Movement of the chuck other than centered on the axis of rotation. If you've ever bent a bit slightly, or chucked it a touch off-center, you've noticed the tip makes little circles. If the DP quill / chuck combination has runout, the small circle is the _best_ you can hope for.
It has to do with precision. Lower cost machines with have lower tolerances. This may or not matter depending on the use of your drill press. Basically, you test for run out by chucking a piece of stiff wire (such as a coat hanger piece) and bending the wire so that it barely touches a large circle path on the table top. When the chuck is turned, the gap should be the same all the way around if there is no run-out. Personally, I'd shop for a high precision machine with the fewest gadgets to get a good value.
"Joe_Stein" wrote in news:xDiHc.7101 $ snipped-for-privacy@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net:
it > a lot.
So do I-- got it on sale for about $60 (floor model) a year ago. I use it quite a bit and it's just fine for my needs. I don't have room for anything larger, and once I made a fence for it and added a small vice it's really a pleasure to use.
I looked at the other offerings in the $75-100 price range, inc. the Craftsman 9" that's always on sale, and thought the Ryobi better designed and built.
-Derek
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