Drill Press Recommendation?

[Jordan Chavez]

Hi all,


I'm looking for a recommendation for a drill press. I've never owned a drill press and am not familiar with the different brands/features/tradeoffs at various price points.


I need the machine to:
- Support general-purpose furniture making.
- Drill into wood 99% of the time, mostly American hardwoods.
- Drill into metal 1% of the time, mostly aluminum but very rarely steel. It's okay if the machine is a pain in the ass to setup for metal drilling.
- Drill directly down. The machine doesn't need innately support angles or anything else fancy. It's okay if I need to build/buy a jig if this need ever arises.
- Remove material for wide (2"+) and deep (3"+) mortises that will be cleaned up with a chisel. So large-diameter Forstner bits going deep into hardwood. This will be a common use case. I don't want a dedicated mortiser.
- Drill reasonably quickly: I don't want to have to wrestle with the machine when drilling into difficult wood. It's okay if it's tedious to drill into metal.
- Drill straight: I want minimal drift (or whatever it's called) as the drill reaches the end of its range. I don't want random out-of-plumb mortise walls.
- Last a long time: I'm willing to pay more for a machine that will function well for 20+ years.
- Work with either 120v/15a or 240v/15a power. I only have single-phase 240v.
- Be available now: I'm not interested in hunting Cragslist or Facebook for months looking for a vintage machine that may never appear.
- Benchtop vs floor: Doesn't really matter, though I'll need to build a dedicated cabinet/bench for a benchtop model since my actual workbench space is far too valuable. I'm okay doing this if it cuts the price significantly.
- Cost...no idea. I'd think a machine for my use case would be relatively inexpensive, but I see prices all over the place. What's the best option at <=$500? <=$1000? <=$2000? Why would a higher price point be worth it given my requirements?


Thanks,
Jordan

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Depending on what type of woodworking you do, the spindle travel distance of the drill press is important. When I started turning I had a cheap benchtop import and it's spindle travel distance or "throw" if you will, wouldn't drill through an entire pen blank which caused some issues for me. I bought a 17" Jet at the nearest Woodcraft (100 miles away). I would have to go to the shop to find the manual to get the motor size but I have never found it to be underpowered. I just looked at the prices of drill presses and I was stunned at how the prices have increased.

Personally, I much prefer a floor model over the benchtop.

Good luck with you decision!

[Jamie Buxton]

I’m a big fan of drillpresses which change speed by dialing a knob. The old business of moving belts is enough of a hassle that I rarely did it, and the bit was usually turning too fast or too slow.

[John Kananis]

I'm happy with my Nova Viking. It's somewhere in between a benchtop and standing model so you'll need a short stand for it (if that's what you're looking for). Quill travel is 4.5 inches and is a dvr so dial-a-speed. If buying again, I would likely get the voyager (floor standing model) but then again, maybe not.

Edit: then again, maybe. My one major dislike is the mechanical depth stop.

[lou Brava]

Well are you a hobby WW ? If so I bought this one,
https://wenproducts.com/collections/drill-presses/products/wen-4214t-12-in-variable-speed-drill-press
Variably speed with a lever, seems well built, the run out is negligible (I checked but cant remember exact number) it drills very straight. But I added a drill press bench top with T slots and fence (about 130 for a nice one). I've used for M&T joints, plug cutting & doweling. I have no idea if it will last 20 years but I might not either !

[Michael Burnside]

Nova Viking floor or benchtop model are awesome for the price/features. I’ve used the floor model. I own a Powermatic 2820 EVS which is phenomenal IMHO, but it isn’t cheap.

