Are there any "good" new drill presses?

[Brad Swanson]

I'm in the market for a drill press, and have been doing a fair bit of research on the subject. Seems like there isn't even a partial consensus on a make/model someone should buy if they want to buy new. I've been looking at the Delta 18-900L and Grizzly models, but there seems to be quality concerns for every model I have been researching (including the Delta). Am I missing some thing here, or is this the lay of the land for new drill presses? Thanks.

[Andrew Fleck]

I can't speak much for newer presses, but I have heard that Delta is having some issues with customer support and parts. I know a few people who like their Ridgid presses and I personally haven't heard anything bad about them.

[Glenn Kramer]

I purchased a Powermatic 8200B about 2 months ago but was skeptical of the reviews I read about it predecessor the PM8200. So far I am very pleased with the machine. The variable speed works perfectly, the built in LED work lights and the laser work quite well. This machine is very solid. I did however add a Woodpeckers drill press table. I feel the PM8200B was worth the additional $.

Good luck with your search.

[Jim Laumann]

Brad

A timely post, as I am also looking for a press. Will be interesting to see the results.

Jim

[Phil Thien]

Steel City makes a unit with a split head. The split head allows some adjustment to remove slop between the head bore and the quill. I think that is a nice feature.

I see used Delta (and other) presses on Craigslist w/ split heads quite often.

I have a Ridgid that is decent. No split head but at least the quill fits the bore perfectly. I've had a few cheapie presses with quite a bit of quill slop.

[glenn bradley]

Glenn K's post is the 2nd or 3rd positive review I have read about the PM so it is possible to get a good one. My brother tried the original PM2800 and had to return it. Dad tried the Delta 17-959 and it was quite a bit better than the PM although, as you may have deduced from reading other reports, maybe dad got lucky and brother didn't(?). It seems like the best bet is to get a look at the actual machine you are going to take home; not always possible or practical.

Interestingly, if you go to the Delta website, the 18-900 is their only offering; they used to have dozens(?). I was waiting in anticipation for a new Grizzly DP that was rumored awhile back. They do have a new unit but, it is not a woodworking machine so I may have been confused. Like you I find it a mystery that we cannot produce a decent quality drilling machine south of $2500. I have to assume there is just not enough market to support the effort although many woodworkers feel differently, including me ;-).

[Guy Belleman]

I have been happy with several of the General tools I have, so their 17" extended stroke appeals to me.

[Brian Lefort]

I have the Delta, and can't praise it enough. Delta still makes quality tools in some areas, and this is certainly one of them.

[Mark Smith, too]

I have the Delta, and can't praise it enough. Delta still makes quality tools in some areas, and this is certainly one of them.

I, too have the Delta. Got it about 2 years ago. Except that the light goes on occasionally by itself when you turn the drill press on I have had no problems. Strong and well-built.

[marty shultz]

I bought a Delta (used) that had never been turned on. It still had cosmoline and plastic on it. It's probably 6 years old now. Made in Mexico and not made very well. The chuck won't stay in the head without loc-tite.

Why not buy an old drill press? I have a 30 yr old Delta that runs perfectly.

[Glenn Kramer]

I ordered my PM 2800B without seeing it from CPO. Again, I have absolutely no regrets. I just used it last night to bore 4" holes with a LV forstner bit. It did not blin, especially at the lowest speed!

Glenn K's post is the 2nd or 3rd positive review I have read about the PM so it is possible to get a good one. My brother tried the original PM2800 and had to return it. Dad tried the Delta 17-959 and it was quite a bit better than the PM although, as you may have deduced from reading other reports, maybe dad got lucky and brother didn't(?). It seems like the best bet is to get a look at the actual machine you are going to take home; not always possible or practical.

Interestingly, if you go to the Delta website, the 18-900 is their only offering; they used to have dozens(?). I was waiting in anticipation for a new Grizzly DP that was rumored awhile back. They do have a new unit but, it is not a woodworking machine so I may have been confused. Like you I find it a mystery that we cannot produce a decent quality drilling machine south of $2500. I have to assume there is just not enough market to support the effort although many woodworkers feel differently, including me ;-).

[Charles Coolidge]

I have the Delta about 1 year old and its worked great! I pitched the China chuck in the trash and installed a precision Albrecht.

