Originally Posted by
Bob Cooper
I’m slowly upgrading each of my cheaper/lower quality power tools over time. Right now I have a $150 floor standing drill press which has served me well but I’d like to be on the lookout for something better. What would you recommend?
Budget - no big constraint
Use - general woodworking - lots of Forster bits, sometimes a circle cutter, normal brad point bits, ... I have the common Ridig osc spindle sander so I don’t do much sanding on it
Seems like 3 useful features would be
- little quill (sp?) runout
- variable speed via a dial would be nice but that may eliminate all the nice old machines so this is just a nice to have
- big table - though I can probably build this
- depth stop - need this
Are there a lot of great older units on the market and are they dramatically better than for example a new PM. Seems like I’ve read reviews from this group on the new machines and they have not been overwhelmingly positive. So it may be a trade off of build quality vs convenience features.
I’m in no hurry so I can shop for a while to find the right machine
Bob
First question is, What is your current machine not doing for you?
A few observations of mine;
I tend to be a minimalist when it comes to machines. The less features, the less to go wrong with one. That's a personal take only.
I'm also increasingly becoming a fan of Old 'arn so to speak and frequent Craigslist quite a bit. I'm also in the market for a nice bench top drill press, because I don't have room for a standing model. Like you, it's not critical.
Lately I've been looking at the old Walker Turner, Heavy duty models from the 40's-60's, with the speed reduction feature. Not many are for sale with the third pulley, speed reducer but there is a fellow on OWWM that makes them based on the OEM version. I need the lower speed, because for some reason, I continue to find myself needing speeds less than the "norm". I also do some metal work from time to time.
The lowest speed, new, drill press without electronic speed control, excluding the Nova, I've found, is by Jet. It's a special order and is less than 200 rpm. Still a little bit fast.
The old machines can be better, and probably were new, but a lot of them are beat to hell and would require some substantial overhaul to bring them back. What makes them nice, and worth the effort, is that the machine was designed to drill a hole, not fit a price point margin. They're also pretty cool.
One mod that folks are doing for drill presses, is getting old treadmills, sometimes off the side of the road, and taking the motors and speed controllers out of them and adapting them to the drill press. These are high torque DC Motors, generally 1/2HP and larger, and the results are pretty amazing. It might be a little bit of the "hack", and certainly not as elegant as the Nova, but the end result is the same.
"The first thing you need to know, will likely be the last thing you learn." (Unknown)