[Jim Becker]

No matter whether a drill press is controlled by a fancy and capable screen interface or by moving a belt on pulleys, there are two primary specifications that you have to determine will provide you with the DP you need now and to last a long time...depth of the table/throat because it affects the size of materials you can drill into and the stroke depth that you can push the tooling into the material. Benchtop DPs typically have less capacity in both and that can bite ... in some cases ... if the actual need to work bigger comes into play. So "size matters". The rest is preferences. I have an older Jet 17" DP that has served me well since the early 2000s. If it died tomorrow (very unlikely) and I needed to replace it, I would not go smaller in size, but I would absolutely consider something like the NOVA with electronic speed control. Why? When it's more cumbersome to change the speed, the operator is less likely to do it which can affect the quality of the work at the very least, but also affect safety if the machine is running too fast for the tooling being employed to bore holes.

[Zachary Hoyt]

As well as the stroke length the other important dimension on a drill press is how far it can drill in from the edge of something. There was a 17" Jet at the farm where I used to live, but when I moved I bought a heavier duty but only 15" older drill press. I had to make sure I could still get far enough into the center of an archtop guitar body before I decided that that size would work for me. The number used to describe a drill press is how wide of a thing it can drill to the center of, so a 17" DP can drill to the center of a 17" object, or 8-1/2" from the center of the spindle to the edge of the column.

[Larry Frank]

I am biased but think the Nova Voyager DVR is a great machine. It is an 18" model, 6" stroke and 2 hp. It has a huge speed range of 50-5500 rpm and changed with a turn of a knob. I have measured run out and just a couple thousandths.

I truly love using mine. Yes,it is not cheap at $2100 but a fine machine.

[Cary Falk]

I'm glad I am not in the marker for a drill press. If I was It would probably be the Nova Voyager. I'm not sure if the electronics will hold up for 20 years like you want. I'm not saying they won't. Electrical boards die eventually. The Powermatic had issues with the previous Rev and I am not sure if they got the kinks out. I'm rocking a 20" PM 1200 VS from the '80's. It will probably survive another 50 years like a similar but that doesn't fit your criteria of available now unless you can find something local on e-bay. Good luck in your search. I don't envy you.

[Derek Kessler]

The WEN 4214 is a solid choice. It's not as expensive as others but it performs well. Variable speed setting, adjustable table depth stop, laser, overhead light.

[Michael Schuch]

I have had a Harbor Freight 17" drill press for 30 years now. It has always gotten the job done.

I also have a Delta 16.5" continuous variable speed (Reeves drive) drill press. Changing the speed with a dial is very convenient. It has 6" of quill travel.

I also have an old Walker Turner 14" drill press. It is the smoothest running DP and much quieter than the others. There is pretty much no slop in the WT drill press.

All of them do a good job of drilling holes in wood and metal.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I have an older GMC 16 speed that is so difficult to change speeds on, I keep it set at a middle speed that's too fast for slow and too slow for fast.
I replaced it with a Wen 4214 and couldn't be happier.
Since nearly everything I do is 1" or less thick, quill travel doesn't matter to me.

I I do need more travel, I have a Milescraft Drill Mate Drill Guide - which in all honesty would probably do everything I need a drill press to do.

[Jack Frederick]

I’ve had a Delta 16 1/2”, 17-900 belt drive for, well, about forever. It takes a few minutes to adjust the speed but it really isn’t a problem. I agree with Jim that so won’t do that and they can get into trouble. I wouldn’t discount an older good condition belt drive machine. I’d at least do a quick local search. You might find a peach of a machine. Be careful with this regardless of what machine you buy. As with all this gear figure out how to run it safely.

[Jimmy Harris]

If you only need a benchtop drill press, then don't worry about brand. Just about all of them are made in the same factory. If you look carefully at about 20 different brands, you'll quickly notice that they all share parts and each brand is just a mix and match of various options from that factory in different colors of plastic. But the guts and functionality are mostly the same. A lot of benchtop tools are this way, really. It's not until you get into the floor standing units that they start to have major differences between brands that would make it worth considering buying one over another.