Here its holding up a planer table extension so I can get the bolts started. Ditto when I assembled the table saw and this week it held up one end of a make shift infeed table so I could cut some long boards. That the BIG drill press table can adjust in height from near the floor to well above any of my machines comes in handy.

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The precision keyless chuck.

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[Steve Rozmiarek]

+1 for that cheap little ridgid, it's a perfectly good machine for most stuff. FYI, I have a Delta benchtop from the early 90's that is junk. I suspect it was the cheapest model at the time, and it still shows. Get a good delta if you go that way, some of them are.

[Charles Coolidge]

That's a nice looking drill press, I like that the T slots come all the way out the front and also like the fence that would be quite handy. Wish the base was a bit larger.

[Mike Heidrick]

Did you consider a Rong Fu RF-30 or 31 or clone? You will not go back to a drill press after owning a Mill/Drill. G1007 is grizzly's model of it I think. Moving to r8 collets will open up toolds you have not used in woodworking before.

[rl]http://www.grizzly.com/outlet/Mill-Drill-w-Variable-Speed-Power-Feed/G1007[/url]

[Tai Fu]

I was wondering about a mill/drill.. the problem I see is you might not be able to drill as large of an object as a floor drill press, instead being much more limited than benchtop drill press, however you could mill metal too.

Now if I can find one that won't weight half a ton...

[Scott T Smith]

For woodworking, I don't think that you will go wrong with either one of the PM or Delta units mentioned. I have the Delta, and love it. I'm a big Grizzly fan, but not of their drill presses. They are just not in the same league as the current Delta or PM offerings.

[Earl Rumans]

I got the Delta last summer and it's a great machine so far. I also researched the choices and decided the Delta was the best quality DP for woodworking, that will also allow slow enough speeds to be able use it for drilling metal with large bits.

[John Coloccia]

The big Delta is about it. I wish it was a split head. I wish it had a real quill lock. If it did, I would buy one.

[Lee Reep]

I swear that if you want to buy "old iron" (drill press, table saw, bandsaw, ...) you will only find them in the East or Midwest -- areas that once had some serious manufacturing going on. I live in Colorado, and it seems that if anything does show up for sale, it was probably sitting in a barn, and a leaky one at that, and is one big rust heap.

My wife and I say we ought to become pickers. Not for the money, but to head east and find things for our own use. :D

I am about to give up and just spend a bunch of cash and get a Powermatic drill press. I looked at one at Woodcraft, and it looks like a really nice machine. I have a Powermatic bandsaw, and it has been a real workhorse. No regrets at all about that purchase (other than I still am not a fan of mustard yellow ...)

[Erik Manchester]

I have a 17" Steel City that I paid $200 for lightly used and I have no complaints, lots of power, no play, and very solid.

There are no good new drill presses that go cheap, but lots of deals on vintage industrial presses if you are willing to buy a VFD or replace three phase motor with a single phase.

[Alan Bienlein]

I would pay what they are asking for a new drill press. My wife bought me the floor model that Tractor Supply sells one year for christmas and never had a problem with it in 9 years. It was the best $169 she ever spent on a tool! It's comparable to the G7944 except mine has 16 speeds and cost less than half of the Grizzly.

Just recently I purchased a drill press off of Craigslist. It's a Wilton A5816VS. Cost all of $150 for a 426 pound beast and to top it off she had to twist my arm to go buy it!
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[Rich Riddle]

For the new drill presses, the Delta floor model reviews the best followed by the Powermatic. Look at the quill stroke when comparing models. Calculate a decent chuck into the purchase price. Most don't come equipped with good chucks.

[Mike Heidrick]

The head rotates if you need to drill long pieces. Recall the number of times the travel would not have been enough for you. TONS of potential in the R8 collet offerings. power feed, power down feed, DRO, reverse, Tons of options out there.

Tons of guys cnc the dovetail models out as well as a DIY - G0704 is very popular to do that. You wont be rotating the head on it though.

A RF30 is 800lbs. The G0704 is 400lbs.

