Nova Viking

[Mike OMelia]

Is this benchtop drill worth it? i have a powermatic 2800, happy with it for big stuff. (a related post to follow). Have two shops now, don't want to replicate a big drill press. But am interested in the depth control. Thoughts?

Mike

[John Kananis]

The (mechanical) depth control is the only thing I really don't like about mine. It has the turret type stop, I prefer the bar with handwheel. Also, note: is much larger than other bench top models.


Is this benchtop drill worth it? i have a powermatic 2800, happy with it for big stuff. (a related post to follow). Have two shops now, don't want to replicate a big drill press. But am interested in the depth control. Thoughts?

Mike

[Mike OMelia]

The (mechanical) depth control is the only thing I really don't like about mine. It has the turret type stop, I prefer the bar with handwheel. Also, note: is much larger than other bench top models.

Yes, I can tell from videos its much bigger than a typical bench DP. I have a Powermatic 2800, very happy with it. But in my smaller shop, I'd like something a bit smaller. But not too small. Just wondered if anyone here has one of these and can provide some thoughts on it.

Mike

[John Kananis]

Mike, I'm more than happy to answer any questions you have so ask away. It's a great machine overall and I'll see if I can upload a Pic when I get on my laptop so you can get an idea of footprint.


Yes, I can tell from videos its much bigger than a typical bench DP. I have a Powermatic 2800, very happy with it. But in my smaller shop, I'd like something a bit smaller. But not too small. Just wondered if anyone here has one of these and can provide some thoughts on it.

Mike

[John Kananis]

Mike, the cabinet its sitting on is 26" high and the combo sits as high as the bandsaw right next to it (about 73 inches). Get a decent chuck and you're ready to fly.

518165

[Tom Bender]

I really prefer a floor model so I can drill the ends of table legs and other taller stuff. And the footprint is smaller.

[Geoff Crimmins]

A friend of mine has this drill press, which I have used a few times. It's quiet, smooth, and seems to have plenty of power. Its' really nice being able to adjust the spindle speed with the turn of knob. I like that you can set it to automatically start when you advance the quill. The electronic depth control works, but I haven't used it enough to know how accurate it is. It does have a mechanical depth stop if need you need absolute accuracy. Overall, I really like it. There are a few things I don't like about it. There is no quill lock, which is a feature that's sometimes useful. While the DVR motor and electronics seem to be high quality, the rest of the drill press looks like it is a generic Asian drill press. Finally, I'm sure that the proprietary electronics will die someday, and if Teknatool doesn't have replacement parts when that happens there will be no way to repair it. With something like a 3-phase motor and VFD, you could always repair it with off-the-shelf parts.

[John Kananis]

Hi Geoff,

The electronic depth control works as long as you're being very careful and moving slowly but you can muscle through quite easily. The turret stop is "ok". You're not paying for 3 phase power and a vfd though... for its price, it's incredibly feature packed (get a decent chuck). I do echo your concern about electronics functioning long term (and being supported) but I didn't pay a million bucks for it either.


A friend of mine has this drill press, which I have used a few times. It's quiet, smooth, and seems to have plenty of power. Its' really nice being able to adjust the spindle speed with the turn of knob. I like that you can set it to automatically start when you advance the quill. The electronic depth control works, but I haven't used it enough to know how accurate it is. It does have a mechanical depth stop if need you need absolute accuracy. Overall, I really like it. There are a few things I don't like about it. There is no quill lock, which is a feature that's sometimes useful. While the DVR motor and electronics seem to be high quality, the rest of the drill press looks like it is a generic Asian drill press. Finally, I'm sure that the proprietary electronics will die someday, and if Teknatool doesn't have replacement parts when that happens there will be no way to repair it. With something like a 3-phase motor and VFD, you could always repair it with off-the-shelf parts.

[George Yetka]

Benchtop could be useful but not as useful as a floorstanding. I watched a video from Bent on youtube this morning he was complaining that he bought this drill and put a woodpecker table on it leaving him very little travel to use.

[Jim Becker]

Benchtop could be useful but not as useful as a floorstanding. I watched a video from Bent on youtube this morning he was complaining that he bought this drill and put a woodpecker table on it leaving him very little travel to use.
To be clear, Jason said it was an absolutely excellent tool but he just doesn't use it enough to justify keeping it in his shop and taking up the cabinet space. But yea, the woodpecker table (which he also indicated was excellent) was best suited to a floor drill press for the reason you mention...the drawer unit compromises how thick the thing that shall get poked with holes can be.

Now when I consider my own drill press needs, and I was actually doing that yesterday when I did some minor rearrangement after completing my Systainer storage cabinets, I really don't need a floor DP for the things I typically use it for. I'd love to get the Nova for sure, but the only thing that keeps me from doing so is 1) limited drilling activity in my shop and 2) the old Jet 17" (only remaining tool from my initial shop setup) is, um...paid for. :) And I have the Rockler drill guide for poking holes in things that are larger than a DP can do should I need to do that.

[Larry Frank]

I had a jet 17" and got rid of it due to quill slop.

I have Voyager version which I love. The Viking looks nice for a smaller shop. After using mine for several years, I love the ability to easily change speeds. I could not go back to belts or a mechanical variable speed.

I am really perplexed by the comment about the Viking looking like a generic Asian model. I have never seen anything like it.

The issue of replacement parts for the electronics is not an issue for me in my lifetime. Teknatool is using this same design in many tools and I doubt there will be an issue. The same parts issues comes up with most tools. Finding parts for older tools can be difficult no matter how they are made.

[Bill Dufour]

How much quill stroke does it have? Is that any different from the floor model.
Bill D

[John Kananis]

4 and a half inches. Pretty sure the floor standing is 6.


How much quill stroke does it have? Is that any different from the floor model.
Bill D

[John Kananis]

I just checked. Apparently they now sell a floor standing version of the viking (looks like just a longer column), which offers the same 4.5" quill stroke. The voyager is 6".


How much quill stroke does it have? Is that any different from the floor model.
Bill D

[Michael Burnside]

To be clear, Jason said it was an absolutely excellent tool but he just doesn't use it enough to justify keeping it in his shop and taking up the cabinet space. But yea, the woodpecker table (which he also indicated was excellent) was best suited to a floor drill press for the reason you mention...the drawer unit compromises how thick the thing that shall get poked with holes can be.

Now when I consider my own drill press needs, and I was actually doing that yesterday when I did some minor rearrangement after completing my Systainer storage cabinets, I really don't need a floor DP for the things I typically use it for. I'd love to get the Nova for sure, but the only thing that keeps me from doing so is 1) limited drilling activity in my shop and 2) the old Jet 17" (only remaining tool from my initial shop setup) is, um...paid for. :) And I have the Rockler drill guide for poking holes in things that are larger than a DP can do should I need to do that.

I don’t use my PM 2820 EVS very often but IMHO it doesn’t take that much space and I 100% would never trade it for a benchtop. On numerous occasions I’ve used the outstanding capacity, not to mention a full 6” quill travel and THE best stop I’ve ever used with ambidextrous quill handles.

I watched that YouTube as well as the first one where he installed the WP top. I thought to myself, you basically limited the tool a glorified hand drill.