should I sell my drill press?

[Bob Riefer]

I have a Walker Turner drill press (serial number 1 9 44) in nice condition that I got for a good deal years ago when intending to buy a band saw (but bought this as well), and am wondering if I should sell it...

My reasons for being interested in potentially selling are:

1) For the type of work that I do, have yet to find a need for a floor standing model... so it takes up a ton of space in my small shop without providing me utility in return

2) I cobbled together a trailer jack as a means of raising/lowering the table, which works, but isn't ideal.

3) There's noticeable runout... I can see bits wobbling visually, and have measured to find that it bores holes ever so slightly bigger than intended.

4) I have zero interest in a restoration project right now... I'm in a great woodworking groove right now and just want to keep working. I fear even "simple" swap out of parts may become a snowball of fixes.



All that being said, I do want a drill press... I think... Unsure what features to even look for since I've only ever had the old WT.

I want one that's more reasonably accurate. I'm not a machinist, but I do want better results than "visible wobble" that I'm achieving today.

Perhaps a benchtop model is more suitable for my work. Typically I use the drill press when making jigs and sometimes during furniture making when the pieces are able to be brought to the tool. Most materials range between 1/4" to 6" thick.

Ease of raising/lowering the table is important to me.

I almost always am drilling wood, but can imagine wanting flexibility to easily change speeds to drill metal etc.

I feel like some have digital readouts, and perhaps that would be handy.

Something that is more dust collector friendly wouldn't be bad.



So.. based on this story, do you think it's sensible for me to sell the WT in favor of a new benchtop option?

Do you think $300 is fair price if I do sell? (edit, for that price, I'd include the mobile base and pictured accessories)

Can you recommend any benchtop drill presses for under $500 that might be good options for me to consider?

THANK YOU!!!

452518452519452521452522452524452525

[richard poitras]

I think $300 is a bit high on the price from how you describe it .....

[Bob Riefer]

I think $300 is a bit high on the price from how you describe it .....


What number do you think would be fair? (and... do you think I should sell, buy something new... if new, what?)

[David Kumm]

Whether you keep or sell, you should look into the spindle runout. Is the taper itself bad ? Put an indicator inside the taper and check it. If that is good, look at the bearings. I'm not familiar with the WT other than to know it is considered a good machine and likely better built than most new comparables. If the bearings are two Angular contact you should check the preload. A/C bearings with little or no load will cause the runout. That machine is worth very little with the wobble but all of 300 if that is cleared up. OWWM is the place to advertise as the WT are well liked. Dave

[Ron Citerone]

No Clue, but seems to me if you could get the price of a comparable machine in working condition you could work backwards. As long as you disclose the issues, the buyer can decide. I'm sure there are people with the knowledge and interest in a rebuild. The number of CL machines is down, from what I see presently, and the prices are up.

[Larry Edgerton]

Bent Taper/chuck would be my thoughts. When the bearings are bad they tend to go just one way. I rebuilt my WT and it did what you are describing, borrowed the chuck/taper from my brothers and it stopped. Loved my WT but it was too big so I bought a 20"Clausing to save the space. Sometimes I regret it, miss the power feed. See if you can borrow a known taper/chuck, clean the female taper and see if it goes away.

Another option, and it would be mine is fix the WT and cut down the post and make it a heavy bench top model. You could drill a hole in a bench and leave the base on the floor as well if that would work. Most bench tops are not as nice as a well sorted WT.

[Jim Matthews]

Any similar local Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace listings?

I have a bench top Rikon that's on a mobile cart.
I rarely use it, but it's out of the way.

It might not be worth much but limited floorspace is valuable.

[Bill Dufour]

Pull quill all the way up and measure the runout with a cheap DI. Rotate by hand to get readings. Set it so the max runout is facing the operator. use a pipe clamp and pull the chuck back to the column until it reads zero and add 2-3 thousands beyound zero. remove clamp and measure runout. Repeat adjusting the overtravel to allow for springback as determined. Get within 0.002 or so. Plenty good enough for wood working. A big bit that grabs will bend it back out of line.
Bil lD

[Bill Dufour]

Good idea to sell before the top pulley bearings wear out. They are custom made with extended inner races. I hear NTN has something that will work. The bearing # on the outer race is for the normal bearing and makes no reference to the extended inner race. I had my father bore the small tophat casting to next standard size and make a inner tee shaped sleeve to adapt the inner bore.
Bill d

[Bob Riefer]

Thanks guys! I posted it for sale locally and will monitor progress.

--

Now, onto the next part... For my uses (jig making, general home use, selected tasks for furniture making, and maybe a sanding drum on occasion) what are some benchtop units under $500-ish that I should really consider?

Again, I think ease of changing speeds, reasonable accuracy (I'm not a machinist), ease of raising/lowering table are probably most important to me... but I'm willing to be swayed as I've never used a drill press other than my old unit.

THANKS!!