But first decide what size you need or want. I have an old 8" Craftsman benchtop drill press I bought used for something like $20. Honestly, it does everything I ask of it. Do I want a bigger one? Yes. But I've gone a decade without actually needing one, so I'm going to wait for this one to wear completely out before I do upgrade. If I need a longer stroke depth, I start the hole with the drill press and finish with a hand drill. I don't actually need more power. If I have trouble with the motor stalling, I ease up the pressure and sharpen the bit, or use a different bit. I have very, very rarely needed more clearance (just plan ahead of time), but I have several times needed more height. But even then, in most of those cases even a floor standing drill press still wouldn't be tall enough (like drilling into the end grain of an 8' long board or panel).

But that's just the way I work. Everyone's different and has different needs. I really need the space more than a larger drill press. But I'm sure I'll still convince myself I need a bigger one when this one bites the dust. But yeah, figure out the size and budget, as that's going to be the primary factor.

And a good thing about the cheaper drill presses is that they're usually extremely simple in design. And that means they're more durable and easier to repair. Belts and pulleys are a pain to mess with, but they're SO easy to fix.

[Bill Dufour]

I also have an old Walker Turner 14" drill press. It is the smoothest running DP and much quieter than the others. There is pretty much no slop in the WT drill press.

The drill presses is the reason Delta bought out walker turner. They sold them under the delta name for several years until they switched production to Delta factories.
I would get another walker turner 20' dp if Mine failed. 6" stroke, table lift crank, etc
Bill D
All of them do a good job of drilling holes in wood and metal.[/QUOTE]

[Bill Dufour]

With 240 in the shop I would buy pretty mach any used DP with a three phase motor. Likely to be good quality. Throw on a vfd for variable speed, reverse etc.
Bill D

[Bill Dufour]

Location?
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/tls/d/alameda-powermatic-pm2800-drill-press/7707906813.html

https://bakersfield.craigslist.org/tls/d/bakersfield-cincinnati-royal-16-drill/7707500406.html

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/tls/d/san-jose-drill-press/7698565149.html

[Jordan Chavez]

Thanks for the responses everyone. I did a survey of current models from most of the major brands. I decided that a benchtop model will not meet my requirements, so I'm going with a floor model with at least 15" swing. Because I'm a nerd, I made a spreadsheet of stats for 30 models that roughly meet my requirements, then ranked across key attributes:
* Swing
* Spindle travel distance
* Spindle-to-table distance
* Weight (for stability but more importantly as a proxy for overall quality. Heavier is almost always better).
* Horsepower (as a proxy for general drilling power; I realize this is imperfect and doesn't measure actual torque)
* Speed control (whether or not it's a manual belt change vs variable).

The spreadsheet is here if anyone is interested: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YIqD8bJPCcq3gc23uc7o7RUH6cb8zR2AAfSN9t1DvFY/edit?usp=sharing

I scored each model on each stat by taking where its value lay in the range of the entire set. So for example, the range of swings was 15"-23" so a 15" swing scores zero, a 23" swing scores 1, and a 19" swing score 0.5. Speed change is 0 if manual belts, 1 otherwise (I realize it's not fair to equate a VFD/DVR/Reeves drive). The scores are summed, then the models are rated by (score / $cost). This is imperfect and there are many other factors, but I had to start somewhere. The top three models according to this ranking were:

* WEN 4227T ($817 2hp, 16" swing, 4.8" travel, 26" table distance, 214 lbs, manual speed change
* Grizzly T33960: $800, 1hp, 15" swing, 4.7" travel, 26.5" table distance, 137 lbs, variable speed (Reeves drive)
* Grizzly T33961: $1100, 1.25hp, 17" swing, 5.7" travel, 25.6" table distance, 210 lbs, variable speed (Reeves drive)

Of these, the T33961 is the most appealing given the weight, power, large travel distance, and variable speed with digital speed display. Both Grizzly models require a belt change to switch between low-RPM (200-720) and high-RPM (700-2200) modes, but I suspect most of my drilling will be in the low range so this should be infrequent.

