Help - Buying a New Drill Press

[pat warner]

Great presses (for wood, metal, & plastic) start at 2500$ new. Wood only, no precision required? Buy cheap import.
Not good enough? Maybe a rebuilt is your best buy.
What old drills are great? They must be re-built x reputable sources. But if done well, they pay for themsleves 5x over.
Buffalo, Atlas, DoAll, Davis & Wells, Powermatics, Rockwells, General, Clausing, Delta, Pre'65 Sears, walker-turner, Duro, & Wilton
e.g.

[Larry Copas]

The last FWW had a compressive test of drill presses. It would be a must read for someone planning a purchase.

I bought a vintage Rockwell drill press with variable speed via a reeves drive a few years ago. Think I paid $250. After a quick clean up and lube job I put it to work. I wouldn't trade it for any of the machines in the FWW test.

[glenn bradley]

Like any tool, your happiness with a drill press stems from what you do with it. I very rarely have to drill a 6" deep hole and when I do it is not on the drill press. The longer the stroke the more opportunity for inaccuracy. The table height adjusts, right? Speed range is of primary importance to me and I find it interesting that it is not one of your criteria. Proper speed to cutter/material settings can make or break your result.

I should have started with a disclaimer; I am a disgruntled drill press shopper. I have seen nothing in the sub-$3000 range that I would spend more than a few hundred dollars on. It is not beyond us to build a decent drill press so I assume there is just not adequate demand for a reasonably priced, quality product to make it worth bringing one to market.

-- Are you sensing the sour grapes here --

The new Steel City, Powermatic, Jet and Rikon offerings all fall short in vertical quill slop. I could attribute it to poor setup of floor models but, there are no adjustments on these machines for removing this slop; it is what it is. So much for drilling consistent depth holes . I did run across one PM2800B at a show that had only about 1/32" of depth slop so you can get lucky (if not really accurate). Most that I have laid hands on have around a 1/16" of play.

A table is not a deal breaker for me. I do enjoy the left/right/front/back tilt on my current little Delta but, even the best "woodworking" tables I've seen would get an add-on. I need more positioning and holddown options than the makers think I do. Again, this is of value to me and may not be important to what you are doing.

The upside in the DP market right now is that there are $500 DP's that are basically as good as $1500 DP's in the areas that are important to me. I berate myself for giving away (yes, for free) my Grandpa's 1940's Delta. My Delta 19-750 gets me by. If not stellar in its performance it is at least predictable.

There are a bevy of older machines out there. The challenge is finding one large enough that is not being sold by someone who knows why you want it and prices it accordingly. If you can do with a 14" machine, there are a lot of old Delta DP-200-ish machines out there. I needed more capacity but, wasn't willing to spend $1000 plus for what is currently offered.

I patiently wait for an opportunity or a shift in the industry

[Kent Adams]

Cool. I like that drill's looks a lot. Is that 80's vintage (just a guess based on the belt housing design).

[Jesse Busenitz]

Wait until a vintage Rockwell or Powermatic shows up on Craigslist. That budget is more than enough for an excellent specimen.

+1 I have a PM1100 and a Walker Turner 900, both are solid drill presses. The WT is a bench model but the PO bolted it to a sweet looking cast iron base with decorative legs and it really looks sweet too.

[Larry Fox]

IMHO the thing you should do before purchasing any drill press is to talk to Pat Warner. Guy is super nice / helpful and has a wealth of information. I faced the drill press buying decision recently and went with a vintage rockwell and an Albreicht keyless chuck. Was NOT an inexpensive undertaking but worth it. No experience with the models you mention but a conversation with Pat will likely save you some $$ and point you in the right direction.

