Why are drill presses so expensive?

[Michael J Evans]

Probably a dumb question, but why the heck are full size drill presses so expensive. I was flipping through either a woodcraft or rockler catalog and noticed the drill presses were just as expensive if not more than the bandsaws, lunch box planers, contractor saws, etc. I would think a bandsaw / table saw has so much more mass and parts, let alone transport costs, and a lunchbox planer wayore moving parts.

Is it just a economy of scale type of thing, way more table saws and bandsaws sold or am I missing something? Drill press has a motor, couple small pulleys, the upright portion and the head, small table. No real huge chunks of ground cast iron, blades or anything like that.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

They do have a lot of metal in them, and they require a lot of labor and machining. Just a thought.

[Jim Matthews]

When drill presses first appeared in garage shops and hobby basements, they were an industrial fixture.

Now, it's a relative rarity. Lower supply, methink$.

[Rod Sheridan]

They don't look expensive to me at all.

In the 1980's they were around $500.

In inflation adjusted dollars they're a fraction of that now.

Same for table saws. In the early 80's a good Sears saw was around $900....................Regards, Rod.

[Andrew More]

I agree with Rod. You can get a decent full sized 15" drill press from Rigid for $400 from the Home Depot. Maybe it would help if you were to provide brand names, or specific models? I believe Rockler and Woodcraft carry Powermatic, which is expensive because of the brand and quality, and Nova, which is expensive because of the motor and electronics.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Home depot no longer has the Ridgid drill press.

They carry the Ryobi & Wen junk.

[Andrew More]

Home depot no longer has the Ridgid drill press.

Seems to be out of stock, so maybe it's just a supply chain problem. They still have it listed on their website. I know it was available a month or two ago, I nearly bought one.

Ignoring the issues with the Rigid model, Grizzly has a similar model for $500.
https://www.grizzly.com/products/gri...ll-press/g7944

[Rich Engelhardt]

I don't know if it's a regional thing - but - none of the HD stores in my area have had the Ridgid drill press for a couple of years.
I've been on again/off again looking for something to replace my GMC benchtop.

The problem with everything from Grizzly is - - shipping charges.
That looks like a nice tool - but - the shipping charges add $125 to the price.
Every time I consider something from them - the added shipping charges kill the deal.

[johnny means]

Because they require rather large, well machined parts. Sheet metal and castings are cheap, machining is where the money is at.

[glenn bradley]

Drill presses are sort of a pet peeve of mine. I do not think they are necessarily over-priced, just under-quality for that price. With few exceptions (and usually a bit of luck) a decent drill press for under $1500 is a rare bird. I've kept using a $300 (new) Delta for a long time since it would cost me 5 times that to get a better unit. So may are out there that should be good. They have all the potential and then fail at a certain feature or level of quality.

[Ron Selzer]

They don't look expensive to me at all.

In the 1980's they were around $500.

In inflation adjusted dollars they're a fraction of that now.

Same for table saws. In the early 80's a good Sears saw was around $900....................Regards, Rod.

Well said, totally agree
Woodmaster 812 planer, 5hp with accessories was approx 1400 1986, Delta Contractors saw approx 500-600, Jet 6" jointer approx 500?? memory is fading.
Was making 30k a year working lots of overtime to get there.
Ron

[Andrew More]

I don't know if it's a regional thing - but - none of the HD stores in my area have had the Ridgid drill press for a couple of years.

Also not available in store here either, same with the Ridgid jointer, but it was available for order.

[John Schiesser]

Home depot no longer has the Ridgid drill press.

They carry the Ryobi & Wen junk.

I bought a Wen drill press and it does the job. I won't buy Ryobi anymore but this drill press has worked fine and there customer service was great when I had an issue even after owning the saw for awhile.

[Frederick Skelly]

Home depot no longer has the Ridgid drill press.

They carry the Ryobi & Wen junk.

Yeah, I dont see the Ridgid in their online store. Too bad - I have one and like it.

They do have one badged General International for under $700. I dont know anything about them though.

[Phil Gaudio]

Don't discount the option of bringing back to life some old American iron. Around here (Connecticut) you can pick up an old Delta for a song. Its fun (mostly) refurbishing them. And the performance specs on the refurbished iron are likely to be better than the new stuff coming out of china. Here is a unit I just finished: it runs like a Rolex!
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