I think both Grizzlies are new releases (Aug 2023) so no reviews anywhere which is a risk.

The Nova Voyager has been universally recommended, but is double the cost of the Grizzly. It's 100 lbs heavier, has more swing/travel/larger table/more power but I'm not sure that it's worth the extra $1000. I also worry about the longevity of the electronics. I'm open to being convinced that the Nova is worth the extra $$$.

[Jordan Chavez]

Location?
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/tls/d/alameda-powermatic-pm2800-drill-press/7707906813.html

https://bakersfield.craigslist.org/tls/d/bakersfield-cincinnati-royal-16-drill/7707500406.html

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/tls/d/san-jose-drill-press/7698565149.html

I'm in Maryland and neither Craigslist nor Facebook have anything near me unfortunately.

[Richard Coers]

Quill travel is a big deal for me. I will not buy a drill press unless it will drill through a 2x4 on edge. So 3 1/2" quill travel minimum.

[Larry Edgerton]

With 240 in the shop I would buy pretty mach any used DP with a three phase motor. Likely to be good quality. Throw on a vfd for variable speed, reverse etc.
Bill D

Thats the route I took Bill. Found a Clausing in good shape for a grand and added a VFD so I didn't have to start the converter to drill a hole. 2 speed, Reeves drive, reversible and no faults other than the mechanical depth stop is slow. I learned right away to clamp stuff, because that thing slows down for nothing. Got a nice bruise learning that lesson.

[Bill Dufour]

Thats the route I took Bill. Found a Clausing in good shape for a grand and added a VFD so I didn't have to start the converter to drill a hole. 2 speed, Reeves drive, reversible and no faults other than the mechanical depth stop is slow. I learned right away to clamp stuff, because that thing slows down for nothing. Got a nice bruise learning that lesson.

My 20" Walker Turner DP has a one hp motor. I set the belts to medium speed and have not felt the need to shift them in ten years or more. I run 35-120 hz.
BilL D

[Bill Dufour]

Remember to figure in shipping vs driving to pick it up. The cheapest Uhaul trailer is like $28 for a day.
BilL D

[Bill Dufour]

Note on searching drill press and drillpress are two seperate terms.
I found out recently that washer and washing machine are different search terms and can yield the same or differing results.
Bill D
https://philadelphia.craigslist.org/tls/d/bridgeport-camelback-drill-press/7707591073.html
https://southjersey.craigslist.org/tls/d/franklinville-floor-drill-press/7703446152.html
https://reading.craigslist.org/tls/d/womelsdorf-really-nice-old-school/7696590765.html

heres one to admire
https://philadelphia.craigslist.org/tls/d/drill-press/7684056048.html

excellent price for a Arboga
https://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/tls/d/brooklyn-arboga-drill-press-gm-2508/7699486933.html

https://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/tls/d/brooklyn-atlas-clausing-1810-drill-press/7705767317.html

https://longisland.craigslist.org/tls/d/blue-point-reduced-price-heavy-duty/7684823711.html

[Kent A Bathurst]

The Nova Voyager has been universally recommended, but is double the cost of the Grizzly. It's 100 lbs heavier, has more swing/travel/larger table/more power but I'm not sure that it's worth the extra $1000. I also worry about the longevity of the electronics. I'm open to being convinced that the Nova is worth the extra $$$.

Cry once has never been more applicable than right here. In a couple years driving this thing you simply will not remember the cost differential over the smiles. And I'll make it worse for you - I've even forgotten the half-ton I spent on the Llambrich keyless chuck. It's all distant in the rearview.

I can't help on the electronics question, but the round-stuff crowd must have some experience with Nova lathes? I think there may be some commonality between the electronics, but not my zoo, and not my monkeys.

[Bill Dufour]

One advantage of a old three phase motor and vfd is it is easy and cheap enough to replace the VFD if it fails. A nova intergrated VFD will never be cheap and easy to source.
Bill D

[Bob Jones 5443]

Unless I missed it, no one’s mentioned how low you can crank down the table. My 16” Delta can drill into the top of a piece about 20” tall or so.

