way: When I saw them the other day at the local HD for $250, I started thinking about justifying the space for a second drill press. The dream about getting one car back into my 3-car garage and the reality of my bank account won out.

[Cyrus Brewster 7]

I bought this last year for $150 new at an HD that was getting rid of slow moving tools (the RIDGID bandsaw was priced at $189). I have used it extensively - I was even drilling 1" holes in stainless when I made a woodworking vise for my dad.

I has some shortcomings (3" quill travel, limited depth), but I would buy it again for $270. If you do get it make sure you put some heavy grease on the threads of the handle that tightens the table clamp to the post. This makes tightening the table after height adjustment a breeze. A table and LOW fence are a must also.

[Jason White]

I have one and love it. You'll need to make a bigger table and fence out of plywood for woodworking, though. No biggee.

[Richard Dooling]

This and the Porter Cable are good machines with some differences that may or may not matter to you. I was on the fence between the two but went with the PC and I'm happy with it.

BTW the Ridgid lists a 3.75" quill travel and the PC lists 4" - negligible to me.

I like the lamp better on the PC - again a minor issue.

If you can get the Ridgid for a better price, that might be your decider.

Check the specs:

http://www.ridgid.com/Tools/15inch-Drill-Press/EN/index.htm

http://www.portercable.com/Products/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=24037

[Adam Cormier]

It is a fantastic drill press. I purchased a table for it (through Lee Valley for $99) and it has been a fantastic addition. Cuts through even the hardest wood I have with larger bits without any give at all. Very stable square (of course, I spent the time to make sure everything was that way during set up.

[Neil Brooks]

Is/Isn't this the one that ... had one minor issue -- vibration -- handily remedied with a link belt ??

[Joseph Tarantino]

Is/Isn't this the one that ... had one minor issue -- vibration -- handily remedied with a link belt ??
that was the band saw.

[Greg Urwiller]

I'm really glad this question was asked! My local HD has this DP marked down to, I believe, $225. But, it needs (according to ereplacements.com) a "support table w/indicator" which is the casting that mounts the table to the post. It's laying there beside the DP, the casting is broken, from what I have no idea. $45 from ereplacement.com. So I was thinking about making a low ball offer to see what happens. But, I didn't really know anything about this DP and hadn't gotten around to ask online. Great timing! Right now I've got a Taiwan "Test Rite" bench top DP. It's only got about 2 1/2" quill travel. But, I will have to say it's never let me down in all the years I've had it. So I wondered when I saw this thread. Thanks. Greg

[Adam Gerlach]

Greg - I recently purchased this drill press for $200 as a floor model. It was missing a few minor parts: 2x belts, chuck key, safety key,... (which got me an extra 25% off!) I called my local Ridgid service rep and they replaced all the missing parts under warranty with no hesitation. I suspect you will have the same experience regarding the broken casting.

In my experience, Ridgid customer service is exceptional. I bought a refurbished R4511 table saw with a chipped granite top off of ebay and when it can the granite was in really bad shape. When I called Ridgid I thought they wouldn't do anything since it was factory refurbished and purchased from ebay. All I had to do was show them my ebay receipt and the serial number and they replaced the granite and the fence rails in 3 days at no cost to me! (over $700 worth of parts from ereplacements.com) That was my first Ridgid purchase and I'll make sure it wasn't my last.

[Neil Brooks]

that was the band saw.

Ah. Sounds right. Thank you.

[Hank Wangford]

Ridgid DP1550 (http:// drillpress-reviews.info/ridgid-dp1550-drill-press-review/) for that much money seems like a good deal.
Is the offer still on, I wonder?

[Rich Engelhardt]

My local HD has this DP marked down to, I believe, $225. But, it needs (according to ereplacements.com) a "support table w/indicator" which is the casting that mounts the table to the post. It's laying there beside the DP, the casting is broken, from what I have no idea. $45 from ereplacement.com
Talk to the store manager and see if he'll (or she'll) back you on a warranty replacement for that part.
When I bought my Ridgid jointer it was missing the little yellow plastic on/off safety insert. The HD store called Ridgid and ordered one for me. Ridgid denied the HD claim and told them I'd have to contact them directly.
When I called Ridgid customer service, their attitude was, "Tough luck, you should have thought of that before you bought the tool. We'll gladly sel you one for $4.95 w/$17.00 shipping".

I called HD back and told them I wasn't too happy - no - wait - actually I went down to HD and complained about it. The service desk at HD told me they don't handle anything post-sale for Ridgid - except returns. If I wanted to return the jointer, then they would be happy to give me a refund. The young lady at the desk called Ridgid and gave me the name of someone in customer service, then she gave me her name.

The second call to Ridgid went much the same as the first until I mentioned the name of the girl from HD. I was put on hold for a couple min,, then when the CS rep came back, she asked me for my shipping address, the model number and serial number of the jointer & told me one would be shipped that day - no charge.

I'm w/Adam - it's worth a shot.

[Steve Colvin]

Sadly, Home Depot & Ridgid have raised the price of this drill press to $499, taking it out of the "best buy" category. Guess I'll be looking at Jet and/or Delta instead.

[Cyrus Brewster 7]

Sadly, Home Depot & Ridgid have raised the price of this drill press to $499, taking it out of the "best buy" category. Guess I'll be looking at Jet and/or Delta instead.

Wow! I just sold my 2 year old one for $125.

[john bateman]

Sadly, Home Depot & Ridgid have raised the price of this drill press to $499, taking it out of the "best buy" category. Guess I'll be looking at Jet and/or Delta instead.

The PorterCable mentioned in an earlier post is on sale at Lowes for $279.