[Bob Cumming]

I have several drill presses. I agree that quill travel is important, and suggest buying the one with the most travel. I also agree that purchasing an aftermarket table or building one yourself are possibilities that will increase versatility. Above and beyond all these, however, are the following:
1. Variable speed;
2. Sharpness of accessories
On scale of 1 to 10 (10 is best), I'd rate features that mean the most to me as follows:

Variable speed: 10
Quill travel: 9-10
Table size: 8
Throat: 8
Table height adjustment: 8
Ability of table to accommodate accessories (drill press vise, etc.): 7
lighting: 10

The vast majority of drill presses have poor work area lighting. I found that two commercial sewing machine lamps with goose necks mounted on a bracket clamped to the drill press head tube provides excellent illumination that can be easily adjusted and controlled by a small 3-4 multi-outlet attached conveniently with Velcro. With both lamp switches left on the on position, both can be controlled by turning the outlet on/off. LED screw-in bulbs provide very good illumination. Here's a link to the type that I mounted on my vertical mill:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/FLEXIBLE-GOO...item2a4b70f2ca

[Peter Aeschliman]

I'm curious- what operations are you guys doing in woodworking that requires drilling precision? Boring the center of turned pens? I've survived the last 10 years with a crumby bench top Jet drill drill press and didn't wish for something nicer until I needed to drill through-holes in some structural 6x6 posts for my basement renovation. My little drill press wasn't up for it, so I used it as an excuse to buy the new Jet drill press.

I haven't gotten out a dial indicator, but I'm sure it has run out. I'm sure it has something to do with the haphazard way in which in stalled the taper (needed to get to work ASAP). And it looks funky (like a drone!). Speed adjustment is pretty easy, and it has a wider speed range than the reeves drive systems like the 2x more expensive Powermatic. For the price, I'm fine with what I got. I'm not jumping for joy, and it certainly won't be the nicest tool in my shop, but I probably only use my drill press once every few months...

I'm not machining parts for an engine. So I'm really curious what ya'all are using your drill presses for in woodworking that requires so much precision and so many features.

[Kent A Bathurst]

So I'm really curious what ya'all are using your drill presses for in woodworking that requires so much precision and so many features.

Silly Rabbit. Tricks are for WW Kids.

You might as well ask why my till is full of LN planes, LV planes, Adria backsaws........

[pat warner]

"I'm curious- what operations are you guys doing in woodworking that requires drilling precision?"
************************************************
This router table is full of holes. No drill skills, no router table.

[Peter Aeschliman]

Silly Rabbit. Tricks are for WW Kids.

You might as well ask why my till is full of LN planes, LV planes, Adria backsaws........

I'm serious though! Give me some examples in furniture making where you need the level of precision that requires a $3k+ drill press. I totally get the idea of having awesome tools just because they're awesome. If that's what gives a hobbiest joy, then I won't stand in the way or criticize. But as a practical matter, I'm curious what examples you have of cases where you need nearly no run out when drilling through wood for furniture-making.

"I'm curious- what operations are you guys doing in woodworking that requires drilling precision?"
************************************************
This router table is full of holes. No drill skills, no router table.

Okay, you got me on a technicality, Pat! haha. I would call that machining more than woodworking. So your example makes sense, but you're talking about building a tool in this case, not a furniture piece.

BTW I'm going to have to stare at that thing for a while! I have no idea what's going on with all of the nobs, threaded rod, dial indicators, etc. Looks like a work of art.

[pat warner]

I use the DP for all the furniture I make. This printer stand is designed to stand the tests of time, e.g.
And steel cross doweling requires precision location/layout and high drill skills.

[Cary Falk]

Cool. I like that drill's looks a lot. Is that 80's vintage (just a guess based on the belt housing design).

I don't remember the exact date but I believe it was early '80's.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Give me some examples in furniture making where you need the level of precision that requires a $3k+ drill press.

I dunno $3k. But - runout is a legitimate deal, as it is with your table saw. Just a couple of examples -

> a row of holes to outline a mortise that will be cleaned up with chisels - how much wandering are you OK with?

> Holes for pegged joinery - how oversize/oblong can the holes be and look good to you?

The problem today is that the selection of DPs on offer today seem to be of marginal quality, and you have to go big to get in the accuracy game.

Me? I went old arn - 30 yr old PM 1150A VS. Lovely. Modern manufacture? I can't tell you where to turn, Peter.........

The 6" quill travel is more problematic - I like it, because that means one whole damn lot less of table height adjustment. There are occasions where I need it to get the hole I require, but that is the exception.

The VS feature? Saves a lot of time getting to the best speed, and - honestly - means I am on the best speed much more often because screwing around with the belts and stacked pulleys annoys me.

[Sean Tracey]

6 inch stroke is not necessarily about drilling a deep hole. It's about being able to perform multiple operations on the same hole without having to move the table to accomodate longer tools.