Sometimes I want to bore into the foot of a 36” leg. The table doesn’t go down that far. I can swivel the table 90°, but I can’t offset the center enough to get into the foot. I’ve ended up clamping the leg to the bench and coming at it with a cordless drill.

[Larry Edgerton]

My 20" Walker Turner DP has a one hp motor. I set the belts to medium speed and have not felt the need to shift them in ten years or more. I run 35-120 hz.
BilL D

Before the Clausing I had a 3ph Walker Turner with the fixed cast iron table for oil collection and a threading setup that lowered the head at the right rate for a particular thread pitch. The head cranked up and down. It was just too big for my new digs hence the Clausing. It was a smooth operator though.......

[Jordan Chavez]

Cry once has never been more applicable than right here. In a couple years driving this thing you simply will not remember the cost differential over the smiles. And I'll make it worse for you - I've even forgotten the half-ton I spent on the Llambrich keyless chuck. It's all distant in the rearview.

I can't help on the electronics question, but the round-stuff crowd must have some experience with Nova lathes? I think there may be some commonality between the electronics, but not my zoo, and not my monkeys.

What makes it actually worth the price though? Is it just the interface or does it function better and in what ways?

[Kent A Bathurst]

What makes it actually worth the price though? Is it just the interface or does it function better and in what ways?


I have only the one DP, so no hands-on experience. Also - you are asking me to make a case for what are value judgement topics. Worth it? Better? Better in what way?

Things I like v the spec sheet on the bigger grizz you mention:

> The extra weight is a big plus to me - rock solid
> Runout - all over the innerweb you can see vids of people checking the Voyager at one thou or less. I don't know what the grizz build/design/quality is, but I'd be skeptical of a reeves drive delivering that. My prior DP was PM 1150VS in fine mettle - no way. Is one thou needed? Your call.
> No change-the-belt VS ranges
> Split head. Can't tell from glance at photos, but grizz looks like not.
> Ease of setting target depths, zero plane, etc with the controls. Even auto-shudown at a target depth, but haven't used that
> Fwd/Rev - rare, but has been useful
> Load up a 3" hole saw and that extra half horse sure seems worhwhile to me.

Now - do ANY of these features have any attaction? They do to me. $1,000 worth? Can't do that calculus - but I can tell you that the Llambrich chuck is stunning, and IMO, it's capabilitles and $$ would be a mismatch - my opinion - to the Grizz. The $1000 on the DP is worth it to me to be able to bang on a $500 chuck.

I'm pretty sure that, based on the wording of your question, these features will not be worth the $1k out of your pocket. They were out of mine. So you'd be right to save your money.


EDIT: Oh - and cosmetics - zero vibration and zero noise.

[Larry Frank]

The Nova is a smooth running with very little vibration or noise. The ability to change speeds on a wide range is very useful. The split head design is important to me.

There is no quill slop and run out is negligible.

Reading the OPs responses and questions it is pretty clear that the money is the issue.

I just smile when I use my Nova Voyager

[Larry Edgerton]

Ken, can't see how the reeves drive would contribute to runout? The drive and the quill are separate. Not had a PM, but the Clausing barely makes the needle move, basically unmeasurable with a standard dial indicator.

I had to look up that chuck, nice. I thought about getting a keyless, but I have a Superchuck and its hard to justify the expense just to be keyless.

I agree that tools can not be measured strictly by price. Or even features. I can't explain it, but I have tools that are just "Right".

[Earl McLain]

I have only the one DP, so no hands-on experience. Also - you are asking me to make a case for what are value judgement topics. Worth it? Better? Better in what way?