[Jim Becker]

If it wasn't for your budget...NOVA. :) Can't get any easier on speed changes that that! (And yes, I'm speaking of the benchtop version...but that's somewhere around a grand if I recall)

[Bill Dufour]

Buy a quality USA made unit that came from the factory with a three phase motor. Run it with a VFD for variable speed. The 20" wt is fine and uses off the shelf bearings.
Bill D

[Todd Zucker]

Jim, why did you have to mention the Nova? I just watched an extremely enthusiastic YouTube unboxing of the Nova Viking and will now lose sleep until I buy one.

[Bob Riefer]

Wow, yeah that's nice, and also probably overkill for my specific usage. :-)


Last night and this morning, I have read a bunch about many DP's and have started to zoom in more on the Rikon 30-212vs benchtop drill press. Link (https://www.rikontools.com/product/30-212vs)


Minimal (and easy) belt changing is needed only to shift from one speed range to the 2nd speed range. Within each range, a lever allows on-the-fly speed adjustment, with digital readout keeping score as you go.

The machine is bigger than a typical benchtop, but far smaller than a floor model. 3/4 hp motor. So a nice balance of providing ample power (more than I have currently) while taking up less space than my current DP.

Lots of internetting indicates that runout should not any longer be a problem if I go with this unit.

edit: And the spindle travel is quite long (a little over 3 inches) compared to many other benchtop units. That seems to me like a valuable feature especially since my current DP has similar travel.

The square table looks to me to be easy to clamp/affix an auxiliary table to.

Many actually report that the laser cross hairs on this unit are accurate and helpful. I'm skeptical, but would welcome that if it is true.

Raising/lowering the table is easily accomplished, tilting too.

Pricing seems to range between $400 - $450 depending on where you buy.


This youtube reviewer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kZrf-d1cf8)did a nice job showing/explaining features.


Any thoughts?

[Richard Coers]

Curious how you want to sell a faulty drill press for $300 and then replace it with a $400 brand new machine. That's a very optimistic price on a bad drill press.

[Jim Becker]

I will add one other thing...a floor standing DP takes up a tiny amount of room and doesn't use any bench space...something to consider.

[Ryan Yeaglin]

I will add one other thing...a floor standing DP takes up a tiny amount of room and doesn't use any bench space...something to consider. I will add that making a cabinet that goes under the drill press that "hugs" the column adds storage space for all drill related accessories and can roll away when you need to drill something that is tall (lower the table".

[richard poitras]

Curious how you want to sell a faulty drill press for $300 and then replace it with a $400 brand new machine. That's a very optimistic price on a bad drill press.

Plus one ....

[Steve H Graham]

I thought about getting a small drill press, but then I realized they take up exactly the same amount of room as floor presses and they're less convenient. Footprint is all that matters when it comes to space, so a short machine with a big footprint is no better than a tall machine, and in order to use the small machine, you have to make a base for it or clutter your bench with it.

All drill bits make holes bigger than their nominal sizes. This is true even if you use them to drill metal in a rigid milling machine. Drill bits are not for making round precision holes. They make triangular holes which are pretty close to nominal. This is why reamers exist.

Depending on your drill press's design, it may be possible to correct runout. I bought an old Rockwell with a split-head design. If it starts to run out, you just tighten it up. You might be able to get a machinist to make a part for your machine to get it running true again.

[Bob Riefer]

Thanks guys!

Old drill press seems to be moving easily at that price, and I'll pickup something that better suits my needs

Edit.. SOLD last night at $250, so I guess I wasn't too far off with my guesstimate.

[Jim Matthews]

Jim, why did you have to mention the Nova? I just watched an extremely enthusiastic YouTube unboxing of the Nova Viking and will now lose sleep until I buy one.

Jim is an advance agent for SMERSH, turning the avarice of woodworkers into espionage.

[Jim Becker]

Jim is an advance agent for SMERSH, turning the avarice of woodworkers into espionage.

That organization specializes in GAS. (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) :D

[Thom Hartnett]

I was so excited to see people telling Bob he was pricing the drill press too high, I'm not that far from him and had visions of it next to my Walker Turner lathe. Alas, it was gone by the time I got to Craigslist. So, the search for a floor model Walker Turner drill press (with belt guard, am I asking too much?) continues. Congrats on sale.

[Tom Bender]

Agree with Jim, floor model is much better use of space. I have 250 sq ft of floor space but only 25 sq ft of bench top. Floor space is much less valuable. And a floor model lets you drill the end of a spindle or lamp etc.

Speed changes are overrated. I drill everything at about 300 rpm. Think I may have changed it last year....no the year before.

[Curt Harms]

Agree with Jim, floor model is much better use of space. I have 250 sq ft of floor space but only 25 sq ft of bench top. Floor space is much less valuable. And a floor model lets you drill the end of a spindle or lamp etc.

Speed changes are overrated. I drill everything at about 300 rpm. Think I may have changed it last year....no the year before.

But a good bench top sitting on a stout mobile cabinet adds a good bit of storage and uses no bench space. If the bench top's head can swivel you can swivel the head to the side of the cabinet and drill tall stuff. That arrangement might use more floor space due to the cabinet but you get storage a floor standing machine will not give you.

One thing no one has mentioned is more quill travel. Some presses have 6" of travel which can be useful for woodworking but probably not for $500.