Opinions on drillpress

[Brian Keith]

I need to buy a new floor drillpress wednesday, cause Ive gone too long without one and need to finish some projects. I dont want to order online so Ill be buying local but if a good deal online I could go that route. Im limited on where to purchase, all there is locally for in store purchases is a Sears, Westerntool and Rockler. Want to buy a 13'',14",15" range cause I dont have much room. Brands locally that I can afford are Craftsman,Delta,Pioneer and possably Jet if I can find cheap enough. Any ideas would be great. Thanks

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Brian.........I recently bought a Jet and have been happy with it.......The one thing I'd be sure and check is the amount of quill travel. I had a cheap bench top that would only drill 2" even with the table swiveled out of the way. My new one goes 4 3/8". Good luck with you hunt!

[Nancy Laird]

Brian,

The Delta 17-990X is a 16-1/2" 3/4HP with a 6" quill travel, 24-1/2" from chuck to table. It is variable speed, has table-height adjustment, base is 13-1/2" square, and is available from Woodworker's Supply currently at $889.99 plus motor freight. I know you want to buy locally, and Rockler will probably have it. It is the equivalent of the one 23 have and is a good one. It has the longest quill travel of any of the Delta models, if that is a prime consideration.

However, LOML says that if he were in the market for a new one, he'd look seriously at the Steel City Model 20520, also with a 6" quill travel, at $469.99 with a laser attachment for $45.99. It's a 17" 3/4HP 12-speed. Don't know where you are, so don't know who in your neighborhood might carry it.

Powermatic also has a 2800 18" 1HP VS, at $929.99. Quill travel on that one is 4-3/8"--a little short of the Delta and Steel City models.

Good shopping!
Nancy

[tim mathis]

hi, the steel city may be bigger than you wanted but there is a $75.00 rebate on it . i have had this one for 3 months of heavy use and it is excellent.
tim in centerville , ohio

[Brian Keith]

WW is just a hobby so I dont want to spend in the area of $300-$350 or a bit more if possible. Would you stay away from the Craftsman products? Thanks for the replies.

[Mike Henderson]

The two things I find important are variable speed (because you never change the speed when you have to change belts) and quill travel.

Mike

[David G Baker]

I have a Craftsman Commercial floor stand drill press that is 33 years old. I use it at least 3 times a week for drilling metal and it is still in great condition and has served me well. It has the tiny drive belt and I had never used this type before but it has been great. Very easy to change the speed.
I do not know what Sears is selling now for a drill press so I cant help you there. You might consider Craig's List or different sources for a used drill press. Unless a used drill press has been abused, which should be obvious, they generally hold up pretty well over time and use.
David B

[Bill Lewis]

Powermatic, and Delta are both coming out with new models targeted to WW's. The top-end floor standing models of these are in the $900 range. Major features include VS, lot's of travel in the spindle (6"+/-), lights, oversized CI tables with lots of angular adjustment, replaceable sacrificial plate in table (think ZCI for a drillpress) and laser crosshairs.
PM has also an expandable table, and interchangeable quill feed handles (L/R)
These are coming out in March. I was just at the Baltimore WW show (Jan 5), and neither manufacturer had them out for display.

Mike, I do change my speed on my DP even with the beltdrive, quite frequently in fact. Frankly this is another argument for VS. I get tired of changing the speed that way, The chart is only a guide, and usually I need to be a little faster, or slower to get good results, which means doing yet another belt/speed change. It'd be much easier to just tweak it as necessary. I have a 15 speed Delta so I'm changing 2 belts almost every time.

[Frank Chaffee]

The two things I find important are variable speed (because you never change the speed when you have to change belts) and quill travel.Mike
Ditto that.

[Jeff Wright]

[quote=Bill Lewis]Powermatic, and Delta are both coming out with new models targeted to WW's. The top-end floor standing models of these are in the $900 range. Major features include VS, lot's of travel in the spindle (6"+/-) quote]

Has anyone learned what the guaranteed maximum runout will be on the new Delta 20 inch drill press coming out in March?

[quote=Bill Lewis]I was just at the Baltimore WW show (Jan 5), and neither manufacturer had them out for display. quote]

Both were on display and being demoed at the August Atlanta woodworking show.

[Brian Keith]

Living in Maine is tough for finding used ww equipment. Ive been looking at Craigslist and Uncle Henrys(which is a local book for selling items, comes out weekly). Maybe Im just looking in the wrong places.

[Bill Lewis]

Both were on display and being demoed at the August Atlanta woodworking show. That's interesting, because both Delta and PM had a strong corporate presense at the Balt. Show. I was definately wanting to take a look at these DP's. At least I can go to the Chantilly VA show in a couple of months for another chance to see them.

[Brad Townsend]

Perhaps it's just a case of if you never had it, you don't miss it, but I don't find changing belts to change speeds all that big a hassle. For $300-400 price premium for variable speed, I can mess with belts for a long time. Perhaps if I were a professional, or using my DP on an hourly basis, I would see it differently.

I have no experience with them, but the Craftsman DPs appear to be well made and a good value for the money. Anyway, if you got one home and it had excessive vibration or runout, you can return it.

[Bill Bezilla]

Brian Check out the Delta 17-968 on amazon.

Variable speed ( variator pulley not electronic) on sale for $525.

They had free shipping before the Holidays not sure if that's still available.
I've been happy with mine.
I knew if I did not go variable speed I would not change the speed often enough.