Things I like v the spec sheet on the bigger grizz you mention:

> The extra weight is a big plus to me - rock solid
> Runout - all over the innerweb you can see vids of people checking the Voyager at one thou or less. I don't know what the grizz build/design/quality is, but I'd be skeptical of a reeves drive delivering that. My prior DP was PM 1150VS in fine mettle - no way. Is one thou needed? Your call.
> No change-the-belt VS ranges
> Split head. Can't tell from glance at photos, but grizz looks like not.
> Ease of setting target depths, zero plane, etc with the controls. Even auto-shudown at a target depth, but haven't used that
> Fwd/Rev - rare, but has been useful
> Load up a 3" hole saw and that extra half horse sure seems worhwhile to me.

Now - do ANY of these features have any attaction? They do to me. $1,000 worth? Can't do that calculus - but I can tell you that the Llambrich chuck is stunning, and IMO, it's capabilitles and $$ would be a mismatch - my opinion - to the Grizz. The $1000 on the DP is worth it to me to be able to bang on a $500 chuck.

I'm pretty sure that, based on the wording of your question, these features will not be worth the $1k out of your pocket. They were out of mine. So you'd be right to save your money.


EDIT: Oh - and cosmetics - zero vibration and zero noise.

If we had a "Like" button, i'd have just clicked it--because i like Kent's position that we each have to make decisions based predominantly on our own value matrix. Society is well-served by that kind of reasoning without condemning the decisions of another. (of course, this is an opinion based on my own set of values, your mileage may vary!!)

[Kent A Bathurst]

Ken, can't see how the reeves drive would contribute to runout? The drive and the quill are separate. Not had a PM, but the Clausing barely makes the needle move, basically unmeasurable with a standard dial indicator.

Yeah..I kinda got a couple points conflated. There are a lot of moving parts in a reeves - I was kinda edging toward vibration, wear, maintenance - that general subset. NOthing wrong with them per se.

[Ron Selzer]

pay close attention to the chuck.
I bought a Powermatic, less than 2 years old at a shop cleanout sale. Thought great now have a drill press with variable speed, built in light, keyless chuck, yad, yada, yada.
Using it nice to have the 6" travel, low speed to high speed easy speed change, keyless chuck worked fine for small bits.
Loaded up a fly cutter set for 7" hole, cut said hole and bit is still in drill press as cannot get it loose. tried different ways and finally bought a new keyless chuck that will accept wrenches along with new wrenches, and 2 morse taper adaptor. No way, no how what Kent has. I still am not sold on keyless being the way to go. Might just buy a new nice keyed chuck instead.
Once I can go back down into the shop again I will change chucks and then decide how to remove bit. Only thing certain is that keyless piece of crap that Powermatic installed on there will be destroyed and thrown in the trash can.
Ron

Can't have too much power, too good of a chuck, too much travel, too much weight.

[James Jayko]

Perhaps controversial when everyone is talking about the Nova Voyager, but I never could justify that purchase. Probably makes sense if you're doing a lot of different materials and need to screw with speeds frequently, but that has never been an issue for me.

I got a good Grizzly and it does a fine job. A drill press isn't complicated unless you make it that way (see: Nova...but again, could be worth it for the right user). Mine is sitting in a storage unit near Philadelphia since I sold my house; if you're interested in something lightly used, PM me and I can get you more info and talk about it. I'm definitely not using it at the moment.

[Jordan Chavez]

I have only the one DP, so no hands-on experience. Also - you are asking me to make a case for what are value judgement topics. Worth it? Better? Better in what way?

Things I like v the spec sheet on the bigger grizz you mention:

> The extra weight is a big plus to me - rock solid
> Runout - all over the innerweb you can see vids of people checking the Voyager at one thou or less. I don't know what the grizz build/design/quality is, but I'd be skeptical of a reeves drive delivering that. My prior DP was PM 1150VS in fine mettle - no way. Is one thou needed? Your call.
> No change-the-belt VS ranges
> Split head. Can't tell from glance at photos, but grizz looks like not.
> Ease of setting target depths, zero plane, etc with the controls. Even auto-shudown at a target depth, but haven't used that
> Fwd/Rev - rare, but has been useful
> Load up a 3" hole saw and that extra half horse sure seems worhwhile to me.

