Which drill press?

[Bob Durgin]

I'm starting my search for a floor drill press. What are the reccommendations out there? I see from a lot of lurking :D most people prefer the Steel City DP.

[Eddie Darby]

I like the split head design of the SC DP and wish that they all had this feature!

[Jim Becker]

With drill presses, I'd be less concerned about the brand and concentrate on the capacities, features and speed ranges. For woodworking you want a low speed that is actually low...200 rpm or so...so you can safely use wing cutters and large Forstner bits. You want as much quill travel as you can get for drilling through thicker wood assemblies and components without having to try hard to do it from both sides and have it match up. You want a table that you can fasten a large auxiliary table to...most DPs were designed for metalworking, not woodworking, and their tables have a lot lacking for workpiece support, etc. You want a depth stop that works and is accurate and smooth. A light is nice. Outside of that, pick your favorite color.

I have a Jet 17" that's been in my shop since 1999. It's been a great machine that meets my needs, especially with the 18" x 24" auxiliary table I built for it.

[Jeremy Leasure]

My search for a floor model drill press led me to the Steel City. 6" quill travel and something around 225 rpm on the low end. Plus its purty.

[J. Z. Guest]

Would you use a cabinet more, or the floor capacity more? I thought about this and decided I'd rather have the extra storage space, and wound up with a nice variable speed Ryobi w/ digital RPM readout, light, and laser. I just love it.

Admittedly, I won't be able to use circle cutters with it because the low end is only 500 RPM. On the other hand, the table was designed for easy clamping. (see photo) I built a cabinet with two slide-out shelves and room for circ saws on the bottom on locking casters. For $200, it can't be beat.

Grizzly makes a benchtop drill press (http://www.grizzlyindustrial.com/products/12-Speed-Heavy-Duty-Bench-Top-Drill-Press/G7943) with a full 3/4 hp motor and range of speeds that gets rave reviews, but I hated the idea of jerking around with belt changes. It goes from 140 RPM to 3050 RPM.

Their 20" 12 spd floor model (http://www.grizzlyindustrial.com/products/12-Speed-20-Floor-Drill-Press/G7948) also looks like a good value.

Delta makes this floor model (http://www.deltaportercable.com/Products/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=15684#) with variable speed with a "woodworkers table" that looks nice.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Bob.....Make sure if you buy a DP to get one that has at least a 4" travel. My old bench top only had a travel of about 2". I couldn't even easily drill pen blanks with it.

[Louie George]

I'll second Jim's assessment of the Jet, I have a Jet 17" as well and love it!

[Cary Falk]

Another happy Steel City 17" DP owner here.

[Brodie Brickey]

I bought a benchtop RIKON Radial Drill Press. It replaced an old Jet Floor model that needed to go.

I've been very happy with it. When I'm making a cane or walking stick, I just loosen a nut and dial out the entire head assembly to be able to drill without the table top. Quill travel is 3 1/8".

[Mike Heidrick]

Another happy Steel City 17" DP owner here.

QFT - I am as well.

[glenn bradley]

I had decided on the SCTW and would have it if an exceptional deal on a Delta hadn't come along. As a side note, I have yet to miss the 6" quill travel that was one of my deciding factors on the Steel City.

[Michael O'Sullivan]

Grizzly makes a benchtop drill press (http://www.grizzlyindustrial.com/products/12-Speed-Heavy-Duty-Bench-Top-Drill-Press/G7943) with a full 3/4 hp motor and range of speeds that gets rave reviews, but I hated the idea of jerking around with belt changes. It goes from 140 RPM to 3050 RPM.I have this one, and love it. The belt changing isn't a big deal, as long as you locate it in a spot with access to the side of the DP. Usually, I just set keep it at 980 RPM, which seems to suffice for all drilling up to about 3/4" diameter (which is about 90% of what I do). Anything bigger, and I slow it down. I guess if I were doing a huge number of small diameter cuts, I might speed it up, but 980 RPM is generally fine as far as I can tell.

One criticism is that there is not a speed setting between 540 RPM and 980 RPM. 540 is a little slow for Forstners between 3/4" and 1.25" or so, and 980 is little too fast.

My other criticism is that the 3.25" quill travel is a fib. On mine, at least, it is 3.125". I have yet to need anything longer, though -- it is plenty for the pen blanks I do, since they are all cut in half anyway.

I got mine for $225 plus shipping (looks like it is up to $240 now), which left a lot of funds over for blowing on other stuff.

One thing I would avoid, however, is the morticing attachment. I have futzed with it 6 ways to sunday, and still cannot get it to cut well or (and this is the kicker), to withdraw cleanly and easily from the workpiece.

[John Buzzurro]

Bob, I Have the Delta 17-968, and I'm very happy with it. Good speed range (200-2500), 4 & 7/8" quill travel, and a dial for changing speed - no need to mess with belts. It also comes with a light.

[Jules Dominguez]

Bob, this is a JDP-15M (Jet with 15" swing and good low-speed capability), but the make and model is irrelevant to my point. With a bench-mounted drill press, you can utilize the full footprint of the auxiliary table for cabinet space, make the whole thing mobile, and avoid having to anchor the DP to the floor for stability.

I don't recall whether anyone makes a 17" swing bench model. If you want that much swing, that might force you to a floor model, but if not, there are advantages to be had with a bench-mounted arrangement in a space-limited shop.

[Lori Kleinberg]

I bought Steel City. I only wanted to buy once and this one meets all the requirements that Jim Becker listed. At this time I don't need all the capacities available on this drill press, but I might further down the road and so I will be good to go.