Help I Need a Good Drill Press! Steel City, Pm2800,Delta?????

[Gary Russo]

I am new to the Forum. I am looking for a little help. I am looking to buy a good drill press. The three or four that I have that I am currently considering are the Powermatic PM 2800, Steel City 17", Delta 16 1/2", and the Powermatic 1170 17".

I saw a review on the PM 2800 that said the runout is .001, and another review on the Powermatic 1170 that stated the runout was .0055. I called Steel City and asked their technical services what the runout was on their 17" press and they said right at or not more than .005. As for the Delta I am not sure what the runout is but I have read that one or two of their models had a runout of .002, I am not sure which one or if this is correct.

I was thinking of getting the PM 2800 but then I read a Post here under "Powermatic 2800 Review" and was a little disappointed with his experience with the Press. For the money I thought it would be a lot better quality. Maybe it is, I would like to hear from anyone who has the PM 2800 or any other drill press they can recommend.

If anyone has any suggestions, even if it is a press that I am currently not considering, please let me know. Maybe the Steel City has a lower runout than stated above? I am looking for a good Press with a low runout. Help! Thank you.

[Cary Falk]

Gary,
I have the Steel City and am perfectally happy with it.
I have not measured the runout so I don't have that information. I like the 6" quill travel and split head design. I liked the new tables on the Delta's but you have to move all the way up to the 20" to get the 6" quil travel and that was too much coin for me. I have never heard anything bad about the Steel City 17".
Cary

[Mike Heidrick]

I also have the Steel City and for the money, it is the best value of a new drill press I could find. It will suit me for my life. I put it together myself and really risked dropping it. Get some help if you get a press and assemble it yourself.

I also would have loved to have spent the $800 on a 20" Delta - that new table is sweet. I can build my perfect table though.

[Darren Fast]

I've got the steel city 17" drill press as well. Love it! I just checked the runout on my machine and it was 0.0020"

[Dave Hale]

I also have the Steel City and for the money, it is the best value of a new drill press I could find. It will suit me for my life. I put it together myself and really risked dropping it. Get some help if you get a press and assemble it yourself.

Ditto advice from me. Had to sit down and rest for quite a while after hoisting the head unit to the top of that pole.
Darn near lost it and I'm not what you would call 'fragile'.
Heck of a clean-and-jerk.

5 year warranty and 6" quill travel. Works like a champ.

[Richard Link]

Me too. Love the Steel City. Also got the laser attachment which works well. Not a lot of bells and whistles but who needs that on a drill press. Great buy.

Rick

[john tomljenovic]

Ditto advice from me. Had to sit down and rest for quite a while after hoisting the head unit to the top of that pole.
Darn near lost it and I'm not what you would call 'fragile'.
Heck of a clean-and-jerk.

I am lazy, I just laid the "pole" down to the ground just propped up a little with a block of wood, then slid the head on. after a quick tighten of the set screws stand the whole sucker up and your back will thank you.

anyway when I was shopping for a drill press I ended with the X5 version of the delta with variable speed. If I was to do it all over again I would have gone with the steel city (has all the capability of the delta), replaced the motor with a 3-phase unit and run it with a varible frequency drive. With the plummeting prices of VFDs its quite odd no manufacturer has done that already.

[Jim McDonald]

Steel City for me also. Assembled it on the floor, used a come-a - long to lift it up. Only difficulty I have had was keeping the laser centered. Better now, but sometimes off just a little. I blame it on the temp. in the shop, only heated when I'm there on weekends. Great unit, would buy it again!

[John Williamson]

Did any of you look at the Jet JDP-17MF? Shorter quill stroke but greater speed range. I've been considering the Steel City and the Jet. A rep from Redmond said they will have the Steel City on sale at the WW show in Atlanta later this month.

[Gary Russo]

Thank you to everyone for helping me decide on a drill press. I am going to pick up a Steel City DP tomorrow! It seems to be unanimous this is the Drill Press to have. I almost decided on the Steel City in the first place until I spoke to their Tech department and they told me the runout should not exceed .005. If the runout on the one I buy is as good or better than Darren's it should be ok. I guess .002 is pretty good for most drill presses.

John Williamson, did the Rep say how much they would be at the show or what the discount is?

Thanks again everyone!

Gary

[David Weaver]

I can't speak for powermatic's spec, but I would also not count on reading one or two reviews about runout and then being sure that you'll be getting something similar when you get your tool. I'd be surprised if powermatic's runout spec was much tighter than steel city's.

[Adam Boyer]

I don't have lots of use with it, but it works very well - set up is easy - other than hoisting the head to the top of the pole (I am thankful to my heavy duty step stool)... though raising it up like a flagpole was a consideration - just wasn't sure I could do it that way... Nevertheless, it appears to be a well built machine and I think it will meet my needs for years to come (though it is a drill press, and I frankly don't expect much other than clean and straight holes).

[Don Bullock]

Great thread Gary. It sure seems that the SC drill press is a favorite with people here. I'm leaning in that direction too, but will have to wait a while to buy one.

Gary Faulk thanks for the following quote:

I like the 6" quill travel and split head design. I liked the new tables on the Delta's but you have to move all the way up to the 20" to get the 6" quil travel and that was too much coin for me. I have never heard anything bad about the Steel City 17".

That's what I've been thinking as well. Drill press tables, even ones better than what Delta offers on the model "designed for woodworkers," can easily made and there are even good add on tables available to be bought.

[Gary Russo]

Guys,

I bought the Steel City Drill Press yesterday $469.00 with a free laser at Woodcraft. I guess this is the going rate? I have not had time to put it together yet but when I do I will post the results. I wish I had a good Dial Indicator to check the runout. I wonder if there is a way to do any adjustments to make it tighter (less runout) if necessary.

Anybody know of a good truely flat table for the press?? Please let me know if anyone has a good recommendation and where to get it. Thanks again!!

Gary

[Brent Grooms]

Gary, I went with a woodpeckers table. Perhaps a few $$ more than some of the others but the fence and t-tracks are top notch. Also, instead of the flimsy "rule tape" they used to have, they have the track laser etched for the rule. All in all, a very nice table.