Now - do ANY of these features have any attaction? They do to me. $1,000 worth? Can't do that calculus - but I can tell you that the Llambrich chuck is stunning, and IMO, it's capabilitles and $$ would be a mismatch - my opinion - to the Grizz. The $1000 on the DP is worth it to me to be able to bang on a $500 chuck.

I'm pretty sure that, based on the wording of your question, these features will not be worth the $1k out of your pocket. They were out of mine. So you'd be right to save your money.


EDIT: Oh - and cosmetics - zero vibration and zero noise.

This is really helpful, thanks for the breakdown. Exactly what I was looking for.

[Kent A Bathurst]

I never could justify that purchase.


I use precisely this line whenever I read about a Festool product.

[Jim Becker]

I use precisely this line whenever I read about a Festool product.
'Justification' takes many forms...including personal preference and pleasure when it's not about earning a living. That's what governs my personal choices in this respect. But we are all different and it's perfectly valid to make different choices based on individual preferences and situations.

[Carroll Courtney]

My grandmother told me I would regret building two story house, which I was about 20 then and just didn’t understand why. I’m 70 now and I haven’t been upstairs in awhile due to stairs. Point being, you may not regret changing belts now, but you will.

[Kent A Bathurst]

'Justification' takes many forms...including personal preference and pleasure when it's not about earning a living. That's what governs my personal choices in this respect. But we are all different and it's perfectly valid to make different choices based on individual preferences and situations.

Precisely my point, Jim

[Larry Edgerton]

Yeah..I kinda got a couple points conflated. There are a lot of moving parts in a reeves - I was kinda edging toward vibration, wear, maintenance - that general subset. NOthing wrong with them per se.

I get ya, and I remember from past conversations that you are a logical guy. And to be fair the drill press I have is over $8k new, and that in itself could justify a Nova.

[roger wiegand]

I have an old, but not venerable, low end Delta DP that I get by with. Upgrading the chuck to a (used) Albrecht keyless has made it tolerable. If I were to buy an new (to me) machine and my wife weren't looking I'd probably buy a mill. A lot of what I do now wants precise placement of lots of holes, and an XY table with a DRO would make my life vastly easier, so too would a CNC router as an alternative, but there's no room for one that's big enough and that's another order of magnitude of money. I seem frequently to need to drill into the ends of relatively long objects, so a benchtop machine would be a non-starter for me-- so I'd need both the DP and mill, oh well.

I'd enjoy having more throw, more capacity between the drill bit and the pillar, and really would enjoy variable speed, preferably without changing belts. A table about four times the size of the one on the Delta would be incredibly useful. But, as I said, I've jury-rigged solutions that let me get by.

Almost every drill I have, new or old, has (or would) benefit hugely from an upgraded chuck. If I were to buy a $2K DP I'd almost certainly budget for the appropriate Albrecht keyless or equivalent as well.

[Jordan Chavez]

To close this out, I ended up buying the Voyager based on comments in this and other threads, and talking to a few people. I got the piece last week and it's working fine so far, though I have no point of comparison. Thanks again everyone.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Drill presses and miter saws are funny critters here at SMC.
A large number of people have zero use for one or the other and another large number of people spend a ton of money on one or the other - or search out one that would be better fitted to heavy industrial use.

[Kent A Bathurst]

To close this out, I ended up buying the Voyager based on comments in this and other threads, and talking to a few people. I got the piece last week and it's working fine so far, though I have no point of comparison. Thanks again everyone.

Always happy to spend other people’s money

[George Yetka]

I bought PM2800 right after the original Nova came out. I was unsure of it at the time. The PM works fine. I do like the fact that either VFD or with pm2800 style crank there is no belt changing.