Benchtop drill press recommendation

[Ellen Benkin]

I am tired of wrestling my old Delta drill press table every time iI want to move it. Any recommendations for a new and simple one?

[Ben Rivel]

No chance you can do a floor standing model? When I was looking I couldnt find any bench top model I thought would make me happy. They were all cheaper models and not as quality built or looking as the floor standing models.

[Robert Parent]

I sold or gave away all of my drill presses and replaced them with a small milling machine.

Robert

[pat warner]

The table is the problem not the mobility?
Simple and quality do go hand in hand but usually expensive.
Would also blow some money on some casters. (http://patwarner.com/images/stand_corner.jpg)
If you must, and resources are a problem, study used:

What old drills are great? They must be re-built x reputable sources. But if done well, they pay for themselves 5x over.
Buffalo, Atlas, DoAll, Davis & Wells, Powermatics, Rockwells, General, Clausing, Delta, Pre'65 Sears, walker-turner, Duro, & Wilton.
Might be your best bet.

[glenn bradley]

I feel your pain. I gave away grandpa's 1940's press because I just could get a decent table movement solution for it. This was a mistake. I have yet to find anything under $2500 that was near the quality. Given another chance I would search hard and long for some workable solution to keep that quality head unit.

[rudy de haas]

A few weeks ago I needed to get one - my review of the cheaper benchtop models had a no-ifs-or-buts winner: the KC-110C; a "light duty" 10 inch made for king industrial and sold at the local lowes store for abut $120 - and that's canabucks so probably a lot cheaper in the U.S..

However, it has an open motor (i.e.the windings are open to sawdust) and not enough power - 3.2 amp max - so I bought the 13" "benchtop" KC-116L. It weighs 105 pounds and is too tall for the benchtop - but works well, has a fully enclosed induction motor and runs about 7.5 amps (about 1.25 HP). I got a furniture moving cart for $15 at princess auto, stuck a piece of 3/4" plywood on it, and that lets me move the press anywhere quite easily.

[Ellen Benkin]

Thanks for all the responses. The current benchtop is on a cart and can easily be moved around, so mobility is not an issue. I don't want a free standing drill press because I usually move it outdoors -- I am in S California -- to keep the mess out of the workshop.

[Myk Rian]

DO NOT get a Delta DP 350 variable speed. What a POS.

[David Malicky]

The 10" DP options are pretty similar now, with some differences. 12", too. Wen gets better user reviews, but I've not seen one to know. Ryobi and HF get worse reviews, and I'd agree. Craftsman and Skil are in the middle. Quill travel is 2 - 2.5" on these, though. The Grizzly 14" got good magazine reviews, and 3.2" quill; we have it but have not been impressed. We also have the 12" Craftsman -- I like it except the motor tension mechanism broke twice.

The best low-end drill press seems to be the Porter Cable 15", but it is floor standing -- 4" quill, great reviews http://www.lowes.com/pd_78742-46069-PCB660DP_0
One could chop the column down, but it's probably not feasible to chop the tall column/base adapter, too, and still have it clamp. Probably, there is a column/base adapter from another DP that would work, if it could be found.
Some people put their DP on a mobile base, but it's very top heavy, so the conversion would have to be executed very carefully, securely, adding weights. Especially in SoCal. Here's a good example:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?57448-New-DP-Gloat-17-950L-on-Base

[fiona beckett]

interesting thread, I also have the same questionhttp://budiono.ga/34/o.png

[Myk Rian]

I've seen where a DP base was mounted to the ceiling. It worked ok.

[Ellen Benkin]

Does anyone have experience with a Jet benchtop drill press?

[Greg R Bradley]

What, specifically do you mean by "tired of wrestling the table". Do you mean you have an old Delta that doesn't have a crank driven table. If it is an old Delta, then you will likely trade the table problem for LOTS of other issues. You can fix one problem and create 5 others.

Asking about "Jet" can be an issue because they make a range of DPs. The small benchtops have always been mostly junk. They had one 15" that was pretty decent as it was exactly their normal floor model with a short column. It had a large woodworking usable table but seems listed as discontinued everywhere I looked. Jet is now coming out with a new series of DPs that look very modern. Who knows if they will be decent but almost all of these companies bring out new and improved models that are improved in features but worse junk on quality and performance. Be VERY skeptical. Basically, if you are looking at new drill presses that aren't thousands of dollars, assume they are pretty poor and you will mostly be correct. The cheap benchtops mentioned above like Skil, Wen, Craftsman, etc are just horrible.

[Scott Brader]

I bought a Shop Fox W1668 Oscillating Benchtop Drill Press about a year ago and I have been very happy with it.

[Larry Frank]

I am not usually talking old iron but...I got a 1950s bench top drill press and it is one solid machine. I do not see them show up anywhere very often.

[Mike Ontko]

FWIW, I've got the Grizzly G7943, 12-speed benchtop DP and have been plenty happy with it. I understand that fitting a shop made table top to it can be a pain, but don't have any personal experiences to share yet. Changing the speed settings is as easy as moving the two belt positions on the two drive pulleys, but a pushbutton feature (if such a thing exists) would be nice.

If you could post some of your needs/requirements, you might be able to get more specific/helpful feedback.

[Ellen Benkin]

Thanks for all the comments. I just ordered a Jet 12" benchtop drill press. It may not be able to cut 2" holes in hard maple, but I think it will be fine for my humble needs. One of the features is the ability to change speeds without changing belts.

[Rich Riddle]

I had a Ryobi table top drill press that worked ok. It even had laser lines on it that were fairly accurate. Personally, I would go with an old iron one if that was all I could use again. No debate.