Powermatic drill press

[Dave Bureau]

I've been waiting long enough for that Delta 20-959 xl to come out. I know that there was a lot of talk about the powermatic 2800 awhile back. Now that its been out for a while I'd like to get some feedback from people who have used one. good or bad. lets hear it.
Dave

[Chris Jenkins]

I saw the Delta's two years ago at one of the big trade shows and it still isn't to market! I don't have the PM but have been around them quite a bit. I think they are all thumbs up. The only down side I know of is that they only go down to like 400 or 450 RPMs, which is to fast for drilling metals. Also I have seen several complaints on the surface finish of the table, but I heard that the table grind is being improved. When these "improved" ones are to hit I have no idea.

Chris

[Lori Kleinberg]

I do not have the Powermatic. I was in the market for a new drill press a few months ago. After reading tons of reviews and asking opinions, I decided to go with the Steel City. I wanted the ability to go at a slower speed if/when necessary, but I will say the Powermatic is a very pretty looking drill press;), it is also very high priced :eek:. By the way I have had my SC DP for a couple months and have been real happy with it.

[glenn bradley]

I heard enough bad experiences with the PM2800 (including a couple SMC members who finally just returned them due to quality issues) that I just removed it from the short list. Hopefully this has improved. I assume the need for VS is driving your short list? Looking back I'm glad I saved the money. Changing belts is just not as bad as I had convinced myself it was. Just food for thought ;-)

[Don Eddard]

Also I have seen several complaints on the surface finish of the table, but I heard that the table grind is being improved. When these "improved" ones are to hit I have no idea.

Chris
How important is the surface finish on a drill press in a woodworking shop? Maybe an aesthetics issue, but not a functionality problems as far as I can tell. As long as it's relatively flat, it seems it would work fine. A lot of people cover the original table with a bigger one anyway.

That said, I like the SC better. ;)

[Dave Bureau]

I talked to a guy at woodcraft. he called delta for me about that 20" and they said it is not going into production because of porblems with the manufacturer. and that they are going to redesign it. Oh well so much for that. I have an older Delta that I bought about 15 years ago. I might play with that. get a good table and call it a day if the runout is within reason. Can anyone tell me how to check the runout? I have dial indicators. Do you check it on the chuck or put a bit in it and check it on the bit shaft?
Dave

[Dave Bureau]

I was out looking a drill presses again and was not impressed. I looked at the PM. Jet and Steel city. One thing i noticed on all three is that when I lowered the quill to about 3/4 down that when I grabed the chuck and checked for play that there was about 1/64 wiggle. with the steel city being the worst. It was so bad that I asked the guy if that could be adjusted out. So that made me go home and start fooling around with my older delta that i bought about 15 years ago. I mainly used it at my work for metal and misc. stuff. First i checked for that same wiggle and there was absolutely none. Next I mounted a dial indicator and checked the spindle for runout. WOW it was only .0005. So I cleaned 15 years of grease and oil off it. The paint was like brand new. I changed the chuck to a keyless, mounted a laser, and a table and fence from Rockler. Maybe older iron is the way to go. Now I'll go spend that 500 to 800 bucks on something else. BTW I do have a 1912 16" Cresent jointer that works great also. Maybe I'll buy a power feeder for that with the money.
Dave

[Rob Will]

I had a Delta ordered at WoodCraft. Finally had to cancel the order because Delta has problems with the design of the electronic readout. I think the non-electronic version will be available (?)

Rob

[Eddie Darby]

Last I heard was the Delta digital was suppose to appear sometime in the Fall of 2008.
This is the first machine that Delta has a digital read-out on and so they need to get up to speed on it.

[Bill Wyko]

I've been waiting long enough for that Delta 20-959 xl to come out. I know that there was a lot of talk about the powermatic 2800 awhile back. Now that its been out for a while I'd like to get some feedback from people who have used one. good or bad. lets hear it.
Dave
I've got one. It opperates perfectly. Best keyless chuck I've seen too. On initial set up there was a little shake but it turned out to be the belt just needed to break in. The lazer was dead on right out of the box and the lighting is good too. IMHO Money well spent.:)

[Dan Lee]

I just recently got one. Works great, lasers were perfectly aligned. Haven't had any of the vibration problems I've read about.

On the fly speed change was what I really wanted.

I put off buying this DP in part because of some of the reviews here. Finally decided to take a chance on it and was fully prepared to return it. Very happy with it so far.

[Steve Sowden]

Had one for a couple of months now and love it.

[Rob Will]

I think these guys have the non-electronic version (?).

Rob

[Leigh Betsch]

I probably wrote the most scathing review on the PM2800. If you can ignore the rear pulley noise/vibration/wobble going on it really seems like a pretty good machine. The rear pulley problem doesn't effect the the spindle run out or function. It just upsets me that it should have been better and from a company that uses the PM name to sell their product for a premium. Just one mans opinion. I'm sure it will produce a drilled hole just as good as most other home shop drill presses. The variable speed feature is nice on any DP but not as necessary for wood drilling as metal. In metal if you don't adjust the speed when you should you dull your drill, in wood you might burn the wood but the drill is usually not harmed.

[Steve Sowden]

I did have a rear pulley noise when I first bought the DP. My local Woodcraft allowed me to swap the power head (5 minute operation) and now it runs smooth and quite. Yes it is expensive and I can't say for sure it is worth it but it does everything I need very well. Fit and finish is good on mine so no complaints there. I have yet to have a problem with the 400 RPM slowest speed but I can see that someday I may need to use a large diameter cutter and have some issues.

All and all I have no regrets. Probably could have found something cheaper that would do the job but this one is pretty cool.