Drill press recommendations

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I went to drill my first pen blanks with my benchtop drill press last night. Guess what..........not enough throw. It will only drill through 2" even witht the table all the way down. I bought this Tawain made jewel probably 10 years ago for $69 IIRC. I've gotten my money's worth out of it but now it's time to replace it.

I'm looking at the JET JDP-17MF they have on sale at Woodcraft this month. Anybody own one or have any opinions on it pro or con?

[Bill Fleming]

No question in my mind - look at the new Delta 20" with variable speed, laser, tilting table (side to side and front to back) - no on the Delta site yet (a few days ago) but can find on Amazon and in these discussion groups. Also 6" of travel.

Bill

[Jim Becker]

I have the Jet (earlier version) and am very pleased with it.

[Frank Fusco]

I like my Grizzly G7943 bench model just fine. Only wish I had gone with floor model of same thing (G7944).

[Dave Bureau]

I am considering one of the delta 20" myself. 24 x14 table and digital readout. about $900. but they are not due out till december.

[Steven DeMars]

It is very well made. Look at Model #70-200

[Jeffrey Makiel]

I have an old Harbor Frieght 16-1/2" floor model drill press. Its about 18 years old. It has tons of hours on it. I use it for polishing, sanding and mortising. Oh...I also use it for drilling! It works quite well.

If I did it again, I'd get the variable speed model. I don't like turning my fingers black from touching the belts when making speed changes.

I've found 16-1/2" swing is plenty. The motor is 1 hp (14 )amps. Never bogged down, even when polishing. But those dirty belts!

cheers, Jeff :)

[Corey Hallagan]

If I was buying a drill press right now I would probably go with one of the Grizzly models. Most of their benchtops have 3 1/4 inch throw as well.

corey

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Hey guys..........I bought a 17" 16 speed Jet. It's setup and I'm going to the shop to drill some pen blanks. Thanks for the opinions!

[Brian Hostetter]

I've got the Delta 17-968 16.5" variable speed and have no complaints. It's nice being able to change speed on the fly, a real time saver if you require different speeds frequently. Amazon has it for $529 with free shipping, which is where I got mine. The box was nearly unrecognizable when it arrived, but the press was undamaged.

[Frank Fusco]

I've got the Delta 17-968 16.5" variable speed and have no complaints. It's nice being able to change speed on the fly, a real time saver if you require different speeds frequently. Amazon has it for $529 with free shipping, which is where I got mine. The box was nearly unrecognizable when it arrived, but the press was undamaged.

I'm glad you qualified that with "....if you require different speeds frequently...".
99% of my drilling is at one speed, a fairly low setting. To change speeds (Grizzly) only takes a couple minutes. Not a big deal IMHO.