[Tai Fu]

I have not seen too many used mill drills for sale in Taiwan, most used mills sold here are 1.5 ton knee mills. It would be great to have but there would be serious trouble getting it in my shop. I'm using a drill press that is the same as Grizzly G7943 and it has served me well. On another thread I talked about getting a knee mill to replace the drill press and it didn't seem like such a good idea.

[Carroll Courtney]

Myself,I purchase the 17" Griz used and I'm glad that I did not buy a new one.It does OK for drilling holes in wood but if you need precision its not going to work.The pulley setup for changing speeds is very cheesy,and like most manufactures they spend all their money to make them look pretty.But a precision type DP is going to cost like a Clausing ouch!!!Good luck and let us know what you decide on----Carroll

[Keith Outten]

I own a Grizzly Mill Drill. In the past I have had several drill presses but I found that the mill drill works best for me.

When I bought my Mill Drill I decided to make my own stand. I designed my stand to have flat sides so I could still be able to drill long pieces by rotating the head over the side of the table and clamping parts to the table sides. My stand is made from 4" by 4" by 3/8" thick angle iron. Its heavy, and all the connections are welded.

There are serious advantages that Mill Drills have over drill presses and I don't think that there is any drill press on the market at any price point that I would trade for owning a mill drill. The big milling machines are not for me, way to much machine for the work I do in my shop.
.

[Randy Rose]

Have the Delta 18-900L , no issues or problems with the machine.

[John Coloccia]

What's the swing on your mill/drill? That's the killer for me. I really use all 18" of my DP. I would love to have a mill and lathe in the shop, though.

[Keith Outten]

John,

The swing on my G1005 model mill drill is realistically 14" at the table. I haven't found the swing distance to be much of a problem particularly since I can drill large sheets on my CNC Router if the need arises.

Years ago I had a Grizzly G9969 Radial Drill Press that had a 45" swing but the head would flex when you tried to drill large holes or use hole saws. The distance from the chuck to the table surface was also a problem because you had to build an auxiliary table to get flat material up high enough to use the drill. Basically there wasn't enough spindle travel to reach the table even when the head was at its lowest position.

What I found to be a major advantage owning a mill drill is that milling machines are designed for transverse loading on the bearings. An adjustable XY table is also a primary feature that I wouldn't want to do without anymore.

Short of buying a giant drill press to get a large swing distance the mill drill seems to be the best compromise for me after trying about six different drill presses over the years.

If I got a job that required a lot of holes to be drilled in the center of large sheets I would purchase a mag drill. It would be easy to setup a jig to hold the mag drill over a work bench and slide sheets under the chuck.
.

[Mike Heidrick]

13 3/8 is the swing of my RF30. On small benchtop mill drills like the RF30 you will definitely trade swing for versatility. The number of times I am drilling in the middle of a 36" piece is pretty rare for me and I am a duplicate machine guy so I have other ways to skin those cats. I guess it is all in whats best for the work you want to do. A dry cutting only mill sure is handy with wood though a lot of the time.

[John Downey]

I swear that if you want to buy "old iron" (drill press, table saw, bandsaw, ...) you will only find them in the East or Midwest -- areas that once had some serious manufacturing going on. I live in Colorado, and it seems that if anything does show up for sale, it was probably sitting in a barn, and a leaky one at that, and is one big rust heap.

My wife and I say we ought to become pickers. Not for the money, but to head east and find things for our own use. :D

I am about to give up and just spend a bunch of cash and get a Powermatic drill press. I looked at one at Woodcraft, and it looks like a really nice machine. I have a Powermatic bandsaw, and it has been a real workhorse. No regrets at all about that purchase (other than I still am not a fan of mustard yellow ...)

I bought an old iron bench model from a machinery vendor in Texas and had it shipped for $200. Trick is to make your own arraignments through a freight vendor (there are lots of online ones these days). The part that saves you a lot of money is arraigning to pick it up at a transfer warehouse - I've done that a bunch of times and it's easy, they've all been fine with forking the crate into a pickup. Hardest part is finding vendors who'll crate the machine to make the sale.

Alternatively, you can order a lot of stuff through vendors like Home Depot who'll ship it free to the store for pickup. Not sure Woodcraft does that, our local Woodcraft closed several years ago.

