Rikon 12" VS Drill Press: Short Review

[Nick Decker]

Ordered one of these during the last Lee Valley free shipping period, and it's set up and operational. I haven't seen any reviews of it anywhere, so thought I'd post my first impressions.

http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/pag...6232&cat=1,180

Let me say first that I have no illusions about comparing this to Old American Iron. It's Asian, obviously, but it's also readily available.

I'll also say that I don't know a lot about drill presses, this is my second one. The first was a little (cheap) 10" Craftsman, which was sort of OK but pretty limiting for my uses.

The Rikon was easy to put together, took maybe 30 minutes, including bolting it to a piece of plywood which will sit on one of my benchtops. I did need a friend to help me lift the head onto the column.

It's very tall, about 39", which means I'll need a step stool to change the pulleys from one speed range to the other. Not a huge deal, and partly my fault for having it on a taller-than-usual benchtop. Speed changes within each speed range are easily controlled with a lever on the left side.

One thing I wasn't expecting: Rikon suggests that you always start (and stop) the machine at the low end speed of whichever range you're using. Not sure why that is, the manual doesn't say, but I'll likely find out if it will cause a problem if I forget. Seems unreasonable to expect users to always remember t9 lower the speed before turning off.

It feels solid when it's running, no unusual noises, etc. Measured runout at the arbor at less than .001", which is much better than the old Craftsman. As near as I can measure using a long drill bit, the table is nice and square to the bit. Really nothing to adjust once I had it together.

The chuck key has one of those infernal little spring pins in it, I guess to keep you from starting the press with it engaged in the chuck, and to ensure that it flies out of your hand every time you use it. Pisses me off.

So far, it's looking like it will fit my needs, basically for low speeds for large bits. I'd been lusting for the Nova, but I use a drill press on maybe 10% of my projects and just couldn't justify the money. If you have any questions, ask away. Also, I have a short video of how the speed changes (within each range) are done, if anyone is interested.

[Frederick Skelly]

Thanks for posting this Nick!
Fred

[Paul Yager]

Thanks for the review Nick. Was looking at same just last week.

[Nick Decker]

Like I said, I couldn't find any reviews myself. Maybe naive of me, but I based my decision largely on the recommendation of the Lee Valley description. I could've bought it from Acme for $25 less, although they didn't have it in stock, but I felt pretty confidant that if there were problems, Lee Valley would make it right one way or another.

I was curious about whether the adjustable speed was electronic or mechanical. Here's a short video showing what happens with the pulleys, moving the speed lever from slow to fast, then back to slow. Probably old hat to some of you, but new to me.

https://youtu.be/wO1xKFjPxK4

[Jason Plemons]

I don’t post much but happen to be looking at benchtop drill presses for many of the reasons you did. Thanks for posting this.