Drill press; bench top or floor stand

[Scott Brandstetter]

Want to upgrade from my crummy drill press to a more accurate, easier to use drill press. My current press is floor standing but I have never used anywhere near the amount of travel it offers. Was thinking about going to a bench top model so wondering if I'm missing something. Maybe I should stay with a floor stand model.

[Cary Falk]

I had a benchtop one for awhile. I didn't have a bench. It was hardly portable. I think it was close to 100lbs. I think it was a 13". I ended up getting a 17" floor model and then a 20" floor model. I haven't used the length of the column to it's capacity but the bigger depth has come in handy. A floor model doesn't take up that much more floor space especially when you see people set the bench top on a rolling cart.

[Joe Jensen]

Agree, a real drill press that is bench top height is really too heavy to move around. If you have bench top space you don't use then a bench top is fine. Otherwise get a floor model.

[Myk Rian]

Stay with a floor standing. One day you'll thank yourself.

[Mort Stevens]

All the current bench top models are made for small-time hobby use and seem pretty light-duty for any serious woodworking. Delta/Rockwell (et. al.) used to make models that basically were floor-standing units that simply had had shorter columns to be able to place them on a benchtop, but that was 50+ years ago.

[Mike Henderson]

Floor standing, no question.

And get variable speed so you don't have to change the belt on the pulleys.

Mike

[Earl McLain]

After replacing my OLD benchtop with a less old floor model, my first project was an entertainment center. Assembled the cabinet box without boring for the electrical grommets--was able to lower the table and use a forstner bit. If i was smart, i'd never have to do that sort of thing again--but i'll stay with a floor standing DP just in case.
earl

[Jim Dwight]

I have an old sears craftsman. I didn't like it much when I was moving it because it is too heavy. Now that it is back in my shop, I am glad to have it. It isn't fancy but works well. I have an auxiliary table on it that wouldn't fit on a benchtop model. I have a few drawers so I can keep bits right there on the drill.

[Bernie Kopfer]

I replaced my bench DP with a floor model and then built a rolling 6 drawer cabinet to fit under the table and around the base. Lots of storage and I've only rolled it out of the way twice in three years. I think I found the plan in Woodsmith magazine.

[Lee Schierer]

There are times, when I have to move the bench my drill press is mounted on to get enough space for the length of the piece I am working on. Moving the bench is a pain as it is quite heavy as is the drill press. In my small shop. I don't know if a floor mounted drill press would be any better except for those occasions when the height under the quill on my bench model is too short.

[Kent A Bathurst]

All the current bench top models.........seem pretty light-duty for any serious woodworking...

Depends on your definitions....

Helped my friend choose a DP for his modest shop. His LOML got him, for a Christmas present at my direction, the Jet 15" benchtop, plus the Dewalt mobile base designed for the lunchbox planer. We had to replace the OEM table for the base with 2 x 3/4" ply. Other than that, it is an excellent base.

And the DP is very solid, IMO. I was impressed. Better than my old Delta 17" floor model - nothing fancy, just the basic stuff. Not up to snuff v my old-arn PM 1150A-VS, but then - nothing new in that class exists.

So - he is happy - he doesn't know any better, to be honest - but I am very pleased with what he got. I have used it a number of times, and have no negative points to report.

[Ed Aumiller]

Consider a radial drill press... have a delta radial bench top in wood shop... mounted it on a cabinet about 30" high with drawers to hold the bits, etc.. it is mounted close enough to the front of the cabinet that it is able to drill something standing on the floor by sliding it out.. also the ability to tilt is handy..

have a floor dp in garage for metal work.. but use radial DP for all woodwork..

[Keith Pleas]

I'll be the contrarian. Had a HF bench top for years, did the job. Not once changed the speed. Then had a Shopsmith, loved the variable speed and power but took way too much space.

So I bought a Powermatic 2800 17" that I wrote about a few weeks back. And...I didn't use it once in the interim and it just sat there glaring at me (you can't turn the display off).

So I sold it and...bought the 13" Steel City when it was on the Wood Werks 25% off sale. 104 pounds, sits sideways on my bench at the end, and I'm a happy camper. For now.

When I get my shop out of the garage and get rid off all the rolling stands, I'll go back to a floor drill press. But for me, right now, it was too much in the way.

[Brian Henderson]

I have both a benchtop and a floor drill press and I know I'd go crazy if I only had the benchtop. While I have probably never used the entire capacity on the floor model, I absolutely have exceeded the capacity on the benchtop model on more than one occasion. The floor version is the go-to drill press, the benchtop is primarily used for small projects that don't require a lot of power or quill travel, where I want to take the drill to the project, not the project to the drill. It's not particularly light, but it's on a mobile cart so it doesn't have to be.

Given a choice, the floor model is a no-brainer.

[Lee Reep]

I bought a bechtop Delta drill press a number of years ago, and some day it will get replaced with a floor model. I just have too many other higher priority wants. It probably meets my needs for 90% of my DP tasks. But sometimes you just need that extra vertical clearance. One thing I did to make it more usable was to mount it to a kitchen base cabinet, so it was not taking up valuable space on a workbench. I ran across a garage sale for a guy that has a cabinet shop, and bought a several maple cabinet samples for $5 each. They make great stands for benchtop tools (and nice looking too!).

[Keith Pleas]

Oh, and I forgot to mention - I'm leaning more towards buying a mill/drill like the Grizzly 0704 rather than a floor DP when I do get the space.

[Matthew Hills]

I use a small craftsman bench-top drill press. I like that the spindle runs pretty true (better than a steel city 17" that I bought my dad), and I like the swing-arm lamp that I have next to it. I do change the speeds when switching between forstner bits and small drill bits.

It could be improved with a bigger table/fence.
I haven't really needed more vertical capacity.

Mine is on top of a tertiary bench, so not losing critical bench space.

Matt