[george newbury]

I swear that if you want to buy "old iron" (drill press, table saw, bandsaw, ...) you will only find them in the East or Midwest -- areas that once had some serious manufacturing going on. I live in Colorado, and it seems that if anything does show up for sale, it was probably sitting in a barn, and a leaky one at that, and is one big rust heap.

My wife and I say we ought to become pickers. Not for the money, but to head east and find things for our own use. :D

I am about to give up and just spend a bunch of cash and get a Powermatic drill press. I looked at one at Woodcraft, and it looks like a really nice machine. I have a Powermatic bandsaw, and it has been a real workhorse. No regrets at all about that purchase (other than I still am not a fan of mustard yellow ...)
Actually you just need to be where there are schools (usually high schools) getting rid of their equipment.

This little pile of equipment pictured
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I obtained for about $1,000, well except for this little bandsaw that they threw in for free.

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As of this writing this pair of tools are on auction in Arizona.

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And one thing about the school auction is that you can be pretty sure the equipment wasn't used too hard, like some industrial equipment in a factory that ran 16 hours per day.

[Benjamin Miller]

Clausing still makes drill presses in the USA. I have a gently used 20" from the 70's in my metal shop, but be prepared to spend over $4000 for a new one.

For woodworking, all you really need is a long quill extension and a spindle that runs true. As someone else mentioned, most of the provided chucks are garbage. An Albrecht or even a Chinese copy will make a world of different.

[Tai Fu]

But if you had to pay 4000 dollars for a new drill press, wouldnt it make more sense to get a mill/drill?

but just thinking out loud:

The price difference between a decent drill press (about 300-500 dollars) vs. a decent mill/drill (about 1300-1600 dollars) is quite high, so assuming a milling machine isn't really needed (have access to one, or can pay someone to machine parts cheaply) does it really make sense to spend 1500 dollars on something that will be used as a drill press anyways (and much harder to move to boot)? Of course if the price difference is only 300 dollars (for a good 1000 dollar drill press with all the jazz and all) I guess the choice is clear (ie spend the 1500 dollars on a mill drill and get a machine that does a lot more), but Grizzly G7943/7944 is a really good drill press, and doesn't cost that much. I do not know your experience but I'm perfectly happy with mine. Nice and heavy and does everything a drill press does and much more. I guess I'm considering the mill drill because I want to make a custom guide for my bandsaw (to improve its ease of use... the lower guide is poorly designed), but honestly I probably save more money paying a machine shop to do it.

If you want laser and all the pizazz you can retrofit it. Laser is overrated anyways.

[Peter Kelly]

http://www.eurolinkinc.com/flottusa/

Clausing are good too.

[Benjamin Miller]

But if you had to pay 4000 dollars for a new drill press, wouldnt it make more sense to get a mill/drill?

In a machine shop, it doesn't always make sense to use a milling machine for drilling operations. I have a knee mill that will drill holes, but the quill throw is much less (4" vs 6") than the drill press. Fixturing objects to the milling machine can be much more difficult, the drill press has a wide variety of speeds, and cranking the knee up and down to change a drill is a PITA.

They say about 80% of machine shop operations are drilling holes, so it makes sense to have a specialized machine for the task.

Sorry for the offtopic.

[Matt Meiser]

I bought the Delta 18-900 about 2 years ago and I like the machine after adding a Shars keyless chuck and fence. I'm torn over whether to recommend it because of who sells it. Delta parts were about impossible which they blamed on the previous owners--except that years after the new owners taking over people still have trouble getting parts. They also weren't honoring rebates offered at the time and there were reports of people having rebates many months overdue. After waiting a few months I finally got mine, and quick, after threatening to file complaints with their and my states' attorney generals. They gave me the run around for a couple days but within a couple hours AG threat I got a call that my check had been personally driven to the post office. Gave me a lot of insight into how they run their business.

They also ticked me off because I wanted a second flip stop for the fence and was told that's not available as an accessory or a service part--I was told I should buy a whole second fence. I finally found a good deal on one and luckily I was able to sell the rest of the fence parts and make out OK. If I had to do it again, I'd build up a similar fence using multi-slot track and other parts I found at Rockler.

[Jared McMahon]

Haven't seen much talk of Jet so I'll chime in and say my Jet 17DX is solid and worth its price. I wanted the Delta but they were having supply issues at the time and I got impatient. I need to replace the chuck, it's nothing to write home about, and the cover for the belt area feels pretty cheap. These aren't deal breakers but are annoyances.

Of the current crop of woodworking drill presses, I would still do the Delta if I was doing it over. But when I upgrade it will be something with a box column, probably a very large benchtop style mill or a small knee mill. It drives me nuts to lose the X axis when I raise or lower the table. Maybe I'm a machinist hiding in woodworker's body. <:P

[dan sherman]

You have to make some decisions about what you want & need, before you really decide on a drill press. are you going to use it for woodworking, metalworking or both. If you are going to be drilling any holes in metal you want a strong motor 3/4hp or greater in my opinion, and you want a table that has some hold down slots. If you want to drill large holes in metal then you need a mill, mill/drill or a gear head drill press. The benefits of these machines is that they let you run coolant without making a complete mess, and the geared head gives the torque needed to drive a big bit. Higher end machines will have power down feed, and that helps with tool life. Unless you really want to get into metalworking Id stay away from these machines, as they weigh a lot. A nice benchtop mill/drill is around a 1000 lbs, and knee mills start around 1500 lbs.


when it comes to the woodworking market it's more niceties driven. Off the top of my head variable speed vs step pulley seems to be the biggest price differentiator. I've owned both and in my opinion a steeped pulley is a better option for the home shop, because they are cheaper to buy and cheaper to maintain. They usually have a lower minimum rpm as well, and that's a benefit when it comes to running larger Forster bits. The other big nicety seems to be a laser. Personally i think they are overrated, but a lot of people really like them.


With all that being said I'd second Jared, and recommend the Jet 17", It's what I currently have in my shop. It has a large table, a good range of speeds, a decent stock chuck, it's quiet, and at just over $600 it's not that expensive.


If you want to see an impressive drill press check out one of my favorite Youtubers drill press.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oO-bT8WyTPM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DsSRtARNbA

[John Coloccia]

Clausing does make a very nice metal working drill press, but the top speed is only 2000 RPM. That's OK, I guess, but I prefer to go much faster for certain operations. Still, if I were going to by a non-woodworking drill press (and probably will for my next one) it will be a Clausing.

Incidentally, a good number of mill/drills top out well under 2000 RPM, though there are some that cover the woodworking range pretty well.

[Brad Swanson]

I appreciate the feedback/discussion. My needs will be strictly for woodworking (for an almost set-up 500+ sq ft basement shop), so I have been leaning toward the Delta offering, however, the comments regarding after purchase support do cause pause.

[Greg R Bradley]

The Delta 18-900L is an excellent drill press for the money. I do understand the concern about Delta's support but we know WMH (Powermatic, Jet, Wilton) is horrible on support also. Tenex Capital's recent purchase of WMH should be scary, perhaps as scary as Chinese company purchase of Delta. And Milwaukee, and XXX, and YYY, and ZZZ, and ........

Even Clausing was made offshore for a short period before moving production back to Kalamazoo. I could all-but guarantee that the cast and forged parts are made in Asia for them to be able to sell their basic drill press for $4,500. For a reference, the last of the Delta US made 15" basic drill presses were about $3000 5 years ago.

I don't think anyone working wood would want a Clausing 20" DP as it is a beast, like 800 pounds of beast. You will never find a used on that uses single phase power. It makes a Powermatic 1200 look like a toy. If you want something in that range and want new, made in the US exactly like they used to be, I would buy an Ellis for just over $3000.

http://www.ellissaw.com/Drill-Presses/43/drill-press-9400

[Erik Loza]

No personal opinion but my colleague, Sam, told me that he has been very happy with his Knuth drill press...

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http://www.knuth-usa.com/produktuntergruppe,56.html

Made in Taiwan but appaently, German engineered.

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

[Craig Hoehn]

I was going through the same debate 2 weeks ago and decided on the General 17" extended stroke. 1 HP, 12 speeds, you can extend the quill 6" and try to move it and there is zero wobble its just a solid machine. I had a good look at it in the store and brought it home but its been a little too cold in the garage for me to put it to work so I will have to update on a full review. You can find some other reviews though and they all are fairly positive. General also has great service and warranty if you ever need it.
I was also debating on a used Rigid but home depot didnt have any, I found a used one but it just didnt seem that great and had some slop in the quill. I also considered a Delta, they look nice but I have heard terrable customer service and parts availability. My local woodshop even stopped buying from Delta because of this so I dont believe its just internet rumor.

[steve joly]

I can throw in a good vote for the largest grizzly dp. I have their 20 inch and it works extremely will, just this week it effortlessly drilled several 7/8 holes in 1/4 in steel plate. The only thing I wish I had was a coolant system for drilling steel.

[Thomas Hotchkin]

Brad [Are there any "good" new drill presses?]
NO not for under $ 1000. I went used, Best Drill Press Yet, Powermatic 1200, $400 Craigslist, new bearing and belts and paint $150 total $550. Spindle is supported buy three ball bearings at all times. Quill is supported buy 4 case iron webs along all of is 7" travel. Motor rpm of 1140, reeve drive, spindle speed from 105-900 rpm. Tom
http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/WgxPmG6l5y0/hqdefault.jpg

Note picture is from Google Images not my DP

[Lori Kleinberg]

I have the Steel City from a few years ago. It does not see heavy use, but does all I need. No complaints.

[Loren Woirhaye]

Eh? for woodworking?

Most are fine. Mine is a JET knock-off. It's not a metal working machine but for furniture and jig making it is better than adequate.

If you need a metal working drill, a Taiwan mill-drill is a good press. If you need a long quill stroke, get out your check book.

[Richard Wagner]

I'm in the market for a drill press, and have been doing a fair bit of research on the subject. Seems like there isn't even a partial consensus on a make/model someone should buy if they want to buy new. I've been looking at the Delta 18-900L and Grizzly models, but there seems to be quality concerns for every model I have been researching (including the Delta). Am I missing some thing here, or is this the lay of the land for new drill presses? Thanks.

I am beginning to believe that the best way to go for all wood working stationary power tools is buy older and refurbish. The down fall, however, will be parts. The possible solution is "buy multiple old". One to refurbish the others for parts.

[Larry Frank]

The Nova Voyager DVR Drill Press is a very solid smooth running machine. I have had mine for several months. The run out is almost zero and runs quiet. Being able to easily change speed with the twist of a knob is really nice.

[marty fretheim]

+1 on the Nova. Been eyeballing it for awhile. Seems a bit overpriced but the only VFD in that price range. Im hoping this a trend in the industry and we can quit moving belts around.

[Larry Frank]

IMHO....The Nova is a very good drill press. I had the Jet 17" but was not happy because it had a lot of drill slop. I talked wit Jet and there is no real way to reduce the slop. I asked them why they did not have a split housing around the quill so you could adjust it and was told cost.

The Nova has very good low end torque and runs so smoothly. I was concerned about new technology issues but they have been using the same thing on lathes for quite awhile. The program is also upgradable. I tried to do the upgrade and had problems but Teknatool has great customer service and helped me out.

The table is also very good and easily adjusts up and down. The biggest problem was putting the head on the column. It is heavy, awkward and smooth with no way to easily hold on to it. A lifting lug would have been nice.

Yes, it was not cheap but I am very happy with the purchase.

[Chris Padilla]

FYI, This thread was first started in Feb, 2014, so it's a bit old.... :)

[marty fretheim]

FYI, This thread was first started in Feb, 2014, so it's a bit old.... :)

Thats OK in another 3 years we can talk about the new drill press with a flux capacitor :)

[glenn bradley]

FYI, This thread was first started in Feb, 2014, so it's a bit old.... :)

Yes, and its taken this long for a somewhat decent drill press to come out that is under $3000 ;-)

[Brian Lefort]

Love my 18-900

[Matt Day]

FYI, This thread was first started in Feb, 2014, so it's a bit old.... :)

Just a heads up, but Larry didn’t bump this old thread. There was a single poster internet spammer guy who was plugging a companies DP who dug it up.

[Chris Hachet]

Arn for me...Buffalo 18 and another ancient drill press work well for me!

[Chris Hachet]

I am beginning to believe that the best way to go for all wood working stationary power tools is buy older and refurbish. The down fall, however, will be parts. The possible solution is "buy multiple old". One to refurbish the others for parts. exactly. I love old tools!